I don't know, but define a pacer ?! Someone with better ability to pace than yourself? Someone of lesser endurance willing to run a half race at a pace they can't sustain, but you can? What's the difference between having a pacer and another world class competitor trying to beat you that brings out your best ?

What about slip streaming? Should we regard records differently where the winner stayed with the pack until a final sprint as opposed to front running the whole race?

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casey2 7 hours ago | parent [-]

Obviously. These are 2 different sports. There's a reason the front of a plane or boat looks different to the sides. They carefully paint these lines on the ground then ignore them.

It's annoying watching the guy in first just stop running after 2 minutes.

	▲	HarHarVeryFunny 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> It's annoying watching the guy in first just stop running after 2 minutes. Perhaps, but in terms of the runner following the pacer there is no advantage vs them following someone in same class as themselves that can sustain that pace to the end of the race. It's certainly interesting to question how much modern gear has advanced records in some sports, but there are so many other variables too, some that change over time such as nutrition and training methods, and then factors such as individual genetics or even country/altitude of origin that mean records can never be exactly compared.