The weekend before last, I participated in the McLaren Vale Marathon. I’ve done this event 3 times before, in 2021, 2023 and 2024, where I achieved an all-time half marathon PB.
This year was a bit different. I had run the Adelaide half marathon 4 weeks earlier, and had subsequently bought a house and travelled to Brisbane for a 16 day truck driving course. Consequently, running was not front and centre in my mind, and replicating my 2024 performance would have been somewhat unrealistic. (I did manage to continue with regular runs while I was away, but only up to 10km, due to my course starting relatively early each morning, and me not wanting to get up at 4am to get a long run in!)
Knowing this, I had put my hand up to be a pacer at McLaren Vale, as soon as they announced that there were going to be pacers for the first time in this event.
I have paced a bunch of times before, mostly in the half marathon, as well as a couple of 10k races. All of my previous pacing experience was with SARRC. The usual process has been to approach the coach and see if a particular slot is available, and if so, put my name down for it. My ‘usual’ pacing time is 2:00, although I had done a couple of 2:15 when recovering from some stupid long ultras, and my last experience of pacing was 1:45 which probably would have gone better if it hadn’t turned out to be a course PB for me (I did manage to come in under the time, but it was WAY harder work than pacing should be!)
For McLaren Vale it was a bit different. I could tell that this pacing experience was going to be next level. For a start, I had to apply to be a pacer. I requested either the 1:50 or 1:55 slot, because it turned out 1:45 was that little bit too fast, and I figured 2:00 was too slow for me now. I had to submit a whole lot of results, including recent pacing results, as well as half marathon and marathon PBs and recent race results (all with links to official results, for verification purposes). I wondered what I was getting myself in for!
In the end I was given the 2:00 slot. With my limited running between Adelaide and McLaren Vale, that was probably a fair outcome. I didn’t run more than 12km in the 4 weeks leading up to the event. I hadn’t really practised my pacing too much (other than at parkrun the day before the event!) but I was sure muscle memory would kick in, having paced that time so many times before.
Not only was there an application process to get into the Pace Team, we were to be supplied with race kit (singlet, shorts and shoes). The shoes were New Balance, which I’d never run in before, but I seem to recall when I had a biomechanical running assessment done a few years ago, New Balance and Mizuno both came up as the best options for me, and I opted for the Mizunos. There were 4 different models to choose from, and I ended up with the Supercomp Trainer. I’d also tried the supershoe but could only get it in a size 10 and I normally wear a 10.5, and as soon as I put them on, I knew they weren’t going to be for me. (I mainly wanted the supershoe for after the race, I definitely did not need it to run a 2:00 half marathon, and it probably would not have been comfortable for that!) I’d taken the new shoes to Brisbane so I’d well and truly broken them in, running over 100km in them before the event (including Zillmere parkrun in Brisbane, which anyone who has done it would know, is not a great choice of parkrun to do in white shoes!).
The race kit was from LSKD, unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to test it out before the day because it only arrived on Saturday afternoon and I only got my hands on it on race morning. However Simon, who organised the pacers, assured us that he had experienced this with his pace teams in the past, and with ample anti-chafe cream, no-one had reported any issues.
While I was in Brisbane there was an online meeting for the pace team with Simon, to discuss expectations and plans for race weekend. He had previously organised pacers for both the Sydney and Ballarat Marathons, so he well and truly knew what he was doing! I was relatively experienced as a pacer but there were still some new things for me that came out of that meeting. First of all, turning off auto lap on our watches, because the kilometre markers we would be using to gauge where we were at, were ‘kilometres to go’ not ‘kilometres gone’. So the first kilometre marker we would see would be at 1.1km (20km to go) and if we were lapping at 1km, our time would be all out of whack. I had experienced this before in a race, and it definitely did mess with my head, so knowing this in advance was very useful! He also organised laminated pace bands for us all, so we would know what time we should be sitting on at each kilometre marker. Essentially, we were told to ignore what pace and distance our watches showed, because it was almost certainly wrong. As a pacer it was particularly important for us to get our pacing spot-on. (The aim was to be 15 seconds under the goal time at the finish line). I had never used a pace band as a pacer before but I had used them for my first few marathons and actually mostly just ignored them because I was running ahead of my goal time. Eventually I dispensed with using them altogether! But as a pacer, I think I will use them all the time from now on!
Previously I had had pace alerts set up (trying to keep between 5:35 and 5:40 pace) but Simon advised against this too. On the Saturday before race day I went down to Shiraz Trail parkrun, also in McLaren Vale, to meet up with some of the other pacers, and I did set pace alerts on my watch for this because I was using it for pacing practice, but found it particularly annoying, so quickly switched them off after I finished my parkrun!
