Negative Splits vs Steady Pace
Negative Splits vs Steady Pace
Race Day Planning
Races have to be planned out.
You cannot show up to a race and just wing it, you will not end up happy—either leaving time on the table or blowing up.
So what are the two main ways to run a race?:
Negative Splits
“Go out slow and easy for the first few miles, settle into your pace for the middle portion, then kick at the end”.
Steady Pace
“Start at race-pace for your intended time finish and hold it for the entire race.”
The 3rd option (never, ever, do this)
Positive splits
“Start as fast as you can and progressively run slower until your finish”. (Usually defined as a “bonk” where you are walking at the end,
Here’s an example of a negative split marathon:
Simply defined, negative splits are around a ~3 miles rolling average faster pace than the previous 3 miles.
Meaning your next 3 miles will on average, be faster than your previous 3, every 3 miles!
The above scenario was a marathon where this anon ran at an average of ~8:40min/mile.
He started out slower than intended race pace, hovering above 9 minutes/mile. From there he dropped the pace to intended goal pace ~8:40, and took advantage of the downhill sections (you see see negative net elevation miles were generally quicker). This will offset the sower uphill portions you see.
Mile 23-26 was a perfect kick, where he started running an average of ~8min/mile, well below race pace. This offset the beginning miles, some of the uphill sections, and then shave off time from his intended finish. Win all around.
Example of a Steady Pace Marathon:
Steady pace marathon will hold, with ~5-10 seconds of latency, a pace that will remain constant throughout the entire race.
The above is extremely close to a perfect steady pace run, with the average pace finishing at 7:52 min/mile.
This anon ran 10 of his miles at exact race-pace (7:51-7:52 min/mile), I’m giving him the 1 second latency.
Granted, the last 3 miles slipped away and lost him 30 seconds, which can be the difference between a PR or qualifying time depending on age, but still a well-executed race!
Steady Pace Vs Negative Splits Graph:
*Read “Goal Pace” as Steady Pace. (Your Marathon Pace you intend to hold then entire race").
Negative splits = green line
Steady pace = dashed “Goal Pace”
Positive splits (don’t do this) = red line
When to Use Each:
Basic rules are as follows:
Tangible goal with a hard time ceiling? —> Steady Pace
Running with a loose time range goal? —> Negative Splits
Idiot? —> Positive Splits
Example of a tangible goal: The Boston Marathon
When running for a tangible goal, say a qualifying time to a World Major Marathon, you do *not* want to risk starting to slow and rely on negative splits. You trained hard and long for a reason, there is *zero* sense in going out slow.
I can confirm with experience, that going out too slow—missing a qualifying finish and leaving time on the table—is exponentially worse than giving it your all at race pace and fading at the end. (Reasons for fade could be overtraining, undertraining, poor nutrition, recover/taper, etc.)
An example of a intangible or “loose” goal would be trying to break 4-hours for the first time. FYI:
Whichever your goal is will decide the plan on race day. All I beg you is to have a goal that is “reasonable”. I quote reasonable, because the goal should actually be on the edge of what you physically *can* do. Races are meant to be raced and nothing left out there.
Finding your absolute edge without falling out is a hard thing to predict, but this is why we train hard and track our metrics.
Leading metrics for tracking maximum achievable pace across 26 miles:
10K PR
Peak long run performance
Mid week tempo splits
Miles Per week
Tested VO2 max
Mix it all together and you have a race pace. Knowing what ingredients to use and how much of each is the hard part…
Until next time…
-BTR