Pacers are being added back to the Chicago Marathon to help get faster times

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon will reintroduce pacers into this year’s elite races after breaking from the tradition for the past few years. (Photo - pacers at the 20k mark at the 2014 Chicago Marathon.) Chicago Marathon director Carey Pinkowski and event organisers decided to transition back to pacers to leverage the speed of the course, to work towards setting up ideal conditions for the top tier elite athletes confirmed so far, and to respond to feedback received from runners. “The championship style of racing that spectators enjoy will continue as the race enters its final miles,” Pinkowski said. “The epic 2010 duel between the late Wanjiru and Tsegaye Kebede, arguably one of the greatest finishes in marathon history, underscores the importance of the tactics that still exist and flourish in paced races.”  Mo Farah and Galen Rupp will be battling it out at this year’s Marathon.  

posted Friday June 15th