When the gun goes off at the start line of a marathon, you might feel tempted to take off at a near sprint. But that’s a big mistake. You want to start your marathon at an easy pace so you can successfully hit your goal time at the finish line—without completely bonking.
If you’re looking to break four hours, for example, you’ll need to maintain an average 9:09 pace per mile. In order to lock in this pace for the full 26.2 miles, you not only have to start near or below that at the start, but you also have to get to know what this pace feels like during training.
You also have an advantage if you’re already familiar with workouts throughout your buildup. While you won’t run this pace all the time—in fact most of the runs on your training plan will clock in at a slower average pace—marathon pace workouts will boost your endurance, switch up your speed days, and help you feel right at home in your race pace.
To help you crush your time goal, we’ve compiled a list of seven expert-backed marathon pace workouts that will give you the confidence you need to dial into your race-day rhythm. Plus, experts offer insights on exactly what your pace should feel like, how to incorporate the workouts into your training, and a couple tips for getting these paced sessions right.
How to Find Your Marathon Pace
Marathon pace is slightly faster than the pace you’ll run for most of the runs on your training plan, because it’s faster than your conversational easy pace.
Figuring out what your marathon pace should feel like will take time, but the best place to start is by paying attention to how you feel miles at marathon pace Julian Florez, assistant coach for Brooks Beasts Track Club and US Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier. “If you could talk during that pace, and you could give a full sentence but maybe not a paragraph, then that’s a fairly good indicator that you’re at [the right] marathon pace,” he explains.
It’s an “all-day fast pace,” Florez tells Runner’s World. “It’s steady, it’s rhythmic, it’s not necessarily easy, but it shouldn’t be feeling like you’re out there racing a 5K,” he says. “If 5K pace feels like holding your breath underwater, the marathon pace might feel like you’re breathing through a straw,” so it’s just manageable enough, explains Florez.
While marathon pace is most accurately determined through training, racing, or working with a run coach, you can get a rough estimate by plugging a recent race PR into a pace calculator to find an equivalent marathon time.
“The calculator works best if you use a race time from a longer distance event such as a half marathon versus using a 5K race result,” as that will get you a more accurate pace estimate, says Karen Dunn, certified run coach and US Olympic Marathon Trials Qualifier. “From there, you can hone your pace through training.”
As you complete marathon pace workouts, you’ll gain a sense for what is sustainable and what is not, like if your predicted pace feels harder than it should. Keep in mind: Your heart rate when running marathon pace should be anywhere between 50 and 70 percent of your maximum heart rate, and rate of perceived exertion should hit around a 6 or 7 out of 10 with 10 being your all-out effort.
“[These workouts are] used to help you feel the pace so that come race day, you are able to execute at that pace. The benefit from practicing this pace is [knowing] how to find it and gauge effort,” says Dunn. “A lot of the benefits of practicing this pace are mental, like providing confidence for race day,” she explains.
How to Know You’re Ready for Marathon Pace Workouts
You’re ready to add marathon pace to your training plan if you’ve built a solid aerobic base, like consistently running three to six days a week for four to six weeks, and if you can run at an easy pace for 90 minutes without hitting a wall, explains Florez.
For beginners, though, Jon Green, head coach of half marathon pace, who has coached elite distance runners like Molly Seidel and Emily Infeld, suggests starting with shorter distance marathon pace workouts, depending on your fitness level. “If you're really sore after a [marathon pace] workout, then that's something to note and maybe back off a little bit,” he explains.
Green suggests taking a look at your marathon build and starting with a two-mile marathon pace effort in a long run, or starting with marathon pace in your interval workouts, in which you’d probably max out on a mile at at time for marathon pace efforts.
You also have an advantage if you’re already familiar with threshold pace and zone 3 training, explains Green, because your marathon pace should be slower than that. If you feel you’re at that fitness level, you might be more comfortable jumping into a six- or eight-mile marathon pace effort in a run, he says.
How to Fit Marathon Pace Into Your Training Plan
It’s pretty easy to integrate marathon pace workouts into your training plan. miles at marathon pace easy pace or speedwork.
Throughout your training cycle, marathon pace workouts should be done about once a month, or about four workouts total in a given marathon build, Green suggests. Other workouts built into the rest of your plan might include threshold workouts, hitting 5K pace or 10K We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back long, slow distance runs.
6 break four hours
This list of workouts starts with shorter options to ease you into marathon pace work, and builds up to longer, harder efforts.
1. Mile Repeats
Total mileage: 6-14
Associate Health & Fitness Editor: Mile repeats are less intimidating than longer marathon pace segments, making them ideal for athletes who struggle with longer distances, explains Green. They help with mental toughness, and serve as building blocks to help you feel accustomed to marathon pace before gradually increasing volume.
The number of intervals you do depends on your experience level, mileage, and where you’re at in your training plan.
pace at mile eight, then you’re probably going:
- 15- to 20-minute warmup at easy pace
- 3-10 in which you’d probably max out on a mile at at time for marathon pace efforts
- 15- if you’re climbing a hill, how much
2. 2K Intervals
Total mileage: 16-18
Associate Health & Fitness Editor: This workout builds aerobic efficiency, fatigue resistance, and flowing in and out of your marathon pace to mimic race day, explains Florez. “Maybe you’re going over a hill, maybe there’s a turn, maybe there’s a section that’s, for whatever reason, tougher than another. You’re teaching your body to still cruise control when the effort is different,” he says.
pace at mile eight, then you’re probably going:
- 3- miles at marathon pace.