One of the other things that was different this time compared to my previous pacing experience was that we were using chip time, not gun time. Essentially we would start our watches as we crossed the start line. In the past I’d always started my watch on the gun (to buy me a bit of extra buffer time), but this makes more sense. Anyone starting with us or just behind us, if they stay with us, will be under the time. And it makes it easier for us to maintain the correct pacing.
With the half marathon and marathon starting at the same time, and the marathon being 2 laps of the half marathon course, each half marathon pacer would have a marathon ‘buddy’ running at the same pace. For me, it was Nick, the 4 hour pacer. The pacers ranged from 1:30 half/3:00 full, to 2:30 half/5:00 full. I’m used to pacing on my own so this was another change for me.
A major change this time around compared to all my previous times running this event, was the start/finish area. Instead of being at a winery, this time the start/finish was in the main street of McLaren Vale. The bib collection/bag drop was in a hall, and the pacers had the benefit of being able to use the toilets in the hall rather than have to use the portaloos or public toilets. That was almost a bigger perk than the free race kit and shoes! It turned out to be a nice day, but had it been particularly cold or wet, having an indoor base would have been a bonus!
I arrived at the start area about 7:05 on Sunday morning for the 8:00 start. I collected my race kit and got changed, the singlet and shorts initially seemed super comfortable, so all signs were good! The pace flags were a bit different to what I used my last time pacing (that time, it was attached to a backpack, and the backpacks were a ‘one size fits all’ situation). This time they were attached to something that resembled a sports bra, with a pocket in the back to attach the flag. They also came in different sizes, so that made for a more comfortable fit. Other than the flagpole banging the back of my neck during the run (which I didn’t even notice most of the time), I hardly noticed I was wearing it (until I had to go under something low!)
The ‘gold standard’ was to be 15 seconds under the goal time.
It was interesting to see the other pacers as we went around the course (with several out and back sections) – some of the half marathon/marathon pacers were running pretty much together, others were a bit more spread out. Nick and I were pretty close together for most of the time, occasionally one of us would go in front for a while and then the other would catch up. We would always compare notes at each of the kilometre markers. The first kilometre was a bit slow (probably due to the it being the steepest in terms of elevation in the whole course, plus the number of people out there) but we quickly got back on pace and for most of the time we were sitting 10-20 seconds under the time indicated on the pace band. For me it was a relatively comfortable pace, and probably more so for Nick as I think he said he normally paces 3:30!
I did mention to him at one stage that the half marathon pacers technically probably aren’t required, as the marathon pacers are also running at the right pace for the half marathoners. (Not that I wanted to do myself out of a job!) He said that it’s nice to have a second person out for the first lap. Also, it gives the option for the 2 pacers to split up a little bit so one is driving the bus and the other is sitting up the back. As a half marathon pacer it was certainly nice to have a second person along for the duration!
The elevation was certainly more than in previous years, which made me extra glad I’d decided to pace and not ‘race’ (I use inverted commas as I’m really only racing my own PB!). Weirdly, looking at Strava, my heart rate got up to 180 towards the end, I definitely did not feel like I was working that hard!
Nick very kindly offered all of us 2:00 half marathoners the opportunity to go around for another lap and complete the marathon with him and the (at that stage) one first time marathoner who was on his 4:00 ‘bus’. Surprisingly, I later found out, NO-ONE took him up on the offer! (I, for one, definitely had NOT trained for a marathon, I haven’t run more than a half marathon distance since September 2024!)
Approaching the finish line, and trying to get the magical 15 second buffer, I slowed down a little bit and encouraged other half marathoners to go past. In the end I crossed the line just under 30 seconds under 2 hours which I was pretty happy with!
The medal was beautiful, one of the nicest ones I’ve had! (We had to pay extra for it – which means as a pacer, with free entry to the event itself, I paid for JUST the medal, as I can’t resist a bit of bling, and I am very glad I did!)
After the finish I was looking for a coffee van – there wasn’t one, and I quickly realised why – we were on the main street of McLaren Vale – there were ample coffee facilities RIGHT THERE! I went to the Organic Store and had a coffee and a Snickers cake which was as delicious as it sounds!
Once again, another superbly organised event by Great Southern Runs. The volunteers were all friendly and helpful, the ‘race village’ had great vibes and plenty of facilities, and as mentioned above, we were spoiled for choice re where to refuel/rehydrate afterwards!
I really enjoyed being part of the Pace Team and I hope to have more opportunities in future!