The article uses the term pacer and rabbit but never really explained what function exactly this type of runner performed for the race organizers. They only alluded to this when mentioning other runners depending on the pacer. A little confused who the intended reader for this article is. I had to follow up with a Wikipedia search where just the usage of the term “pacemaker” or “pacesetter” made things more clear.
So you did a Wikipedia search for it, then came back to write a comment about it, whilst also not explaining it either?
It is easier to run behind someone and match their pace than it is to lead a race. It is also easier to run faster for shorter distances. A rabbit is someone that runs a fast pace for less than the full race distance so the real racers can be pulled through the early miles and save energy for their push to the finish.
Races want runners to run fast times, because that makes them prestigious. Runners want to run fast times, for obvious reasons. So races provide rabbits which lures fast runners to those races.