The Running Thread --2025

[The Expert]

how do you account for the 'extra' distance when targeting a pace or time for a race?

I've consistently had 27+ miles on my Garmin for all my WDW marathons. Weaving is REAL!

I don't actually worry about it that much, since I'm not racing for time. But I've seen a lot of other runners turn off auto-lap and hit the lap button manually at each mile marker.

There's also the school of pause or don't pause for character stops and bathroom breaks. I don't pause because I'm tracking my real time against the final pacers to keep an eye on my buffer and Garmin tracks my moving pace either way.

 

[accm]

Here is a question for the experienced racers: how do you account for the 'extra' distance when targeting a pace or time for a race? By extra distance, I am talking about when tracking a race using an app or a watch, the distance ran seems to be more than the stated length of the course. For me, the Springtime Surprise 10 mile ended up being 10.21 miles, the Princess Half Marathon came in at 13.41 miles, etc. I believe it is caused by not running all the tangents, any zig-zagging, using the porta-potties, etc. For the Springtime Surprise 10 mile, I did it in 1:47:11, so the official pace was 10:43, but according to my COROS, it was 10.21 miles, with a pace of 10:30.

What I have been doing, is to use that longer distance to calculate the pace I need to get to a target time. This ends up with a faster pace needed. And if the actual distance ends up somewhere in between, then it adds a bit of a buffer. I am wondering if there are other methods for this.

I'm far from an experienced runner, but if I'm running with a time goal, I'll figure out what time I should be passing each mile marker, that way I can tell if I need to adjust my pace.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Here is a question for the experienced racers: how do you account for the 'extra' distance when targeting a pace or time for a race? By extra distance, I am talking about when tracking a race using an app or a watch, the distance ran seems to be more than the stated length of the course. For me, the Springtime Surprise 10 mile ended up being 10.21 miles, the Princess Half Marathon came in at 13.41 miles, etc. I believe it is caused by not running all the tangents, any zig-zagging, using the porta-potties, etc. For the Springtime Surprise 10 mile, I did it in 1:47:11, so the official pace was 10:43, but according to my COROS, it was 10.21 miles, with a pace of 10:30.

What I have been doing, is to use that longer distance to calculate the pace I need to get to a target time. This ends up with a faster pace needed. And if the actual distance ends up somewhere in between, then it adds a bit of a buffer. I am wondering if there are other methods for this.

I luckily have raced all the various distances so I tend to look back at what my overage averages and then adjust my pace accordingly. The come race day, I try to stick closer to the tangents to give myself a buffer I’m going through that right now as I have a 5k PR attempt next weekend and don’t want to mess that math up! I’ve run this exact corse before so that’s in my favor!

 

[SheHulk]

Here is a question for the experienced racers: how do you account for the 'extra' distance when targeting a pace or time for a race? By extra distance, I am talking about when tracking a race using an app or a watch, the distance ran seems to be more than the stated length of the course. For me, the Springtime Surprise 10 mile ended up being 10.21 miles, the Princess Half Marathon came in at 13.41 miles, etc. I believe it is caused by not running all the tangents, any zig-zagging, using the porta-potties, etc. For the Springtime Surprise 10 mile, I did it in 1:47:11, so the official pace was 10:43, but according to my COROS, it was 10.21 miles, with a pace of 10:30.

What I have been doing, is to use that longer distance to calculate the pace I need to get to a target time. This ends up with a faster pace needed. And if the actual distance ends up somewhere in between, then it adds a bit of a buffer. I am wondering if there are other methods for this.

I try to remember to set autolap off on my watch, and to only check my pace when I manually click off my miles at each mile marker. Then I speed up or slow down based on that. Doesn't help you for instantaneous pacing but chasing that instantaneous pace is never a great strategy for me anyway: I overshoot then undershoot then overshoot again. Instantaneous pace is especially bad in city races, which I do a lot.

My method is not perfect either because I know some races aren't super-careful about placing every mile marker in the right spot, even if the distance total was carefully measured. But it's close enough. And it keeps me from fretting over the pace on my watch. It does rely on having practiced your target pace in training so you have a general sense of what it should feel like.

 

[Naomeri]

Here is a question for the experienced racers: how do you account for the 'extra' distance when targeting a pace or time for a race? By extra distance, I am talking about when tracking a race using an app or a watch, the distance ran seems to be more than the stated length of the course. For me, the Springtime Surprise 10 mile ended up being 10.21 miles, the Princess Half Marathon came in at 13.41 miles, etc. I believe it is caused by not running all the tangents, any zig-zagging, using the porta-potties, etc. For the Springtime Surprise 10 mile, I did it in 1:47:11, so the official pace was 10:43, but according to my COROS, it was 10.21 miles, with a pace of 10:30.

What I have been doing, is to use that longer distance to calculate the pace I need to get to a target time. This ends up with a faster pace needed. And if the actual distance ends up somewhere in between, then it adds a bit of a buffer. I am wondering if there are other methods for this.

If I'm actually aiming for a specific pace (not something I do at Disney) I plan on having some extra mileage because I absolutely weave all over the place in races. I know about how much extra I'll have according to my watch for any given distance, so I just plan that a 10 miler will be about 10.25 and do the math for that.

For Disney races if I'm worried about staying ahead of the balloon ladies, I created a spreadsheet that will do the math for me based on when I start and when they start, and all I have to do is open it on my phone and tap one button as I pass each mile marker and it will tell me my overall pace, and I just have to tell it what time the balloons start and it will tell me what time they will finish based on their standard 16 minute pace. I really liked being able to pull it up and know where they were at any given moment during the half and full at MW this year.

