Great Birmingham Run 2025, 2h 10m Official Pacer

On May 4th I achieved a long held goal, by running as part of the official pacing team at a big running event. I've previously paced a few friends informally, but I've always wanted to wear the flag and be a bigger part of the day. It's taken a while to get a spot, but finally I've done it–and it was great. I got everything from the experience that I hoped to.

Why be a pacer?

Obviously I enjoy running. I have had some modest running goals for myself, and I've achieved them. I've got the times I wanted to get and done the distances I wanted to do. I do feel I'm at the edge of what I can do, especially as I slip into my mid-40s. So the top line motivation for pacing was simply this: I decided I'd like to help some other people hit their goals too.

Applying

It feels like there are more and more mass participation races each year, and most of them run pace teams. Some use an external pace team organiser, and some just organise it themselves. You need to register for info and wait for shifts to be offered. racepacing.com run teams for lots of events, and I'm on their list but they mostly cover the South East which would involve a lot of travel and cost for me, so I've not really pushed for these. Great Run have events all across the country and run their own pace teams. I applied to Great Run for several years, offering myself for several events and several half marathon target times before I got a spot running 2h10m in my home half marathon in Birmingham this year.

Common sense suggests to pace slower than you race, and all the advice you'll find online from other pacers stresses this. I will run a half at sub 1:45 if I'm well-prepared and all goes well on the day, but to run confidently and steadily 2:00 is a better time. On a sub-2 pace I can chat, and know that unless something really bad happens I can make the time. I can project confidence rather than determination. I applied to run 2h00m, 2h05m or 2h10m pace in Birmingham. For events where I had to travel I only ever put my name down for 2h00m as that's my favourite casual pace for 13.1 miles. Anything slower than 2h10m might actually be hard for me to run, I just don't think the pace is physically that comfortable for me right now.

My prep

I took a lot of inspiration from this blog post by Paul Addicott. Paul is an experienced pacer and has a lot of information to share across his blog, but this post basically distills it all. I'm actually pretty sure I followed his "pace bus" at one of the marathons I did when I was chasing my sub-4.

The plan I came up with for the day was as follows:

1. Try to get into the middle of the wave, not the front
2. Plan to be a little slow for the first mile because it's always bunched up
3. Build in time for people to slow down for drinks
4. Make an allowance for the climb at mile 7
5. Otherwise run a pretty steady tempo

I'd not run the course before (the route for Brum half seems to change every few years) but knew the basics of it, as I'd run every section before but not in that order. I spent a lot of time visualising the run, working out where I expected to slow down and where I thought we'd get time back, and how drinks would work.

I wrote up my race plan on a flash card that slips into the back of my phone, which I could read through a clear case. My plan had the following:

• True Split time — on an even 09:55 min/mile pace, the timing for each mile
• Moving Pace — my target pace for that mile
• Target Split — if I made my target pace each mile, what would my split be for that mile
• Call outs — notes of drinks and key features in that mile "drinks at 6.7mi", "hard climb at 7.2mi"

Meet the other pacers

On the morning, pacers arrive early to get their flags, and the event press team insist on some team photos. Pictures out of the way we have the best part of 2-hours to kill so I have time to chat. Everyone is an experienced pacer. Most people are pace tourists, going from town to town each week. They enjoy helping people, but they're also motivated by free runs too (pacers don't pay for their race, but do pay for their own expenses). I meet a guy who ran London Marathon the week before and is pacing the 10km race as a recovery run, and folks who do a half pretty much every weekend during race season. I also chat to a lady who mixes pacing with stewarding and water station duties at other races, and I get to see her personal video of Sifan Hassan running past her station in London the week before. There's a lot of camaraderie and war stories on offer, and as the new boy I feel instantly welcome. We hang out for a good while, holding each other's flags while we use the toilets.

Despite the company, it is a long wait, and I can see now why pacers always seem to congregate at the front of their wave—because they're the first people there. Now, this has always been a bugbear of mine: if your target pacer is at the front of the wave it can be very hard to find them and to get close enough to them to meaningfully use them hence my plan:

Try to get into the middle of the wave, not the front

I hang out with my fellow pacers for a good chunk of time, then move off to take my position, right in the middle of my wave.

