Anyone ever pace another runner overnight?

[Megatomic]

So on Sept. 25 and 26 I'm going to be pacing an online (RWOL forums) buddy at a 100 mile trail race. By pacing I mean running along side for moral support and safety - no muling or advance navigation. I'll be running about 42 miles total, mostly at night on highly technical trails with about 10k feet of elevation gain, so there are going to be some hills to deal with, too. I've never paced before and was wondering if anyone here at ATH&F forums has done such a thing? If you have, could you offer any tips or anecdotes from your experience(s)?

I have read many pacer reports and have talked to some very experienced ultra guys and they have provided me with tons of wisdom thus far. But you can never be too prepared, right?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[PricklyPete]

Wish I could say I have...but I haven't. Sounds awesome though. Are you generally pretty good at pacing yourself? What pace is he expecting you to keep up? My only small piece of advice that I've heard from people who do the marathon pacing is to ensure that the pace that you set is a reasonable amount slower than your normal pace. So people who run 3:15 marathons would pace people shooting for 3:35 marathons...or stuff like that. The thought is that you don't want the pace to be a trial for you that you are struggling keeping up with. Anyway, that is just what I've heard from other pacers...but not my own personal experience. Good luck!

 

[Megatomic]

We discussed that last night by phone. My long distance cruising speed on technical trails is about 9 to 9.5 mins/mile. He's hoping to be able to do 10 to 12 mins/mile in the second half (when I'll be with him) while running. The steep hills he's planning on powerhiking, that would be about 14 to 15 mins/mile. So yeah, we're a good fit speed-wise.

Equally important to him is the fact that our nutritional and electrolyte needs are similar and he likes to talk while on the trail. My plan is to regale him with navy stories and to talk about my running experiences/disasters. He'll be plenty entertained. haha

 

[PricklyPete]

We discussed that last night by phone. My long distance cruising speed on technical trails is about 9 to 9.5 mins/mile. He's hoping to be able to do 10 to 12 mins/mile in the second half (when I'll be with him) while running. The steep hills he's planning on powerhiking, that would be about 14 to 15 mins/mile. So yeah, we're a good fit speed-wise.

Equally important to him is the fact that our nutritional and electrolyte needs are similar and he likes to talk while on the trail. My plan is to regale him with navy stories and to talk about my running experiences/disasters. He'll be plenty entertained. haha

Sounds like a plan...you guys should have a great time. So what extra equipment do you have for night runs? headlamps...or do you just trust your "night eyes"?

 

[Megatomic]

We'll both be wearing LED head lamps with about 8 sets of batteries just in case. I'll also carry a penlight for emergency use. The thing with those lamps is trying not to blind the other guy while wearing them. My son and I are going to work on that in the weeks leading up to the race so I don't do that to my runner come race night.

Aside from that, there's just warm clothes and spare shoes/socks. The race is in upstate NY so it's likely to be a chilly evening. All the other gear will be the usual stuff carried during long trail runs. Toilet paper, first aid stuff, food, electrolyte capsules, liquids, a cell phone, etc. Common sense stuff really.

 

[PricklyPete]

We'll both be wearing LED head lamps with about 8 sets of batteries just in case. I'll also carry a penlight for emergency use. The thing with those lamps is trying not to blind the other guy while wearing them. My son and I are going to work on that in the weeks leading up to the race so I don't do that to my runner come race night.

Aside from that, there's just warm clothes and spare shoes/socks. The race is in upstate NY so it's likely to be a chilly evening. All the other gear will be the usual stuff carried during long trail runs. Toilet paper, first aid stuff, food, electrolyte capsules, liquids, a cell phone, etc. Common sense stuff really.

Nice...I'm assuming there aren't "aid stations" with water and such along the way in these type races...correct? I'd love to get into long trail runs like that.

 

[Megatomic]

There are actually plenty of aid stations at this race, but you never know what you are going to get. If you train properly and get used to having certain stuff while running you get better results by eating and drinking the same stuff during races. So my runner is used to his own PB&honey sandwiches and gatorade and that's what he wants to eat and drink during the race. I on the other hand can eat pretty much anything and also prefer gatorade. So we've decided to bring our own food (PB&honey or jelly) and gatorade and skip the offered fare and expected HEED (which makes both of us sick to the stomach to drink). If there are fig newtons and M&Ms I might grab some of them as well. We'll see.

Long trail runs are my personal vacations from reality. They keep me sane in an insane world and calm in a household filled with the hustle and bustle of 3 busy teenagers. I can't imagine life without my trails and highly recommend trail running to anyone. You should definitely check them out Pete.