Nike’s recent attempt at a sub-2-hour marathon run was not successful but Eliud Kipchoge still clocked the fastest time in history with 2:00:25. Even so, the result did not count as an official record because of several reasons, one of them being the use of rotating pacers who ran in front of Kipchoge. Some experts also felt that the use of a pace car in front of the runners provided additional benefits in terms of reduced wind resistance.
Since the use of pacers appears to offer some performance benefit, is there a reason why we don’t see running teams in marathons, in the same way we see that in endurance cycling?
Until relatively recently, marathoning(and distance running in general) was an amateur sport. Runners couldn’t be paid or win prize money. Therefore no corporate sponsors or teams.
Hence, the rules favor individual competition. cross-country is a team sport but at a distance that guarantees everyone finishes. Even at the world class level, a finish is not a certainty.
Track and field can be a team sport but each event(except relays) are individual efforts.
Currently, pacers are hired by the event to ensure a fast and steady early pace.
Another factor is the recovery time needed between marathons. Besides needing a month or two, there is also a limit to the number of marathons that can be raced in a season and even in a career.
Could be due to tradition. Since the marathon is based on a story (possibly true) wherein a single Greek messenger ran to and from the battlefield of Marathon , all on his lonesome, changing it to a team sport might take the spirit out of it. On the other hand, since most marathons consist of hundreds of "messengers " running together, maybe that’s moot.
On the other hand, I think they already have team marathons. They call them relay races.
Good points about the prize money and corporate sponsorship. I guess cycling, with its team structure and a selected leader, is really the odd sport here.
Possibly because, unlike most athletics, it requires a great deal of investment in marginal improvements to expensive equipment (which may or may not lead to high-end marketable merchandise?) - compare and contrast, as they say, with motor racing instead.