How to pace a half marathon

How should you pace a half marathon?

Run it even, or a shade negative, with the second half a touch faster than the first. Pick one goal pace and hold it while your legs feel fresh. The half rewards patience more than any other race: cover the first 10 miles under control and the last 5K is yours to spend. Go out hard and those same miles fall apart.

Thirteen miles is long enough that a few seconds per mile too fast, banked over the opening hour, costs you later. It is short enough that you feel great early and believe you can hold the extra speed. Almost every half-marathon personal best is run close to even, off a first half that felt slightly too easy.

What is sub-2:00 half marathon pace?

A sub-2:00 half marathon is 5:41 per kilometer, or 9:09 per mile. That is the headline target for most runners: under two hours, a clean round number, and a real but reachable step up from finishing the distance. Hold 9:09 a mile for 13.1 miles and you cross in 1:59:56, with four seconds to spare.

Here is a useful anchor: 9:09 per mile is also sub-4:00 marathon pace. The same number gets you under two hours for the half and under four for the full. If you can run the half at 9:09, you know what the marathon version of that effort feels like. You have to hold it twice as long.

If your goal falls between these rows, use the pace calculator for the exact pace behind any finish time, or the pace chart for splits at every distance in between.

Why does the half fall apart around 10 miles?

That is where an early-fast half sends the bill. Run the first 10 miles a few seconds per mile too fast and everything feels fine until it doesn't. Around mile 10, or the 16-kilometre mark, your legs stiffen, your stride shortens, and the pace you held with ease becomes a fight. You are slowing because you overspent an hour ago.

This is the danger zone, and the first 10 miles matter more than the last three. The runners charging past you at mile two are the ones you will pass at mile 11. Nothing you do in the closing 5K can repair a first half run too hard. The only defence is to never spend the effort in the first place. Get to 10 miles feeling like you held back, and you still have a race to run.

How do you warm up and fuel for a half?

Keep the warm-up short and the fueling simple. The half is long enough that you warm into it on the move, so a hard pre-race warm-up wastes energy you will want at mile 11. Fueling matters more here than in a 5K but less than in a marathon. You are topping up your energy.

• Warm up light. Ten minutes of easy jogging with a few short strides to open your stride. If you are chasing a fast time, get your heart rate up before the gun. If you just want to finish strong, the first mile at an easy effort is your warm-up. Keep it controlled.
• Carry a gel or two. Most runners want one gel around 45 minutes and, for a slower half, a second past the hour. Take it before you feel empty. Practise it in training so race day holds no surprises.
• Drink to thirst. Sip water at the stations when you are thirsty. You do not need to drink at every one, and forcing fluids helps nobody. For a race under two hours in cool weather, thirst is a good enough guide.

How do you hold goal pace so the early miles don't run away?

You need to know the instant you drift too fast in the first mile, when the mistake is still cheap to fix. A watch tells you after the fact, and only when you look down. The opening miles feel wonderful, everyone around you is charging, and 10 seconds a mile too fast barely registers. By the time the screen confirms it, you have already spent the effort.

You run the first 10 miles by feel, holding just under the ceiling while your legs beg to go faster. Then, as the race shrinks and the danger zone passes, you let the tone climb on purpose and close hard. Steady Pace also counts down spoken splits, keeps a cadence metronome, and tracks distance with fused GPS and barometer. It is private by design: no account, no ads, no analytics, GPS anonymized on your phone, zero network connections. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription.