The runup to the Paris Olympics has already begun; may as well tackle this now.
In some recent track and field events on NBC, most recently the Indoor World Championships, I noticed that a number of non-sprint races (longer than 400m) had a “pacemaker” who ran well ahead of all the other runners for a short distance before dropping out. I never saw this happen before this year, but I don’t know if this is a recent innovation or just me having access a wider variety of track events. At first I thought the pacemaker was a noncompetitor specifically appointed by the racing authority to serve in that capacity, but it turns out that this runner must be an actual registered competitor, and after dropping out is officially listed as DNF for the race. According to Wikipedia (I didn’t find anything helpful on Youtube), the purpose of this is to serve as a visible marker for runners going for a specific record and to “avoid excessive tactical racing” . They may also be used to set the “correct” pace.
Questions:
Wouldn’t a lot of people have a pretty major problem with this? Having an extra body to potentially get tangled up with, a drafting advantage, a spot filled by someone with zero intention of finishing… just seems like a big fight waiting to happen.
Is gamesmanship really such a gigantic problem in track that it needs something as drastic as a noncompeting competitor to correct it? If more stringent enforcement could get rid of false start tomfoolery, I think simple time constraints would be plenty adequate to prevent early burning, assuming that there’s even any need to do so in the first place.
Wouldn’t any fairness enforcement only work if the other racers didn’t realize that particular runner was a pacemaker, and wouldn’t keeping it a secret be a completely lost cause? Like, you know he’s not going to shatter the world record by 30 seconds; there’s no need to pay any attention to him.
Who’d even want be a pacemaker in the first place? I admit that there’s a lot I don’t understand about jock mindsets, but if I were good enough to outpace everyone, even for a relatively short distance, I wouldn’t be happy about having to finish dead last, even if a friend benefitted.
I do not think that there were rabbits at the World Indoor championships, since everyone needed to qualify for the event. Note that championship racing indoors is very different than outdoors. Indoor tracks are very small (usually 6 lanes vs. 8 or 9 outdoors) and the curves are very tight, making it difficult to pass someone. Because of that, there is an advantage indoors to leading the race, since it is difficult to pass the leader.
Answering your specific questions:
Rabbits actually make it less crowded, since the pace is reasonably fast, there is very little bunching of runners.
Gamesmanship is an issue at non-paced races. Without a rabbit, the race can be a slow jog for a few laps. A lot of fans do not like to watch world class runners jogging around, so big meets like to have rabbits to ensure decent times.
The rabbits are paid by the meet organizers, and pace is agreed upon before the race by the main competitors (or their agents).
Good rabbits can make a decent living on the track and marathon circuit. Rabbits on the track are often mid-level runners who would not be a top finisher, but they can run an even prescribed pace. Marathon rabbits are often part of a larger training group who has not run a marathon yet, but is willing to pace the marathon to get a feel for what the marathon distance is all about.
Sometimes the pacemaker goes on to win. I though I remembered this happening a “few years” ago, but it turns out it was 13 years ago (time flies when you get old)
I’m curious as to why an early slow pace is such a headache that the sport felt a need to completely stamp it out. (Aren’t cycling and a few speed skating events like this all the time?) I find it comparable to bombastic ring announcements in MMA; a little annoying for the uninitiated but no need to get rid of it. But every fandom is different, obviously.
My actual follow up is, how is the pace actually enforced? The only way I could think of would be to set a time limit for each lap, and if no one hits it disqualify the entire field, but I’ve never heard this even hinted at anywhere.
There’s no enforcement. If runners don’t want to follow the rabbit they don’t have to, there’s no time limit imposed. But they’re going to lose the race if other runners are going at a much faster pace for the start of the race.
Cycling races that start with two riders going as slow as possible are part of the sport, and quite frankly, are pretty darn boring for someone who is not knowledgeable about it. But at least it’s understandable. For runners it would just look like people out for a casual jog, and it would be pretty poor for the fans watching. Rabbits make the races more exciting, which means more viewers and more advertising dollars.
I’d say if a runner finishes 2% (actual % TBD) slower than their best time, they’re not eligible for prize money and/or title. Eliminate pacers entirely, these people are supposed to be the best, let them prove it on their own.
(Reset finish time every 5 years past a certain age)
If the rabbits were truly running fast as a strategy to win the race, that would be fine. A few runners go out quickly and try to build a big enough lead to win, others hold back expecting to finish strong; that would be plenty exciting. It’s the ones that aren’t really trying to win, who drop out right on cue, that are annoying.
Not annoying, just confusing. If this were like, say, the pace car in stock car racing, that’d make sense. But given that the pacemaker is an official entrant, and therefore can finish the race and even win it (as Paul Koech demonstrated), seeing him just quit on cue, not even try to go the distance, looks weird to me. In any distance race there are a number of entrants who are clearly way out of it and don’t have a prayer of even sniffing the podium. They, I think, would be completely justified in surrendering (setting aside issues such as coaches’ expectations, hometown fans’ reactions, credentials for future races, etc.), yet barring injury they always make it to the line.
This is one of those things that I’m just going to have to get used to. If it’s any consolation, it’s going to be much easier than getting all those figure skating jumps down.
They were his training partners and their job was to make sure he didn’t go out too fast. Pacemakers today are to ensure you don’t see world class runners going out at high school paces and turning a 5K into a 10.5 lap jog with a 2 lap sprint to the finish.
As running_coach says, there were two training partners of Bannister who paced him. The pacers did finish in 2nd and 4th, though. I think at that time, pacers were frowned upon. Here is something from wiki on pacers:
. They may also be used to set the “correct” pace. 
