Top Tips for your Best Marathon

What a large-scale analysis of marathon data says about how to run your best race.

Image courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/josiahmackenzie/3414064391

TLDR;

1. Don’t go out too fast; you’ll finish more slowly and probably hit the wall.
2. Steady = Fast; even pacing leads to better finish-times.
3. Run with pacers; they’ll help you run an evenly paced race.
4. Don’t plan for a fast finish; you’ll finish slower with too much in the tank.
5. Practice makes perfect; the more marathons you do the better you race.

Introduction

I’ve been working on a large-scale analysis of marathon data and as peak Marathon season is upon us I thought it timely to share a summary of my key findings, and what they have to say about how we should race for this season’s personal-best.

All of these ‘tips’, such as they are, are supported by real data involving hundreds of thousands of runners and they are based on a growing series of articles published at Running with Data. Where approrpiate I will provide links to the detailed analysis supporting each of these tips.

Tip #1 — Don’t go out too fast.