So how is this different than getting a judge to sign an arrest warrant or something similar? Is it the type of crime that matters?

Good luck!

If you're running sub 3:40 on less than 45km a week, you could probably get under 3:00 with full training. Of course there's a lot of sacrifice to get there as well. Not always possible.

Really impressive to run that time with so little training!

Do you have plans to train more for another one or was this more of a bucket list item?

I did. Ran 3:00:30 to qualify, then 3:09 in Boston on a very warm year.

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.

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.

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.