V1per41

V1per41 t1_irc70z9 wrote

I guess I might be confused about what you're saying then. Are you saying that people who pace for 3:00 marathon times only have a PR around (3:00 * 0.97) 2:54?

I think depending on the day / weather / how training went, a single person can expect a 10 minute swing in their Marathon time. This is why you would want some one capable of at least 2:45 to give yourself that margin of error.

I have no idea what marathon directors actually do, this is just my guess.

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V1per41 t1_irb1jb0 wrote

If it makes you feel better, when I tried to qualify for Boston I set my goal at 3:01:00.

The time I needed to qualify was 3:05, and I wanted to make sure I beat it by a couple minutes to make sure I got in. I also knew my fitness level was likely right around this time, so I wanted to be safe and not go out too fast.

If I was in good enough shape to run 3:01, then this pacing would work perfect, if I paced for 3:00, then my final time would likely be 3:03 which would have cut it too close for my liking.

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V1per41 t1_irb12zx wrote

The point they are making is that if you are in charge of pacing people to a 3:00 marathon you need to be able to run that time fairly comfortably. If that time represents your max effort then there is a good chance you miss the mark.

The marathon that is hiring you doesn't want something like that to happen so they get someone who is capable of running a 2:40 so that 3:00 is a straightforward and easy effort for them that they are guaranteed to hit.

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