- 6 half marathon pace
- 2- to 3-How to Maximize Your Mile-Repeat Workout Benefits
3. Marathon Pace Long Run
Total mileage: 6-20
Associate Health & Fitness Editor: Adding marathon pace efforts into your 20-milers helps you get used to running longer distances at your goal pace and will give you confidence that you can hit it on race day. Both Green and Newson urge you to tailor marathon pace long runs to your current fitness level and where you’re at in your training cycle.
pace at mile eight, then you’re probably going:
- 2- to 6-mile warmup at easy pace
- 2-12 if you’re climbing a hill, how much
- 2-How to Maximize Your Mile-Repeat Workout Benefits
4. Mixed Intervals
Total mileage: 12-14
Associate Health & Fitness Editor: Doing a few short and faster-paced intervals after a longer effort allows you to work both fast-twitch and slow-twitch muscle fibers, Dunn explains. That means you gain both power and fatigue resistance in one workout. This is especially helpful in the later miles of a marathon, when your slow-twitch muscle fibers fatigue and more of your fast-twitch fibers have to kick into gear.
pace at mile eight, then you’re probably going:
- 4-mile warmup at easy pace
- 4 if you’re climbing a hill, how much
- 2 miles at easy pace
- 4 Marathon pace workouts give you plenty of time to get your
- 2-How to Maximize Your Mile-Repeat Workout Benefits
5. 3-Mile Repeats at Marathon Pace
Total mileage: 17-19
Associate Health & Fitness Editor: All About the Progression Run endurance with more distance to cover, even during the one-mile jogs. “The marathon is so aerobic, so the more mileage you can get in, to an extent, is going to be better for your build,” says Florez.
pace at mile eight, then you’re probably going:
- 3- miles at marathon pace
- 3 How To Train Calves
- 2- to 3-How to Maximize Your Mile-Repeat Workout Benefits
6. Marathon Pace Progression Run
Total mileage: 8-12
Associate Health & Fitness Editor: half marathon pace strong finish You also have an advantage if you’re already familiar with.
pace at mile eight, then you’re probably going:
- 15- to 20-minute warmup at easy pace
- 6- to 9-mile progression:
a. Start 15- to 20-seconds per mile slower than marathon pace
b. Cut down pace by 5 seconds per mile every 5K - 15- if you’re climbing a hill, how much
3 Tips to Execute Marathon Pace Workouts for Max Benefit
1. Pay Attention to How You Feel
The key to marathon pace is feeling confident that you can hold that pace steadily for 20 or more miles, but if you feel like you’re at tempo pace at mile eight, then you’re probably going too fast, explains Florez.
“A lot of the time, your watch doesn’t know if you’re running into a headwind, if you’re climbing a hill, how much sleep you had, or what nutrition looked like the day before,” says Florez, so attacking marathon pace should always come back to effort. Remember: Marathon pace should feel like a 6 or 7 out of 10 in terms of rate of perceived exertion, with 10 representing max effort.
Marathon pace workouts are designed to challenge you and lock down your race pace, so it’s important to embrace discomfort. While you shouldn’t feel so drained that you can’t complete your workout, it’s okay to feel challenged by marathon pace.
The more time you spend training at marathon pace, the more comfortable it will become, explains Green. Once you’re feeling consistently comfortable during marathon pace workouts, he says, it may be time to shift your focus toward some faster speeds, like It’s pretty easy to integrate marathon pace workouts into your or lactate threshold workouts.
2. Practice Your Fueling Plan
Marathon pace workouts give you plenty of time to get your fueling methods down to a science. A general rule of thumb is to refuel with 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour using energy gels, sports drinks, or other fueling alternatives.
When you’re running for hours at a time, you need sustenance to maintain your pace. “That blow-up at mile 20 isn’t necessarily because you lack training,” says Florez. “A lot of the time, it’s because you lack the right nutrition.” He explains that you can mitigate bonking by practicing taking gels during every long run and marathon pace workout to help your body get used to taking in the fuel you need to maintain your goal pace.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Tweak Your Workout
If you’re struggling with a workout, don’t be afraid to change it, explains Green. You want to do a workout that you feel you’re capable of accomplishing. “If it feels wrong, it probably is,” he says. So do a gut check and tap into how you’re feeling.
You may need to shorten the rep distance, lower the total mileage, give yourself longer rests between intervals, or slow your pace down by five to 10 seconds. For example, if 2K intervals sound unbearable, try 1K repeats instead.
“The key is to avoid throwing the workout out since you want the volume and the work,” says Green. “Altering it can still allow you to stick to training without sacrificing your confidence, mental wellness, or health.”
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Kristine Kearns, a writer and avid runner, joined Runner’s World and Bicycling in July 2024. She previously coached high school girls cross country and currently competes in seasonal races, with more than six years of distance training and an affinity for weightlifting. You can find her wearing purple, baking cupcakes, and visiting her local farmers market.
