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WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A PACER
By Kate Dzienis
In WA, Andrew ‘Felix’ Poli is a trails frontrunner. He’s one of those natural athletes who grew up loving the great outdoors, always on a wild adventure with his brother, and just going where the wind would take him.
I met Poli in the first couple years of my start to running about four years ago, with one of the poignant memories being his fourth position finish at a night time trail race back in 2015. The last three kilometres or so of the event was a full-on descent, with makeshift limestone steps along a waterfall, and only the light of the moon to go by (and the mandatory headlamp, of course), and I recall chatting with him at the finish line about ‘how in the world can you go so fast down those steps?’.
To Poli, he said it was all about confidence – not being afraid to take that extra step (no pun intended) and just go for it.
It’s that confidence in his own athleticism that makes for a fantastic pacer, and the Ellenbrook local is known in his running circle for his encouragement and drive to help others in their personal run journeys.
Most recently, Poli put his hand up to volunteer at the inaugural Delirious W.E.S.T 200 Miler, where he ended up with last minute pacing duties for three participants, including AURA member Wayne McMurtrie and two international starters, and performed sweeping duties as well as aid station work.
In total, across four days Poli ran 150kms, give or take, and he reveals one of the most important factors to consider was having to adjust to the types of runners he was pacing.
“I’d run with Wayne before, incidentally he had paced me to my first 100 about five years ago, so it was nice to return the favour this year at Delirious,” he says.
“After I did about 50km with Wayne, I did the usual volunteer duties including chauffeuring runners at a ferry crossing, but while doing that, I heard one of the international starters was quite a bit lost…he lost a few decent hours, and after he finally found the relevant aid station, the volunteers and I caught up to him and decided he really needed a pacer.
“I put my hand up, got my gear back on, and off we went.”
“I’m actually really sure I wouldn’t have finished.
“That was certainly an eye opener for me in terms of seeing how important and useful pacing is to someone. A pacer becomes a part of the whole event, without having to go through the entire race.”
Seeing your runner cross that finish line is emotionally enjoyable, and it’s important to not only take care of them throughout the event, but to also ensure your needs are met too with the proper fuel and injury-prevention tools. And when pacing a runner, just remember to be yourself – if you are a talker, then talk your heart out; if not, then run in silence. But your runner will always find a way to indicate what they need or want from you.
It’s all about reading them like an open book, and adjusting to their personalities so that they can get to their end goal. Standing on the side lines, it’s just not quite the same, is it?
Pictured: Andrew Poli. Photograph – Suzanne Poli.
Pictured 2: Poli at Delirious W.E.S.T (second from right) with participants and crew at an aid station. Photograph – Supplied/Facebook.
Pictured 3: Poli in red at the finish line of Delirious W.E.S.T with Wayne McMurtrie (in orange) and his support crew. Photograph – Supplied/Facebook.
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