What’s the Minimum Amount of Race-Pace Training You Need Before Hitting the Starting Line?

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. “When you train at those paces…it improves your body’s durability and allows you to hold on to that pace without spiking your heart rate or effort.”That said, runners should consider the minimum amount of time spent at race pace during training to prepare their bodies and minds for clocking the right speed when they hit the starting line. 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.What’s the Minimum Amount of Time You Need to Run at Race Pace? 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.“Miles can mean a different time at intensity depending on someone’s pace,” she explains. “A three-mile tempo at race pace may be enough of a stimulus for a 2:10 half marathoner, but would be too short of a stimulus for a 1:30 half marathoner.”On the flip side, a six-mile tempo at race pace might be too much for a 2:15 half marathoner, who might need an hour to complete the workout, but it’s the sweet spot for a 1:20 to 1:35 half marathoner, who would need just 30 to 45 minutes.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.Plus, Norris tells Runner’s World: “This amount of time is helpful in an honest assessment of your race pace. It’s harder to cheat.”In other words, if you’re three weeks out from race day and you can’t hold that pace without feeling gassed or being able to speak, you’re probably running too fast.McKirdy ups the minimum recommendation a bit; he suggests you aim for about 50 percent of your goal finishing time. If you’re aiming for a two-hour half marathon, he says you should be able to hold race pace for at least an hour in training. That said, the longer time you spend at race pace, the more time you’ll need for recovery.How Often Should You Train at Race Pace? Nearly all runners can benefit from touching race pace in training. But, McKirdy says, if you’re a first-timer at the half marathon or marathon, you may not need race pace practice in the same way a more experienced runner or a runner with a goal finishing time might. The training itself is novel and should be designed to get you to the finish line.For returning racers, when you’re about eight to 12 weeks out from race day, you can sprinkle race-pace work into one run about every other week, Norris says. Mixing up the paces earlier on raises your aerobic ceiling (a.k.a. improves your cardiovascular fitness), which gives you more room to improve at the half marathon and marathon paces. (Pace variety also keeps the workouts interesting and novel.)Once you’re within six to eight weeks of your race, she says to focus on race pace once a week.It’s important to understand that you won’t run 30 minutes at your half marathon pace out of the gate; this peak workout will come after weeks of building up to it, Norris says.For example, you’ll want to practice race pace in smaller chunks early on: 4 x 5 minutes with a 60-second recovery jog, 5 x 6 minutes, 3 x 10 minutes, and then 30 minutes straight.McKirdy says “touching on race pace” every week or every other week can help runners manage expectations and get exposure to that pace.“If you’re at the end of your marathon training segment and you can’t run an hour and 45 minutes at race pace for a four-hour goal, you’re in for some problems,” McKirdy tells Runner’s World.How to Determine Your Goal Race Pace When you’re building a training plan, you’ll need to determine what your goal race pace will be. Coaches emphasize that this goal race pace can change based on feedback from workouts—maybe it’s too aggressive or maybe it’s not aggressive enough.There are a few ways to determine your goal race pace:Use a shorter distance race result (5K, 10K, or half marathon) from the last six months and plug it into a race pace calculator. Just note that Norris says these results are often too aggressive and recommends runners add three to seven minutes to the finish time. From there, you will have a baseline goal race pace. If you’re experienced in pacing, try running an early-season workout at race effort and see what pace that aligns with, Norris says. For example, run a short tempo, 15 to 20 minutes, at half marathon effort—you should be able to speak phrases of four to six words—without looking at your watch. At the end of the workout, use the pace as a baseline as you head into your training.When to Adjust Your Goal Race Pace Training plans are not set in stone; you have the ability to make adjustments based on fitness, fatigue, life, and revised goals. Settling on a slower pace means you aren’t tapping your true potential. Pushing through a too-hard pace might leave you fatigued, burned out, or flailing at the finish.“These paces are meant to be refined and adjusted as you go through training,” Norris says.In the early weeks of training for your half marathon or marathon, Norris recommends focusing on effort instead of actual pace. “Then we can figure out the actual pace and make sure it’s not too hard as the workouts get longer,” she says.There’s an easy way to determine your paces are too slow, McKirdy says. “If you’re looking for maximum performance and you’re finishing singing a song, you’re not working hard [enough],” he says.But how do you determine if you’re running too hard?Norris says you should be able to hold full sentences while running marathon pace, even if you don’t want to. “You can pull back just five to 10 seconds per mile [to adjust],” she says.For the half marathon, Norris says you should be able to speak a long phrase, maybe four to six words. “You’re riding up against threshold pace,” she says.If your goal half marathon pace feels too aggressive, pull back five to 10 seconds per mile. If your breathing still feels too labored to speak, pull back another five to 10 seconds per mile.Race Pace Workouts The key to nailing race pace on event day is to practice it, even if it’s just the minimum amount of time.McKirdy and Norris lean heavily into two-mile repeats for half marathon prep. You can do these as a midweek workout or as part of a weekend long run.For example, try 2 x 2 miles at half marathon pace and work up to 3 x 2 miles and then 4 x 2 miles for more advanced runners. The minimum time recommendation—30 minutes—will fall somewhere between 2 x 2 miles and 3 x 2 miles.“Knowing how to pace over two miles and repeating it is a really good workout,” Norris says. “Psychologically, it’s easier, too, knowing you have the recovery and then go again.”McKirdy says the two-mile repeats can really help runners understand where they are, five to six weeks before race day. “This workout isn’t going to tell me everything, but it’s going to help me understand what an athlete might need.” If, for example, an athlete finishes two to three rounds with a couple minutes’ rest and is on their hands and knees, it’s time to rethink your goal pace.For marathon-paced workouts, Norris recommends holding race pace for six to eight miles within a long run of about 14 to 16 miles. That can meet the minimum requirement of 45 minutes, if, say, your race pace ranges from 8 minutes to 11 minutes per mile.“That will keep you honest,” she says. “It shows you how you tolerate your fueling [as long as you actually practice fueling] and how you handle the pace.”Heather is the former food and nutrition editor for Runner’s World, the author of The Runner’s World Vegetarian Cookbook, and a nine-time marathoner with a best of 3:23. She’s also proud of her 19:40 5K and 5:33 mile. Heather is an RRCA certified run coach.