{"id":37495,"date":"2018-08-15T08:30:10","date_gmt":"2018-08-15T15:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=37495"},"modified":"2020-05-22T13:05:45","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T20:05:45","slug":"pacers-are-the-unsung-heroes-of-ultramarathons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/pacers-are-the-unsung-heroes-of-ultramarathons","title":{"rendered":"Pacers Are the Unsung Heroes of Ultramarathons"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat are you doing in August. Next August. A year from now?\u201d I texted my former boss and long-time running partner Drew, an eternally cheerful guy and accomplished 50K runner. This was a year ago when I found out I got a spot in the coveted 2018 Leadville 100, the well-known ultramarathon in the high peaks above Leadville, Colorado.<\/span><\/p>\n

He responded hesitantly, \u201cUm, I\u2019m not sure…why?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think I\u2019m going to run 100 miles. Want to help?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty comfortable running 20, 30, even 50 miles by myself, but there comes a point in ultrarunning when you can\u2019t do it alone. For me, that point is 100 miles. In order to complete my first 100 miles at Leadville, taking place on August 18, I needed to assemble a crack team of pacers. So I sent out a proper invite that read: \u201cI\u2019m looking for dedicated runners, huggers and friends to pace me at the Leadville 100 and provide me with snacks and unconditional support. What\u2019s in it for you? Pizza, beer and a front-row seat to what is bound to be an interesting (hopefully less than) 30 hours.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Four foolhardy friends responded to my big ask. <\/span>Drew said \u201cyes,\u201d then there was Lauren, a no-nonsense marathoner who I trusted to bring a tough-love approach to pacing. As a bonus, her husband is a spreadsheet mathlete with four-wheel drive, making him a handy built-in crew member. <\/span><\/p>\n

I knew I needed someone a little more acclimated to high-altitude running to get me over Hope Pass, just below 13,000 feet. Enter TJ, a perky and competitive Aspen trail runner with a similar penchant for mountain suffering. He was conscripted after bringing Swedish gummy bears on a training run over the pass. Rounding out the roster was my friend Kristen from Boulder, Colorado, an aggressively cheerful former track athlete who I had met trail running and had quickly become my before-work 14er partner and weekend sufferfest companion. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The author on a training run in the high peaks of Colorado. (Photo courtesy of Zo\u00eb Rom)<\/p><\/div>\n

When selecting my pacers and crew, there were a few nonnegotiable qualities: I needed people I trusted athletically and personally. I needed to know that they were going to be able to handle the challenging distance and terrain\u2014and handle me. As 2016 Leadville winner Clare Gallagher put it, \u201cThey need to be able to handle their stuff and my stuff.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

At this point, a few short days before running the Leadville 100,\u00a0I\u00a0know\u00a0that\u00a0my team has what it takes to help\u00a0push me to the finish, which will mean encouraging me to shuffle along for hours while force-feeding me cookies. Though my crew doesn\u2019t lack trail experience, we\u2019re all rookies when it comes to running or pacing 100 miles.<\/p>\n

To find out what the pros do when assembling a solid crew, I spoke with\u00a0several\u00a0Leadville Trail 100 veterans and experts.<\/p>\n

Attitude is Everything<\/b><\/p>\n

Devon Yanko, winner of the 2017 Leadville 100, emphasized the role that stoke can play amongst the crew in such a long race. \u201cI want them to be excited to see me, get me hyped, keep me moving through the aid station quickly and always tell me I look awesome and am killing it even if I might not be,\u201d Yanko said.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s going to be a lot of rushing and waiting around to watch runners shuffle by at all hours of the night and day. So hopefully my crew enjoys watching the race unfold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

The author will be tackling her first 100-mile race this weekend\u2014but she won’t do it alone. (Photo courtesy of Zo\u00eb Rom)<\/p><\/div>\n

