ITR's favorite podiatrist volunteered for a new role at his last marathon---and found it fun and rewarding.

These fellows wear their "Blue Dots" so they can find each other more easily. PHOTO BY KAREN THIBODEAUX.

At one time you were totally "on your own" when you decided to complete a marathon. You read up on training in a book or magazine, then picked a schedule that appealed to you. Come race day, you prayed you were properly prepared to go all the way.

Unfortunately, many first-timers then either set an unrealistic pace, or forgot their game plan in the excitement of the " big day." It took personal experience to realize that even pacing was the best way to guarantee a finish. Only the best runners had the benefit of a coach to guide their training, or teammates to help set the pace.

Today, however, the first-time marathoner has more advantages than his counterpart of a few years ago. In addition to marathon clinics galore and training groups like Austin Fit (or Dallas Fit, Houston, Fit, etc.) to get one to the start line with confidence, the novice can now run the marathon with his or her very own pacer. This assistance allows more and more first timers to "stay within themselves" and complete the 26.2 mile event.

I believe the idea of volunteer pacers originated at the New York City Marathon some years back, but wherever it started it caught on quickly and spread to marathons across the country. In Texas, the Motorola Austin and Compaq Houston Marathons have been offering volunteer pacers for the last couple of years. Runners prepared to run, say, a 4:30 marathon, just sign up at the marathon's expo and are assigned to a group targeting that finish time. The group will then have the guidance of a veteran of ten or more marathons to set the pace needed to meet the goal.

When I went to the George R. Brown Convention Center in mid-January to register for the Compaq Houston Marathon, the last thing on my mind was to be a pacer. While I had completed dozens of marathons, I was behind on my marathon training. After stopping all running activity from April until July of last year due to a bout of plantar fasciitis, I had carefully resumed my running. By the fall, I was pain-free and back to a regular routine. Still, with less than optimal training, I had decided to run only half of the marathon.

Those plans changed on Friday before the Compaq Houston Marathon. As I walked up to the veteran's desk, Arlen Isham was busily coordinating the pacers. I remembered Dr. Bill Van Pelt wearing a pacer "dot" and visor the previous year, but I was trying to stick to my resolve when Arlen told me they really needed someone to pace at 4:30.

End of discussion. I'm one of those people who rarely says no to volunteering, so I asked if I could pace at 10:00 minutes per mile.

"No problem, just let them know at the beginning of the race," Arlen said. "Welcome aboard!!"

There were two reasons why I decided to become a pacer. One was due to the injury, and the need to "confine" myself to run a slow, well thought-out marathon. The other was to give back to the Marathon what it had given me. I had in many previous years volunteered with the medical corps, but now I could kill two birds with one stone.

At the start I offered about 20 rookies the opportunity to pace at 10 minutes per mile, finishing at 4:22, while taking 20- to 30-second water stop walks. Many of my crew were excited about the choice, particularly about having the opportunity to walk the water stops. My group became the "blue dots," while other pacer groups had different colors that would help them stay together.

I prepared them and helped them to visualize each mile.

We really had a lot of fun at times, chanting our name to other runners, and to the crowds. We began singing cheers about our dot color. As we walked the water stops, I felt like a camp counselor herding children back into line. At other times, I felt like a Marine Corps sergeant: "Okay, folks, let's go, c'mon back in line, gotta keep the pace!!" It was a wonderful feeling.

One of the more fun elements was to predict if we were on pace. As the mile callers shouted out 9:57 or 9:58, we would all start hollering and cheering. At the halfway point, I encouraged them to take it slowly up that hill. They appreciated it a short time later. That was about the time when my crew asked me what I did for a living. When I told them I was a foot specialist, they could not believe they had their own personal doc on board.

Because of my hyper hydration, I made frequent "pit stops." We all know what it's like to find our friends after stopping even for 30 seconds, but my group hung together and were easy to spot. When I rejoined them, it was like greeting family, and we all felt secure once again. We kept an eye out for each other, and kept the conversations flowing.

"Stay off the concrete!" I repeated often. Whenever there was an opportunity to run on asphalt versus concrete, that was the admonition. Asphalt is easier on the feet, as they soon found out.

