> You have pacers in most "official" races. Plenty of pacers in 5K's, 10K's, 15Ks, and Halfs.

So you confirm that this term is obvious for people who are familiar with races in general. I’m not and don’t even know what units those K’s are in. I’m going to presume kilometers, but who knows.

> I assume a patternmaker is someone who focuses on making patterns, probably novel, with sewing and crocheting

> Yep, seems close enough. Amazing what one can do with basic logic

The only thing they have in common is textiles. This is as close as saying people who know how to edit HTML/CSS are coders or scriptmonkeys are hackers.

No shit I know the word pacer means someone who keeps pace. What that means in context and culture is a different thing.