I don't like it at all either, but I believe it's perfectly legal. Maybe you should have drafted off her! ;)

Now if that was a Tri I'd be furious, but she still probably wouldn't get caught.

It's more or less common, the better the women are the more common it is. That's why some big races have different starts for elite women and men, the NY Marathon for example.

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"Yeah, no one likes a smartass, but we all like stars" - Thom Yorke


smartasscoach.tri-oeiras.com

Same thing happen to my wife last year in several local races. Let me say this first, sometimes my wife & I would run together in races, but we are going as hard as we can. If she feels good, she would drop me in the end and visa versa. I don't see this a pacing at all. But one of the other top females in town had one of the better male runners run beside her in many races last year. He is at least 5-7 minutes better than her in a 10k, but would finish just behind her in several races. He would give her instructions, positions of other females, and general words of encouragement. Boy did this piss off my wife. She complained to the track club president and other RD's, but no one did anything. Word did get out finally and at the end of year her "buddy" did his own race.

You should be proud that you ran a PR on your own and didn't need help like your "friend" did. Good Luck.

Not sure I find this unethical. I almost always find a "rabbit" to pace me in a race (never really thought about the draft benefit). What I mean is, I find a stranger whose pace is a little faster than mine and try and hang on (sometimes pretty close). Of course, they aren't encouraging me, but I hear the adoring crowd in my head. :)

Of course, I'm not beating anyone out for much, so maybe it doesn't matter....



Leigh

I know that it's just smart racing to try and find a slightly faster runner to "pull" you through a race, this just seemed different. It was obviously pre-arranged and done with the intention of helping her to have her best possible race. Can't help but think that if it's not expressly against the letter of the law, it is at least not really within the spirit of it.

Think about the implications if every racer had there own personal coach running beside them......

Oh, well, there's always another day. :-)

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

Roger Bannister?

Absolutely nothing wrong with it. Sounds like sour grapes to me. Go get her next time.

Seems fine to me.

In fact, until Paula Radcliffe set the running world on it's ear the woman's World Best for the Marathon was often done in this fashion. Furthermore, just about every track running World Record these days makes podigious use of rabbits and pacers. That this goes on in local running races is completely understood and the smart woman runner should/would take full advantage of this.

I have often been involved in longer men's running races where there has been a verbal agreement between 2, 3, or 4 or more to "share the load" of the pacing and this seems to be fine.

The whole dynamic of bike road racing revolves around the ability to work together.

Strange that in triathlon and amongst triathletes that these seem bizzare or unethical tactics.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I don't see a problem with it.
Do you know the situtation? Wash she flat our racing for a PR, was it a training run, where they praticing something, was he on a slow day and her on a fast day, was it her 1st 1/2 Marathon?
My point is who knows, don't judge her if don't know whats going on.

Sour grapes? Not really.......I'm pretty much used to her kicking my a$$ ;-). Just never saw it played out like this before. Guess I'm getting closer to her.

Not to worry, my satisfaction with my own race and PR were not adversely affected by her performance. I was just wondering if the practice was legit.

Guess I'd better start saving my pennies so I can hire my own personal rabbit :-).

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

I understand your frustration with that, but as Fleck said it has been done with many male and female runners. The men's race this Sunday in Phoenix had a rabbit that was supposed to go through the first 21.1K in sub 64 so the pack would be ready for sub 2:08 or faster (for the money bonuses). That didn't happen though.

Did you race the RR half this weekend in Phoenix? Despite your frustrations, congrats on a new PR:)

Justin D

Ultimately she has to live her results. Sure, she had to put one foot in front of another, but she apparently benefitted substantially from the assitance provided her by her associate.

Everybody experiences endurance sports differently. Some want to know they have done it all themselves, others want the encouragement and moral support and technical expertise of a coach or more experienced participant.

Personally, as an individual, my opinion is that your effort is more noble- closer to the individual spirit of endurance sports. But then again, sometimes competing with someone else adds a new and rewarding element to the sport.

Maybe one thing to keep in mind is that performance was excellent- a new P.R. Very good. Congratulations. And you did all by yourself on your own terms. Well done I say.

