It’s not like it’s unprecedented.
When Doylestown native Josh Izewski toes the line as an official “pacer” for the 2025 Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 23, he’s hoping to lead the field for about 22 miles and help inspire a new course record.
The current standard is just over 2:13.
Having already recorded a personal-best 2:11.09 in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2024, Izewski admits if he feels good around 35 kilometers, he just might not stop.
After all, that was the case with Paul Pilkington at the 1994 Los Angeles Marathon. He was still going strong at 20 miles, so he kept going and crossed the finish line first.
Likewise Simon Biwott at the 2000 Berlin Marathon and Jake Smith at the 2021 Cheshire Elite Marathon.
Reached at his home in Blowing Rock, N.C., the 35-year-old winner of the 2025 Broad Street 10-Miler in Philadelphia admits he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of going after the course record himself.
“I’ve paced unofficially in marathons before,” Izewski said in a telephone interview. “The new coordinator for Philly this year is trying to go after the course record.
“Since I’m running a marathon in Arizona in December, this is a good opportunity to use the race here as a workout.”
Izewski, 35, said a number of marathons use pacers. They seem to be coming more into vogue as races look to break course records.
“Certain races (like Boston) don’t allow them,” Izewski said. “Marathons like Chicago and Berlin, they have men who pace the women. That’s why you see so many fast times at those races.”
The Central Bucks East High School and University of Florida grad said it will take about a 5:07, 5:08 per-mile pace to break the Philadelphia record, much of which goes along the Schuylkill River.
“I’ll try to run that for about 35K,” Izewski reiterated. “Right after you come out of Manayunk (around 22 miles).”
According to Izewski, this venture will be a bit easier than trying to tackle a long, difficult training session on his own.
There’s nothing like the sounds of the “Rocky” theme song to get the blood moving a little quicker.
“And it’s a good excuse to come up to Philly, see family, see a bunch of people,” Izewski said with a chuckle. “It’s a marathon I wanted to do at some point.”
Izewski recently ran the Gold Coast Marathon in Australia for the third time and persevered through some stomach troubles to finish seventh in 2:11.
He had a chance to do a “Philly Double” by winning both Broad Street and the Philadelphia Distance Run (which was held on Sunday) in the same year. Was that tempting? Not many have done it, much less in the same year.
“After running Gold Coast, I was planning to come up there and do the Philly 10K,” Izewski said. “And the Wyoming 10-Miler. But I was dealing with a minor hamstring issue, so I wound up not running either one.”
Fortunately, things are getting back to normal.
“The PDR is on my list of races to win, along with Philly,” he said. “Try to hit the three biggest races in Philly. So maybe next year.”
In the Philadelphia Marathon, it could come down to whether Izewski has a legitimate shot at the course record as to whether he decides to finish.
“I’m probably just going to pace,” he said. “It depends how it plays out. If I think I can finish top three. . .it also depends on whether they allow a pacer to actually finish. It will probably be a split-second decision. If I get to 21 or so, I might just decide to run the last four or five and finish.
“It would be cool to win two of the big ones (Broad Street the other) in the same year.”
As for 2026, Izewski would like to successfully defend his Broad Street title and possibly set a new course record there as well. He won in 2025 by more than two minutes. The target time for a record is something in just over 45 minutes.
When he isn’t chasing records, Izewski stays busy coaching other runners. That’s likely the direction he’s going as his running career winds down. Right now the big target is the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics Marathon. After that, it’s play it by ear.
“That could be the end of my career, I’m not sure,” he said. “If I’m still running fast then, we’ll find out. If that is the end, I still have three years now. I’ll use them the best I can.
“With the coaching, I’m trying to form more of a business with it. It’s a slow go to start – social media stuff, making contacts, getting your name out there. My goal will be to coach, help people, give them some of what I’ve learned over my career.”
>Race calendar
>Saturday
Andy Schram Memorial 5K, 9 a.m., Richboro. Contact https://andyschramfoundation.org
Maria Middleton Memorial Think Hope 5K, 8 a.m., Peace Valley Park, Doylestown. Contact www.runsignup.com
>Sunday
5K Any Way and Color Fun Run for Accessibility, 9 a.m., Lower Makefield/Yardley. Contact www.runsignup.com
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