Altitude is Also Something<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe altitude at Leadville is a huge challenge for pacers too, even if they\u2019re only running a few miles, so it helps to have locals and very fit runners,\u201d said Ian Sharman, four-time Leadville winner. \u201cOne time I had a friend from Texas pace and he suffered so much with the altitude that he couldn\u2019t keep up and had to walk in his section.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not too worried about out-pacing a pacer, that\u2019s why I picked TJ, a fellow high-elevation mountain-town dweller to assist me over Hope Pass\u2014the most challenging and high-altitude section of the race.<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep it Out of the Family<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cIf you pick family members, it\u2019s best if they have ultramarathon experience, even just seeing you run ultras before and knowing what to expect,\u201d said Sharman. \u201cSometimes family can get very worried and want a runner to stop, even when that\u2019s the last thing the runner needs to hear.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Selecting family and significant others can lead to more emotional stress than any runner wants to mess with 80 miles deep into a race. I carefully selected friends who know me well enough to know when to push me\u2014and when to let up. I chose to save my family members from watching me suffer along the trail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Planning is Crucial<\/b><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not much of a planner. For me, one of the most intimidating parts of training was attempting to fill out a spreadsheet of expected splits and aid station arrival times. I\u2019ll take 100 miles over spreadsheets any day. Luckily, my pacer team includes engineer and math wizard Ben, Lauren\u2019s husband, and an entire team of logistically savvy people. After all, there\u2019s a lot of windy backcountry roads to navigate and food to sort.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sharman agreed that a crew needs to be \u201cefficient and know the logistics of how to get to aid stations, any potential parking issues and being at each place well in advance of the runner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s About Teamwork<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cPrep your crew. Tell them what you want and need, tell them what you might want and need, tell them what you think works and doesn\u2019t work, tell them how you want them to act when you come in\u2014excited, calm, casual?\u201d said Yanko.<\/span><\/p>\n

I knew I needed to work with my team to develop an easily executable race plan.\u00a0 The amount of time I spent formulating a race plan and composing a crew over email clocked in just over my marathon PR. <\/span><\/p>\n

I prepped my crew with a long, stream-of-consciousness email that included maps, desired splits and instructions to always tell my parents that I look strong, even if I\u2019m crawling and covered in GU. They were instructed to continually force-feed me and ensure that I\u2019m hydrated. In addition to the requisite oat bars and gels, they were told to bring abundant gummy bears to every aid station. In case of emergency, play Beyonc\u00e9. <\/span><\/p>\n

Keep it light, the experts reminded me. This is supposed to be fun, after all. \u201cDon\u2019t make it too big a deal,\u201d Gallagher said. \u201cBe considerate. Crewing is a pain, so be extra nice and grateful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As for me, when I set out on my first Leadville 100 run in a few days, I know I will be grateful to not be doing it alone.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat are you doing in August. Next August. A year from now?\u201d I texted my former boss and long-time running partner Drew, an eternally cheerful guy and accomplished 50K runner. This was a year ago when I found out I got a spot in the coveted 2018 Leadville 100, the well-known ultramarathon in the high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":37498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[727,1394,1376,136],"internal-tag":[1682],"class_list":["post-37495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-run","tag-latest-posts","tag-leadville-100","tag-running","tag-trail-running","internal-tag-pre-redirect-running"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/run\/pacers-are-the-unsung-heroes-of-ultramarathons","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Pacers Are the Unsung Heroes of Ultramarathons","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/pacers-are-the-unsung-heroes-of-ultramarathons","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/run\/pacers-are-the-unsung-heroes-of-ultramarathons"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/Leadville.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/08\/Leadville.jpg?fit=2048%2C1365"},"articleSection":"Run","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michelle Flandreau"}],"creator":["Michelle Flandreau"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["latest posts","leadville 100","running","trail-running"],"dateCreated":"2018-08-15T15:30:10Z","datePublished":"2018-08-15T15:30:10Z","dateModified":"2020-05-22T20:05:45Z"},"rendered":"