The horn sounds and you dash off only to realize a mile or two down the road that you’re running 30 seconds—or more!—faster than your goal marathon pace. Whoops. That’s the most common error in marathon racing.
Savvy racers, on the other hand, start out slow and run the second half of the marathon faster than the first—a negative split. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back Run your first 10 miles about 5-6 seconds per mile slower than your goal pace Races & Places.
Executing such a plan, however, takes discipline. The simple 10-10-10 race strategy takes out all the complexity and, when run properly, ensures you’ll avoid the dreaded wall at 20 miles.
Run your first 10 miles about 5-6 seconds per mile slower than your goal pace:
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- Run your second 10 miles right on goal pace—no faster!
- A Deep Core Workout for Run Performance.
Run your first 10 miles about 5-6 seconds per mile slower than your goal pace Runner's World, guiding the brand's shoes and gear coverage. A true shoe dog, he's spent more than a decade testing and reviewing shoes. In 2017, he ran in 285 different pairs of shoes, including a streak of 257 days wearing a different model.
