On Friday night, a shopping center in the Senayan area was bustling. The mall, which is usually filled with visitors for shopping, was now filled with hundreds of runners in Jakarta who are members of the Skolari community.

Skolari is a community that always provides space for education about running techniques. The commotion that night increased when the training session began. Accompanied by light from the towering buildings around it, hundreds of people immediately stood in a row. 

They swiftly took their steps and did a little running on the spot or ankling, a technique to strengthen the ankles. Slightly tiptoeing and sprinting, the runners followed the instructor who gave the signal.

"Whoahhh," the participants exclaimed as they exhaled.

The runners also did the plank, a movement of holding the body position in a straight line, from head to toe by resting on the arms and toes. The runners seemed eager to follow every movement given by the instructor in front. 

Occasional shouts were heard, which made the atmosphere more lively. Bobby, 38, was one of the participants. The man who holds the position of deputy director and business partner at one of the private banks admitted that he has been running as a routine sport for several years. 

"I initially took up running for health reasons. While pursuing pacers for the past two years," Bobby told SUAR when met at the training location.

Pacer or pacemaker in the running world serves as a guardian of the running rhythm given certain targets. For example, if a runner wants to reach a target of 10 km within a few hours, then the pacer 's job is to keep the runner in a stable rhythm.

Pacers are usually seen with special signs such as balloons, boards, or T-shirts bearing their target time. For example, "SUB 65" for a target of 65 minutes.

"This can be done as a side job, not a main job," Bobby told SUAR, Thursday night, (24/07/2025).

A lucrative paycheck

Being a pacer today is not just a hobby, but can also increase income. With honorariums ranging from Rp500,000 to Rp2.5 million, running pacers are now arguably one of the side jobs with lucrative honorariums. 

Bobby claimed to have been a pacer for the CEO of a Singaporean bank at a running event. He admitted that he pursued pacer to increase his income.

"The pay as a pacer in each event varies. In one running event, pacers are usually paid Rp1.5 million," he said.

Yanuar Mariansi, 37, admitted that he has joined the Skolari running community for four years. Apart from health demands, he has been running since 2018 as a hobby.

"I used to have an unhealthy lifestyle and now I'm starting to exercise more," said the man, who wore a yellow T-shirt.

The man who works as head division of sales marketing in a private company admitted that he has been a pacer for the last 2 years for several running events with the farthest distance of 21 kilometers.

However, he has his own views on pacer fees . Yanuar only does this as a hobby, not for additional income.

"Even though I have a position in the office, if it's a pacer, I don't think about how much the fee is," said Yanuar.

"Even though I have a position in the office, if it's a pacer, I don't think about how much the fee is," said Yanuar.

He thinks that being a pacer actually makes him want to be recognized by many people. 

''But being a pacer has its own insight, yes, actually. So it's easier to be recognized by people. And, maybe the people chosen by the pacer are actually not random people," he said. 

According to Yanuar, to be a pacer, the person must have enough experience and flight hours to be able to guide the runners to the finish line.

He said a pacer can be paid Rp1.5 million to Rp2.5 million per running event. 

But with a tantalizing paycheck, of course a lot of training is undertaken and certain selections are made.

''He may be seen personally, seen in terms of mileage. Maybe his profile is suitable or not with the event or something like that. That's a long qualification," said Yanuar. 

Another pacer, Wulan, just to name one, said that being a pacer provides many benefits. Apart from providing financial benefits, pacers also provide opportunities to network with many people.

"Thank God, yes, since becoming a pacer, there have been so many benefits. So, for example, we definitely pacer the community every week," said Wulan, who works as an officer at one of the leading beauty clinics in Indonesia.

Wulan has been a pacer since 2023. When asked about the fee, Wulan said that what she received was still relatively small, but enough to increase her income.

"Mostly if there are small events, yes. The maximum range is around Rp500,000," he said.

''If you can earn more, why not. So this pacer can also be used to increase pocket money," said Wulan.