have to ask wrote:
Why don't marathon pacers wear some kind of GPS unit to gauge how they're doing as pacers instead of just going by feel? Seems like they could do a much better job that way.
This would be a great idea.
How hard would it be to give all of the pacers a Garmin or similar watch, set up to sound if the pace +/- 5 seconds off of planned? Easy.
Also, Berlin has a display on the lead car displaying the projected pace at all times. If Geb and team had seen a "2:01:10" on such a sign, surely they would have slowed down.
This would be a drop in the bucket in terms of the money and effort organizers put toward a record attempt.
Another thing suggested on Letsrun would be a clock at 200/400/800 after the start to get things off right.
These devices alone could have prevented the "Geb debacle."