【News buddy】配速員引領跑手 完成心目中馬拉松
【原文】摘錄自2月8日香港《文匯報》：渣打香港馬拉松2025（渣馬）在9日舉行，加緊備戰的除了74,000名參賽者，還有一班配速員（Pacer）。今屆的配速員陣容中，其中一名是第二年參加的梁樂文（Coco），她表示從跑步中找到快樂後，自然也希望把這份快樂傳遞，亦因而踏上成為配速員的道路，把參賽者按目標時間安全送到終點，看到跑手完成目標衝線的笑容，是長跑世界的另一種快樂。
跑步向來是一種自我的運動，不需要配合別人，成也自己，敗也自己。配速員，是一個必須把跑步看得比單純一項運動更重要，必須全心全意喜歡它，才能將這份熱情感染予周遭的人。Coco為何會選擇當上配速員？那就要從跑步的初衷—減肥開始說起。
「2019年接觸長跑，主要是想減肥同想身體健康一點。」Coco笑說。眼前的她身材苗條，身上沒有一塊多餘的贅肉，一點也看不出來曾經需要減肥。她指當時試過最高峰體重60幾公斤，日日跑步至少一小時，曾經減到40多公斤。她回想當時因為毫無章法跑步而跑傷，脛骨骨裂而入了急症，卻碰巧遇上跟隨跑會跑步的急症醫生，便介紹了她加入「飛達跑會」。從此，跑步再不是一個人的運動。
Coco笑着說起自己如何因為減肥而發掘自己的另一面，又因為跑步認識更多跑友，就更對跑步着迷。她由10公里到轉向長跑才數年，2022年首個渣馬半馬已跑出Sub-2的1小時43分，現在最佳時間是1小時33分，擔任配速員絕對綽綽有餘。她去年首次在渣馬為參賽者領航，今屆將第二次幫助跑手在1小時50分內衝線。
她在跑步中找到快樂，也希望把這份快樂傳遞。為了在渣馬穩定配速達到目標時間，除了恒常的跑會練習，Coco近大半年一星期最多兩日參與配速員的特訓備戰。跑手在配速員帶領下，不需要顧着速度而放鬆做好自己節奏、做好跑姿去完成賽事。正因這一份使命，Coco努力撐過訓練周期，不為別的，只為帶領跑手衝過那條終點線，完成他們心目中的馬拉松。
去年在渣馬半馬當配速員，終點前被越過一幕，是她最難忘又感動的畫面。「一班人一齊衝線真的好開心」，她回想去年擔任配速員後收到參加者的訊息，「事後有很多人Inbox多謝我，『終於跑到兩小時內』、『PB（個人最佳成績）好開心』，收到好多多謝說話，好鼓勵到我，令我想到以前都曾經有個目標想完成，最後可以達成的喜悅。」這也是為何她放棄在渣馬追求成績，寧願成人之美，幫助參賽者跑出目標時間。
她坦言不會因為要領航而感到壓力，「沒特別大壓力，做自己鍾意做的事，放鬆心情跑步。」作為參加者，也想被這個笑容滿面、渾身散發正能量的配速員帶領吧。Coco認為自身的能量，絕對會影響並肩同行的跑手，「Pacer的心態很重要，自己一舉一動都會影響到跑手當時的心情和狀況，自己帶跑是開心的話，他們心情也會較正面地去跑步。」她鼓勵任何想跑到目標時間的參加者，都可在比賽日加入指定時間的配速團。
從單純想減肥，到為了一同完成半馬目標，Coco學習散播熱忱與快樂，學習讓自己變得強大，最終成長到足以帶人前行。「跑步不是為了成績，更重要其實是過程」，她跑的每一公里，都是學習成為更好的自己，更好的配速員。
Pacer Guide Athletes to Chace Their ideal Marathon
【譯文】The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2025 (Standard Chartered Marathon) was held on February 9, and apart from the 74,000 participants, there was also a group of pacers who were gearing up for the race. One of this year's pacers, Coco Leung, is a second-year participant. She said that after finding joy in running, she naturally wanted to spread the joy and thus became a pacer. Delivering participants safely to the finish line according to the target time and seeing the runners' smiles as they cross the line after accomplishing their goals is another joy in long-distance running!
Running has always been a self-motivated sport. There is no need to cooperate with others,success or failure depends on the individual. A pacer is a person who must value running more than just a sport and loves it wholeheartedly to spread this passion to the people around him. So why did Coco choose to become a pacer? It all starts with the original purpose of running, which is to lose weight.
"I started running in 2019 mainly because I wanted to lose weight and be healthier," Coco laughs. She has a slim figure, with no extra pounds on her body, and she doesn't look like she's ever had to lose weight. She says that at that time, she had a peak weight of more than 60 kilograms and once lost more than 40 kilograms after running for at least an hour daily. She recalls that she had a tibia fracture and was admitted to the emergency room because of a running injury she sustained while running without any rules, but she happened to meet an emergency doctor who was running with the club and introduced her to joining the Pacers Athletics Club. Since then, running is no longer a solo sport.
Coco laughs as she describes how her weight loss led her to discover a different side of herself and how she became even more fascinated by running as she met more runners. It's only been a few years since she made the switch from 10km to long-distance running, and she's already running a Sub-2 of 1 hour 43 minutes for her first half-marathon at the Jammu in 2022, with a best time of 1 hour 33 minutes, which is more than enough for her to be a pacer. She debuted at the Jags last year as a navigator and will be helping runners cross the line in under 1 hour and 50 minutes for the second time this year.
She finds joy in running and naturally wants to spread that joy. To stabilize her pace and achieve her target time in the Marathon, Coco has been participating in the special training for pacers at most twice a week for the past six months, in addition to her regular running club practice. Under the guidance of the pacers, runners don't need to worry about speed; they can relax, do their rhythm, and run well to finish the race. It is this mission that Coco strives to endure through the training cycle for no other reason than to lead the runners to cross the finish line and complete the marathon they have in mind.
Last year, when she was a pacer in the Standard Chartered Half-Marathon, the scene of being crossed before the finish line was one of her most unforgettable and touching images. She recalled the messages she received from the participants after she became a pacer last year, "Many people thanked me in the Inbox afterwards, 'finally ran under 2 hours', 'so happy with the PB', I received so many thank yous and encouragement, which reminded me of the joy of achieving a goal that I had wanted to accomplish in the past, and I was able to do so at the end of the day. That's why she had gave up pursuing results in the Standard Chartered Marathon and preferred to help participants achieve their target times.
She admits that she doesn't feel any pressure because she has to lead the race, "I don't feel any pressure, I just do what I want to do and run in a relaxed mood. "As a participant, you want to be led by a smiling pacer who exudes positive energy. Coco believes that her energy will affect the runners who are running alongside her, "Pacer's mentality is critical; every move you make will affect the mood and condition of the runners at that time, and if you happily lead the run, they will be in a positive mood to run. "She encourages all participants who want to run to their target time to join the pace group for a specific time on race day.
From simply wanting to lose weight to completing a half-marathon together, Coco has learned to spread enthusiasm and happiness, become strong, and eventually grow enough to lead others. "Running is not about performance; it's more about the process." She learns to become a better version of herself and a better pacer every kilometre she runs.
●琬琰