My race

A few folks find me in the starting pen, introduce themselves, and say they're hoping for 2h10m. I let them know my basic plan: a little slow at the start, gain some time back after the first drink (we have a long gradual descent) and then basically steadily build up a buffer. I let them know I know where drinks and hills are, and will call them out when we are close.

And then we're off.

My plan basically works. The first mile isn't as bunched as I expected, but we take it steady. I know a number of people who found me in the first mile seem to fade from me a bit, but also I know I have a flag on my back and they don't need to be on my heels to key into the time off me.

I run a little too fast down Pershore Road toward the 10km mark. It's harder here to cool my pace down and I really have to work on it. This is the hardest mile or so of the run for me, as I am constantly checking and tamping down the pace.

The climb during mile 7 is a slow one and I'm glad to have built in time for people. I've planned for it with those near me "don't worry if I get ahead or you do; take the hill the way you take the hill, we'll all get together on the other side". I tend to attack hills of this size if it's my own run, but today I really work on being steady and I'm pleased with how this section goes. A lot of folks lock onto the flag here, noticeably picking up as I pass them—they may not be running my time, but it gives them something to regulate off. The hill has a tight turn at the top and I take a slow wide line to keep my flag in site for as long as possible, to try to drag as many people up the hill as I can.

Off the hill, we are back on Pershore Road toward Canon Hill Park. Essentially we're on a steady gentle descent for the rest of the day. We're running counter flow with people on their way to the hill and we give and get cheers from the 2h15m and 2h20m pace packs as they grab their drinks and prepare for the climb.

The course doesn't seem as busy with spectators as it has done in the past, and sometimes we're running past some quite sombre looking clutches of people. The pacer flag turns out to be quite powerful, allowing me some license to shout for a bit of life from them—like Delia Smith but sober and jogging.

Most times it works and we get a big whoop back. Kings Heath Running Club give a particularly strong response—cheers for that, gang.

Two people have been alongside me from the very start, Fay and Mike. I'm gently encouraging them to stretch on ahead now at any point "you're both looking great, I'm just bringing the tempo down a bit, but try to keep where you are now. I'll be just behind you, and if you do need to slow down just fall back in with me".

They both take this option for the last two miles. I can still see them until we get into the twists and turns of the last 1km through the back of Digbeth, and they're both waiting for me with massive grins when I come over the line, right on time (2:09:57 official chip time).

FAQs

I have had some legit frequently asked questions since I ran so here are the Qs and their As.

Was the flag heavy or annoying?

No, it wasn't at all. I am used to running with a vest and a pretty full pack, so maybe that helps. It didn't slip around, it was light, I basically forgot I had it.

Did you play music?

Great Run sent me out with a speaker, preloaded with curated "inspirational" music. I did try to run with it on for a little while, but it wasn't for me. The song choices weren't really anything I could get with, and I was working really hard to regulate pace—for me, having music on makes that harder because I naturally drive pace to whatever is playing. It was just hard to concentrate with it on. I also can't talk to people if I'm a walking PA system. Next time I'll leave the speaker behind. Sorry Great Run team!

Why did you want to pace?

I wanted to help other people to achieve something. It's a great feeling.

Did you have to pay to run

Your race entry is free, and you get all the same treats as everyone else (medal, shirt, goody bag, what have you). You do need to get yourself to the race so if it's not your home town it's quite a commitment.

Would you do it again?

100%.

What would you do differently?

I'd like to get the 2h00m slot, as that pace really suits me and would be physically a little easier for my stride—plus (selfishly!) there's a bit more cachet there as sub-2 is a big goal for a lot of people. I probably slightly over thought it, and next time I'd just aim to go 5-seconds per mile faster than the overall pace to get a buffer.

Did you have a big group of people?

There was a bigger gang of folks around me, chatting to me, for the first half of the race. Some people dropped in with us for a spell then kicked on or dropped off. There were other people who didn't want to chat but were definitely working off me, so even if you get to the point where you're "alone" you're most likely not. I had one person message me on Bluesky after the race to say they ran with me but didn't say hello during the race, which really did bring that point home for me.