How to Plan Your Race Splits
A split is your time for each km or mile segment of a race. How you pace those splits has a huge impact on your finishing time and perceived effort.
Negative Splits — The Gold Standard
Running the second half of a race slightly faster than the first is called running negative splits. Almost every world record at the marathon distance has been set with near-even or slight negative splits. Starting conservatively preserves glycogen and delays the onset of heavy legs, letting you finish strong.
Even Splits
Running exactly the same pace throughout is physiologically optimal for pure time trial events on flat courses. It requires very accurate pacing and good knowledge of your fitness level.
Positive Splits — What to Avoid
Going out too fast feels easy in the first kilometres but leads to glycogen depletion and lactic acid accumulation. Most hobby runners run positive splits without realising it, costing them minutes at the finish line.