Meet the Runner Who Leads Every Pack and Then Vanishes

It was a sign of things to come, though not right away.

After most of the 2020 schedule was wiped out by the coronavirus pandemic, Sowinski returned in 2021. His mind-set then was the same as ever: to compete as an 800-meter runner. But after he raced in New York that May, an official for a top-tier meet in Gateshead, England, approached him about pacing the men’s 1,500 meters there — exactly two days later.

Sowinski boarded a trans-Atlantic flight and arrived hours before the meet. He proceeded to do “a good job,” he said — good enough that his pacing services were in demand later that week at another meet in Qatar. On the elite track and field circuit, word began to spread about Sowinski’s metronomic abilities. That summer, he paced about a dozen races in nearly as many countries.

As a full-time 800-meter runner, Sowinski never had to worry much about tempo or tactics since the event is basically an exaggerated sprint. He could turn his brain off.

“You’re just going out there and kind of dying,” he said.

The mile is different, more measured. Runners like Nuguse and Ingebrigtsen want even, consistent laps. And there is pressure on the pacer to get it right. Go out too hard, and an oxygen-deprived field could blow apart. Go out too slow, and the race could turn into a traffic jam.

“You want to be able to deliver for those guys,” said Olli Hoare, an elite miler who has dabbled with pacing for teammates at longer distances. “What Erik does is a gift.”

Sowinski hopes he has more opportunities ahead of him.

“It’s never felt like work,” he said, “and it still doesn’t.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/25/sports/erik-sowinski-pacer.html