Team RunRun coach Jay Bates shares his tips on how using your watch can help you get the most out of marathon day!
“The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one’s self. And the arbitrariness of the constraint serves only to obtain precision of execution.”
—Igor Stravinski, Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor
Here’s a common statement from running coaches: you cannot win the marathon in the first mile, but you certainly can lose it.
Marathon Pacing Problems
The error has happened to many runners. They get to the starting line feeling fresh and fit and fully tapered. There’s a bounce in their step, an extra gear in their gait that was not present when they started the training block. They have anticipated this moment for sixteen, twenty, or twenty-four weeks. And now the gun is imminent.
Anticipation leads to impulse behavior, so the runner decides at the last moment to move up in the starting corral. They squeeze through the crowd to the pacing group five or ten minutes ahead. It makes sense. The body feels good. And let’s be honest: there is a little bit of worry that if we start out slower than our intended finishing pace, we might not catch up. So we listen to impulse rather than discipline.
The first ten miles are easy. Confidence is high and the fueling plan is followed.
But here’s the problem. This wasn’t the pace that they trained to run. Going out too fast—or faster than what they have trained to race—leads to burning glycogen faster than planned and depleting fat reserves earlier than anticipated. The result is the “wall” or a “bonk.” A runner can do everything right with training and nutrition only to undermine it on race day with impulsive pace decisions.
The mile splits get slower at mile 18—and start to unravel faster two miles later.
We’ve all been there. The temptation to chase impulse is strong, even among the disciplined.
Efficient Marathon Pacing
The most efficient strategy in marathon pacing is to run negative (or progression) splits. Coaches tell athletes to do this, and athletes tell themselves to do this. Throughout the training block, this strategy is rehearsed in workouts and long runs. By the time we get to the starting line, the body’s muscle memory has been trained to progress through the race.
The key to executing negative splits in a marathon is to constrain yourself at the start by running slower than what will eventually be your average pace. This strategic reality is counterintuitive to the dominant impulse to start faster.
Smart Watch as a Constraining Strategy
I have seen runners write their anticipated splits on their forearm with a Sharpie pen, only to have sweat and water from a water station smear it away. When that happens, a runner must rely on memory—a difficult task through a race as mentally draining as a marathon. Instead, do not merely monitor your mile splits, enter them in your smart watch.
Go to your smart watch app and create a “workout.” Split your race into four sections: first twelve miles, the next eight miles, then four miles, and two.
Section 1: Miles 1 to 12
Set your target for the first twelve miles for five to (at most) ten seconds slower than your planned average pace. Example: a runner planning for a 4-hour marathon will need to average 9:10 per mile. Set the workout for a pace no faster than 9:15. In this situation, the runner would be starting behind the 4-hour pacer. If the runner averages a faster pace than 9:15, the alarm on the watch notifies the runner to slow down. Mathematically, if a runner does this, they will be 60-90 seconds behind their target time. But their energy will be preserved.
Section 2: Miles 12 to 20
Set the target for the next eight miles at goal pace up to five seconds faster. Our example 4-hour marathoner would have the smart watch set to notify if they are running faster than 9:05 average.
A popular sentiment among marathoners is that a marathon starts at twenty miles. My son put it this way: “A marathon is a controlled twenty-mile long run followed by the most grueling 10k you’ve run in your life.”
He is not wrong.
Given adequate training and proper fueling—both on race day and in the days and weeks leading up to the race—a runner should be able to reach this point in the race feeling like a progression is not impossible. It is not a guarantee, of course, but a more restricted effort in the first twenty miles creates a greater likelihood for physiological efficiency, where glycogen reserves are conserved, metabolic waste is minimized, and heart rate is managed. Mathematically, with this strategy, the runner would be on pace or at most a minute behind the finish goal.
Section 3: Miles 20 to 24
The next four miles allow for the watch to be set five seconds faster. At twenty miles, it feels like the race is almost over. Common training cycles plan for one or two long runs of twenty miles. We feel like we’re near the end. But the twenty-mile mark is just over 76% of the race. There still is a quarter of the race to run. While it’s necessary to increase effort for progression, there is room for error in execution. Our 4-hour marathoner would have their smart watch alarm alert them if their pace were faster than 9:00 in this section. And even that would mathematically place them up to a minute faster than their finishing goal.
But at this point, the runner can also make a decision to either stay on pace or progress faster than planned. The further into the race, the more they can assess how their body feels. Instead of acting on impulse at the start of the race, our marathoner can surge in the last few miles where the risk of undermining execution is lessened.
In this situation, a runner who chooses to ignore a pace alarm at mile 23 is, well, less alarming.
Section 4: Miles 24 to Finish
No pacing guide is necessary here. The last two miles are about survival, hanging on to the end and surging whenever possible. And, of course, celebrating at the finish.
Get Set to Go
Here is a video where Coach Jay walks you through how to set up your Garmin watch to execute this strategy,
Rehearse This Strategy
Throughout your training cycle, pick a long run every few weeks to rehearse this strategy. Example: in a 20-mile long run four to six weeks from your race, create a workout for your smart watch that replicates your race plan.
Warm – 2 to 3 miles
Section 1 Pace – 6 miles
Easy – 1 mile
Section 2 Pace – 3 miles
Easy – 1 mile
Section 3 Pace – 2 miles
Easy – 1 mile
Section 4 Pace – 1 mile
Cool – 2 miles
Rehearse the mindset you will need to rely on come race day—a mindset that is committed to trusting the body’s ability to progress through a long day of racing while intentionally targeting a pace that is behind schedule for almost half the race. Give room to your start so you can finish strong.
Jay Bates is excited to be a new running coach for Team RunRun. He is also a runner, writer, teacher and wannabe podcaster. Follow him @coach_bates_says on Instagram.