As for the other person, well, she's on a slightly different program.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Yeah, it was the R n' R 1/2 marathon. What an experience! Great fun and a huge spectacle. Enjoyed the whole shebang immensely.........especially the PR and resultant 2nd place finish in my age group :-).

Did you do it? Definitely recommend putting it on your schedule for next year.

G

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It's a little like wrestling a gorilla.........you don't stop when you're tired.........you stop when the gorilla is tired.

It seems that drafting and pacing is common in running races. The woman's winner was quoted as saying because she is so slight and there was such a head wind, she stayed behind the leader and pulled away at the end. I also noticed with the lead men's runners, the winner hung back but was right on the heels of the leaders and pulled away toward the end.

I have limited experience at racing, but in a 10k I did, I ran behind a woman the whole way as my pacer until the end and pullled away. But I'm real slow.

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I didn't do the race, but I was cheering on my brother who was doing his first marathon. I rode my bike around the whole city chasing him:) Now he wants to start tris:) Seemed like a fun day out there.

Justin D

Hey Justin. I heard something about you relocating. Where exactly? You still gonna be a "tri-geek"? If so, hope you have another successful season.

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RunFAR Racing Services
http://www.Run-far.com
Team Cambridge
Hilltop Bicycle Repair

Hey Rick,

Yeah, I moved out to the desert, i.e. Tempe, Az to live with my brother. I will be even more of a "trigeek" this year than ever before. I am training quite a bit right now as I take break from school before finding somewhere to work.

I will be back to Dallas a good bit though, probably for two weeks in March.

Thanks for the positive wishes,

Justin D

Actually, P. Radcliffe is a big proponent of this. At her second world record marathon she finagled male pacers in the female race.

As for me I don't have a problem with it. If its not against the rules use every possible advantage. That said I wish paid pacers were against the rules. I especially like the stories where some pacers have decided to finish the race, won, and had the paced runner complain to the RD about it.

Have you ever seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night?
Dallas is a jewel
Dallas is a beautiful sight
Dallas is a rich man with murder in his eyes.

Dallas will love to have you back anytime. Open arms to all.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

I hope it's OK, 'cause I do it all the time for my little 7 year old sister in law. She loves to do one mile fun runs, and even does some occassional 5K's. She loves running, and often goes to races with me. I try to find some local 5K's that sport mile fun runs, and I'll run the miler with her. I let her set the pace, which is pretty quick for a 7 year old. She routinely runs sub-10:00 miles, and was the first overall female at local one miler back in the spring. Anyway, I run along side of her and talk to her, keep her motivated to keep running, try to keep her from starting out as hard as she can go, all that. Our local club usually does the big races in our area, and there are a couple of other guys who run with us. So here is this little 7 year old girl surrounded by grown men, running along and talking to her the whole way, keeping her going. I hope that's not in poor taste as far as race ethics go. I don't push her to set a blistering pace; I just try to keep her effort steady so she'll enjoy the run. And she has a blast. She loves running, and I hope this develops into a lifelong participation in the sport. And when she does the 5K's, she runs/walks them. She'll run a mile and some change, then use a run/walk strategy for the remainder. She usually finishes the 5K's in about 33-35 minutes.

But yeah, I talk to her, enourage her, "coach" her if you will, during the race. I've always thought that was OK. And I still do.

RP

Just when you thought you heard it all. Man if you aren't drafting during running races or in the run in the triathlon, you aren't even in the race. You don't think all those Kenyans in any race 3k to marathon aren't pacing and drafting on each other? They even run as teams like in bike racing sending a guy out to break the other guys spirits.
Or run in a big marathon(30K people and try not to draft) If there is a headwind you are a fool not to draft in running events. If you want to be fair take pulls with the other runners.
As far as the women thing, yea I have seen spouse/coaches running with the women. Some times acting as a domestic getting water and carrying cups. That is probably getting close to the edge.
Funny thing, I never hear any complaints of drafting in the swim, where I guess it is more of an honest effort. G