If you’re eyeing a half or full marathon, chances are you have a finishing time goal in mind, particularly if it’s not your first go at the distance. And in order to achieve that goal, you’ll need to determine your race pace... and then practice running it. Over a 16-week training block, for example, the more workouts you run at race pace, the stronger you’ll feel holding it on the course.
But every coach or seasoned runner out there will tell you that while practicing race pace is incredibly important, you also shouldn’t run race pace for every single run. The benefits come from dosing it appropriately: too little and you won’t be ready for race day, too much and you’ll run into fatigue, injury, and burnout. Training at race pace “is important physiologically and psychologically,” says Laura Norris, an RRCA-certified running coach with a master’s in applied exercise science.
This minimum will depend on how fast your goal finishing time is, says James McKirdy, founder and head coach of McKirdy Trained. But here’s how to determine it, so you maximize your performance. The coaches who spoke with Runner’s World recommend a minimum amount of time spent at race pace instead of miles.
That’s because, Norris says, stimulus is not dependent on miles but on time at intensity. Norris points out that the minimum amount of race pace time should be done during the peak workout, which would be about three weeks before race day. For a half marathon, she recommends a block of at least 30 minutes at race pace, but not exceeding 60 minutes.
Although some plans and coaches might go over 60 minutes, Norris errs on the side of caution: “It’s not worth the risk of overreaching too much before a race, and 60-plus minutes at half marathon pace requires a lot of recovery,” she says. The more time spent at race pace also places a high mechanical stress, or force, on the body, which can increase the risk of injury, especially if form starts to falter under fatigue. For a marathon, Norris recommends one block of at least 45 minutes of race pace, but not exceeding 80 to 90 minutes, due to the time needed for recovery.
These time minimums provide adequate stimulus as you prepare for race day. You’ll teach your body to use carbohydrates efficiently, and improve the ability to clear lactate, even as the intensity increases. When your body works at race pace for this amount of time, your muscles and neural pathways adapt, improving overall running economy.
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