The group became my children, and they referred to me as their "fearless leader." As we neared the 20 mile marker, I knew my inadequate preparation would soon rear its ugly head, and began to feel fatigue and tightness. I told the group to fight on and remember all the tips I had gone over earlier. I assured them I would be right behind them and not let anyone finish after me.

I did not see anyone crawl behind me, even with my 4:41 finish. I had accomplished my goal, and felt better than I had in years.

The Blue Dots were reunited at the finish, congratulating each other. I was elated not only for my own personal success, but for these first timers. I helped make their day, and it was an experience I will never forget.

Later on, I talked to several other veteran pacers to get their reactions.

Richard Campbell (3:30) I lead the slower people in the 3:30 group. I held very close to an 8-minute pace through all 26.2 miles. I was sorry that I lost the last of the people I started with by mile 18, but there was no way to make 3:30 if I slowed down. Starting a few miles earlier and continuing for most of the rest of the marathon, I caught up to people from another pacer's group who had slowed down. They were getting tired and could no longer keep an 8-minute pace, although they were running only slightly off pace when I saw them. About mile 23, I saw a person with a red dot (3:30 group) who was about 30 yards ahead of me, and he was staying pretty close to an 8-minute pace. I caught up to him the last mile and let him know he had 15 seconds to spare to keep an overall pace of 8:00 minutes per mile. Towards the end, he was able to speed up and finish ahead of me! I finished at 3:29:31 and we both met our goals. I just wish that everyone in the 3:30 group would have met their goals.

Bob McDowell (3:45 Pacer) I really enjoyed being a pacer in the marathon. All seven runners who started with me came up after the race to thank me for helping them set the pace. After listening to past Olympian Jeff Galloway at the Expo on Saturday, I decided to walk at the water stations, and it really helped my legs. We walked 30 seconds at the water stops, starting at mile 3, and stayed with that plan throughout. None of the other runners had tried that, either, and were skeptical. But all agreed it proved to be a good plan. I enjoyed getting to know the other runners in my pace group and to help take their mind off the race. It was a good feeling to know you helped other runners reach their goal. I think I'll volunteer as a pacer again next year (maybe for 4 hours, instead of 3:45)! The Elite Runner pass for the bathrooms was a nice benefit also!

Lonnie Brauner (4:15 pace) Thanks for the opportunity! It was fun and a new way of running a marathon. I went out in 2:01 to the half with the idea the second half would be hot and slower by 8 to 10 minutes. Most of the runners with us were fine with that and ran very well! It turned out that it never got that hot and we ended 10 minutes faster than planned. There were a couple of PRs and there were some tears flowing from a few first timers!!! That was great!!

Cheryl Trimbur (5:00 pacer) The night before the race I had chills and flu-like symptoms. Race day morning I felt significantly sub-par, but filled with adrenaline. I went to the church service and prayed my one-month training regimen and whatever illness I had would not impact my pacing efforts. The two gentleman who stuck by my side were great fun. We talked and joked the whole way, and I'm proud to say we hit the half-way mark exactly on 5-hour pace. We maintained that exact pace until mile 22. I ran over to get some supplies from my husband and my coworker. My pace group fell apart at this point. The guy who felt the freshest picked up the pace and ran ahead. The other guy fell back. I tried to catch up with the faster guy to see if he would go under 5:00. But I went out too hard and my I.T. band seized up, so I backed off and hoped the slower gentleman would catch up. I crossed the line alone, but I was not alone for long. The runner who went ahead did break 5:00 and was waiting to thank me. That made the day totally worth it for me. I wish I could have found the other gentleman who diligently stuck to the pace. I would highly recommend pacing to anyone. See you next year!

So as you can see from pacers and first-time runners alike, the pacing program for the marathon really works. It creates an important bond between runners. In some cases, it creates lasting friendships. I will always remember the great feeling I had when I hugged and congratulated my "blue dots." I encourage any veteran to volunteer and share in this fulfilling experience.

Dr. Ross is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine. If you have any questions that you would like answered, contact Dr. Jeffrey Ross at 6624 Fannin St. Suite 2450, Houston, TX 77030, fax (713) 790-9439, or e-mail JROSS67785@AOL.COM.