Matt Scherer - best rabbit in the biz??

Nick Willis' pacing to 1300m the other night was impressive.

Anyone know how much pacers at Diamond League get?

He did an awful job pacing wannamaker, although, it is a shitty track.

Well he does seem to have solid observation skills, and the physical ability to do it.

He's run 20.7 200, and 45.1 400, had never run above those distances until after college and still hit a 1:46.1 for OTC.

I'd want him as a rabbit, he is also strong enough to always finish off his sections well before pulling off the track.

The assumed reason that Matt Scherer is a great pacer is because he's a big dude and he blocks the wind. Has this ever been tested to be correct? Is it worth it to go the extra mile to get a big guy out front?

trytfj wrote:

The assumed reason that Matt Scherer is a great pacer is because he's a big dude and he blocks the wind. Has this ever been tested to be correct? Is it worth it to go the extra mile to get a big guy out front?

Who assumes this is the reason?

I thought it was because he wasn't quite fast enough to be an elite 400 guy at the pro level, had good endurance (and speed endurance) for a big 400 guy, and seemed to have a knack for it.

I wonder what a white lightning team of Scherer, Wariner, Rock, and Beach could run in the 4x4.

2:57?

Is Rock still even in shape?

The bigger, the better when it comes to rabbits. Easier to key off of than some 5'6" fool who likely got punched in the ear before the meet. Though I don't care for his low knee lift, he does a great job, especially at blocking the wind.

KD and Krummenacker are pretty good too, and obviously Tariku Bekele when he paced his brother.

If you watch the Pre 800m last year, Matt Scherer's pacing was amazing. I feel like Rudisha could have broken the world record there, and I agree the world record would be better if Matt Schere paced Rudisha

Is he not still competing at 800m?

What he is asked to do pacing in races is never that hard. I don't have respect for someone who gave up competing to be a "professional rabbit". Get a real job. What a joke.

He's just doing what he loves, what's wrong with that?. He could have easily gotten a "real job" as you put it; he was Valedictorian of his graduating class, so with excellent academic credentials he could have easily gone on and gotten a better paying job.

IMAB wrote:

I wonder what a white lightning team of Scherer, Wariner, Rock, and Beach could run in the 4x4.

2:57?

Is Rock still even in shape?

1. I hope you are joking about 2:57. Wariner x 4 would not hit that mark, and he is by far the best of the four. Maybe that squad, each in his prime, could flirt with sub-3:00.

2. Rock is in shape, but certainly not in 44.3 shape. He's now coaching at the DIII level in Minnesota, and he's hopped in some meets there but nothing spectacular by his '04-'05 standards.

Krummenacker

Here is an article on pacers from a year ago that features Scherer.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-239-567--13923-0,00.html

"Rabbits concede that the training is not as hard as it would be were they competing to win, but the mental aspect is crucial. In the days leading up to his race in the Garden, Scherer YouTubed the last five Wanamakers and took mental notes as he concentrated on rabbit strategy. "I found out that in the Wanamaker you're going to spend more energy trying to hug the rail because it's such a tight turn, kind of a centripetal force thing," says Scherer, who had never run on the Garden boards. "If you're right on that line between lanes 1 and 2, that's fine." Such tidbits were, if you will, his rabbit food.

Scherer was getting $1,000 for the gig. So despite what Updike might've written, Rabbit is not rich. But if Scherer progresses in his current vocational choice, he might make $3,000 or $5,000 for a premier outdoor race. Anyway, in Scherer's biggest previous race as a competitor, an 800-meter in the 2008 Prefontaine Classic, he had finished seventh and made $200. He had come to see seventh-place finishes as his lot in track life, so he did the math and stared into the rabbit hole. It looked dark and uncertain but also strangely inviting."

rabbits will make more than adequate amounts in many of the european races, especially when records are set. see stanley redwine and martin keino. the days of tom byers and david mack making pennies are over.

A blog I wrote about rabbits/pace setters in track: http://pamakidscoach.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/pace-setters-for-track-races/

rabbits will make more than adequate amounts in many of the european races, especially when records are set. see stanley redwine and martin keino. the days of tom byers and david mack making pennies are over.

another scherer run i noticed this evening. He brought Hengelo through in 50.5 and then it looked like 500 in 1:03. Once again though - done evenly and resulting in a deep fast race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAAKsSJYYzU

evidently 50.5 was exactly what they asked for. This was his facebook status after the race:

"Boom! They ask for 50.5 pace and I give them 50.50. First time hitting a split to the hundredth of a second. Winner was 1:43.83 and at least two others hit the A standard, putting them on their country's Olympic Team. Not bad for my 4th race in 12 days covering 3 continents. And now I want to go home..."