The 10-10-10 Marathon Pacing Plan

This is a short placeholder story generated for the design demo. Replace it with a real interview.

Use it when

You're a marathoner whose times have stalled because the last 10K falls apart. The cause is almost always the first 10 miles. Adrenaline makes goal pace feel easy, so you run faster, and you pay for it at mile 20.

Step 1: Start slower than goal, on purpose

Tomás had run four marathons, all between 3:28 and 3:31. Each time he hit mile 20 and slowed by a minute per mile. His younger brother had entered the Buenos Aires Marathon and died before race day. Tomás took the entry and decided to run it properly. His goal was 3:20, about 7:38 per mile. For the first 10 miles he ran 7:50. "People streamed past me at mile 3. I let them."

Step 2: Lock goal pace for the middle 10

At mile 10 he moved to 7:38 and held it. He checked every split. If he was 6 seconds fast, he eased off by about 5 seconds the next mile, not all at once. He took a gel every 4 miles with water.

Step 3: Race the last 10K

At mile 20 he was fresh enough to push. He picked a runner 50 metres ahead, caught them, then picked another. His last 10K was his fastest of the day. He finished in 3:20:40, 9 minutes under his old best.

Step 4: Practise it in training

The plan only worked because he'd rehearsed it. Twice in his 16-week block, his long run of 18 to 20 miles ended with the final 6 to 8 miles at 7:38. Those runs taught him what goal pace felt like on tired legs.

Try it this week

Work out your goal pace and write three numbers on your wrist: goal plus 12 seconds, goal, and "race". On this week's long run, run the last 4 miles at goal pace and see how it feels.