Wen things are low because you just wasted 6.5 hours in Laramie, WY, waiting for Route 80 to reopen so you can finish the last leg of your trip (which you won't get to until tomorrow because it was too dark to continue on) it is nice to get an email telling you that you did your job as a pacer right.
Here are a few of the excerpts sent to the pacing coordinator of the Carlsbad Marathon last week.
Hi Jim,
I had the pleasure of running with Dane Rauschenberg as my 3:10 pace group leader
at Carlsbad Marathon this past weekend. I managed a 3 min. PR and a 2nd place
finish thanks in no small part to Dane's even pacing and constant words of
encouragement. Although I dropped off the pace around mile 19, I know that I
would not have done as well without the support of a pace leader.
Thanks to you for coordinating the pace groups. This was the first time I've ever run
with one and it was a great experience.
Alison Meadow
Hi Jim and other pacers,
I just finished the Carlsbad Marathon this morning and met you at the finish line with the pacer I ran with, Dane Rauschenberg. I hope that you can get this message to
Dane because I owe my final time to him. He was such a great help mentally. No
way would I have done as well as I did without him. Dane was a really nice guy to
run with - he kept a great attitude and gave us tips here and there about how to run
the course. It was great! Oh yeah, and he kept a perfect pace. :-)
Around mile 23 I really started to hurt and fell back a little, but Dane was looking
around for me and shouted back a few times - I kept my eye on him and reeled him
some in the final mile, and qualified for Boston with a minute to spare. Thanks Dane!
This was my first time running in a pace group, and it was a great experience to run
with the support of others. Tell Dane I will pitch in for his carpal tunnel medical bills for holding the pace sign if he promises to run the SF marathon too. :-)
Thanks!
Andrew
Now pray for good weather and roads tomorrow so I can end this godawful trip. Thank goodness for Annie's singing or this would have been unbearable!
You're the man!! Maybe someday I will be fast enough to join your pace group :)
ReplyDeleteWhat nice things to hear when the chips are down. After reading your blog and your comments about the pacing, I know what others have to say is 100% true.
ReplyDeleteYay for cool feedback! It's nice to be acknowledged for a job well done, especially when you took it so seriously. :) I'm so glad you chose to pace at Carlsbad! I know it was a highlight in an otherwise blue trip.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on really making a difference in the experiences of these grateful people.
Ah, the joys of driving across Wyoming in the dead of winter. They'd be better off digging a series of tunnels and routing all of the major highways underground, as often as they're closed during the winter (which lasts a good 7 months).
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that some of your runners provided feedback. I did the same after running with the 3:20 pace group in Fargo. Our pacer there was a huge help. Interestingly enough, the head pacer there was also known as Pacer Jim...not sure if it's the same guy or not.
It is so nice to get such great feedback when you pace, isn't it? I actually keep in touch with a woman from my pace group at Fargo, and yellow scuba helped her out when she came into DC for MCM.
ReplyDeleteHope you are liking your new digs,job, etc. If you come to Erie this summer, let me know.
PS Chris - it is the same Pacer Jim - he leads pace teams at many races. I paced for him at Fargo.