The usual way in which pace is represented is in the context of time per distance (speed), so I can see how someone new to running might misunderstand this. They get told by their watch or another runner to run at a consistent pace and then try to maintain an exact speed at all times.

Generally people are too reliant on technology and what they’ve read on social media now, rather than common sense and learning via trial and error. They can fall into these traps of misunderstanding something and then continuing to do it even when their experience suggests it is wrong because they blindly trust technology and groupthink.