 

[flav]

In top of the other suggestions, I have occasionally used a pace band in which I include a margin. For example, let say that I want to run a HM in 1:55, I will put a 1:53 goal, starting slow, walking the water stops and ending slow. That will give me the time at which I should pass each of the distance markers… and I try to finish fast anyway.

 

[rick1zoo2]

Thanks! A lot of great options to think about. I calculated the pace I wanted using the extra distance then used my COROS watch to keep track of my overall pace. I also used Runkeeper app on my phone as I can’t always see the watch clearly (not going to run with my readers). I also used Runkeeper to voice the RWR intervals through headphones. I made a cheat sheet of alternate paces and times that I could see as a photo on the phone. I am not good at recalculating on the run. I like to have one number that I can remember and aim for.

 

[nancipants]

If I'm actually aiming for a specific pace (not something I do at Disney) I plan on having some extra mileage because I absolutely weave all over the place in races. I know about how much extra I'll have according to my watch for any given distance, so I just plan that a 10 miler will be about 10.25 and do the math for that.

For Disney races if I'm worried about staying ahead of the balloon ladies, I created a spreadsheet that will do the math for me based on when I start and when they start, and all I have to do is open it on my phone and tap one button as I pass each mile marker and it will tell me my overall pace, and I just have to tell it what time the balloons start and it will tell me what time they will finish based on their standard 16 minute pace. I really liked being able to pull it up and know where they were at any given moment during the half and full at MW this year.

This is genius. You could totally sell this spreadsheet.

 

[Naomeri]

This is genius. You could totally sell this spreadsheet.

It only works on iPhones because the Numbers app has the ability to do time math (like 5:24am + 16=5:40am)

This is what it looked like for MW. I forgot that I added the column to give my total time.

 

[FFigawi]

Here is a question for the experienced racers: how do you account for the 'extra' distance when targeting a pace or time for a race? By extra distance, I am talking about when tracking a race using an app or a watch, the distance ran seems to be more than the stated length of the course. For me, the Springtime Surprise 10 mile ended up being 10.21 miles, the Princess Half Marathon came in at 13.41 miles, etc. I believe it is caused by not running all the tangents, any zig-zagging, using the porta-potties, etc. For the Springtime Surprise 10 mile, I did it in 1:47:11, so the official pace was 10:43, but according to my COROS, it was 10.21 miles, with a pace of 10:30.

What I have been doing, is to use that longer distance to calculate the pace I need to get to a target time. This ends up with a faster pace needed. And if the actual distance ends up somewhere in between, then it adds a bit of a buffer. I am wondering if there are other methods for this.

Echoing the good suggestions made already, the best ways I've found to address this are:

1. Set your target pace 10-15 seconds per mile faster than your strict goal pace. That's normally enough to overcome walking through aid stations, not hitting all the tangents, and other factors that deduct from your race time over the exact distance.
2. Turn off auto-lap and manually hit lap on your watch at each mile marker, 5k marker, etc. I don't know about your COROS, but Garmin watches have apps you can install that will calculate and show your true pace over the elapsed time and distance when you manually hit the lap button at the marker for a mile, 5k, etc.
3. Practice running as close to the tangents as you can in every race. As you get better at this, your extra distance will decrease and reduce the stress or pressure if having to make all the extra calculations.

 

[The Expert]

It only works on iPhones because the Numbers app has the ability to do time math (like 5:24am + 16=5:40am)

This is what it looked like for MW. I forgot that I added the column to give my total time.
View attachment 957824

I bet DH could figure out how to do this in Excel, which would make it useable on any device. I'll toss this at him sometime when he's bored.

 

[nancipants]

1. Turn off auto-lap and manually hit lap on your watch at each mile marker, 5k marker, etc. I don't know about your COROS, but Garmin watches have apps you can install that will calculate and show your true pace over the elapsed time and distance when you manually hit the lap button at the marker for a mile, 5k, etc.

Wait, they do???

 

[Dopey 2020]

Hi all, I’m back. Just had to read about 8 pages after I was wondering where the heck did the running thread go? And then found it. They should move the ignore thread button somewhere harder to hit by mistake LOL. This is the second time I’ve lost a thread, I need to start drinking more coffee

 

[FFigawi]

Wait, they do???

They do! The Connect IQ store has several options. Here’s an article on one of them that’s probably the best of the bunch.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/12/pacing-races-garmin.html

 

[nancipants]

They do! The Connect IQ store has several options. Here’s an article on one of them that’s probably the best of the bunch.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/12/pacing-races-garmin.html

THANK YOU. I have been wanting something that "fixes" the distance during a race. I don't know why I didn't think to look for apps.

 

[nancipants]

I keep getting ads for On running shoes, and I might need to go back to them (my first pair were Cloudrunners, now I use Brooks Adrenaline) because the colors are SO GOOD.

 

[dobball23]

I keep getting ads for On running shoes, and I might need to go back to them (my first pair were Cloudrunners, now I use Brooks Adrenaline) because the colors are SO GOOD.

I'm a big Brooks Adrenaline fan. But I haven't been able to find any for a good price recently. I'm starting to use up my accumulated stock of them.

 

[The Expert]

I'm a big Brooks Adrenaline fan. But I haven't been able to find any for a good price recently. I'm starting to use up my accumulated stock of them.

Are you familiar with Brooks Restart? It's a site where they sell (what I assume are) returned items. It's a bit hit or miss and stock changes often, but I have it bookmarked and just check every now and then to see if they have what I run in.
https://restart.brooksrunning.com/collections/shoes

 

[dobball23]

Are you familiar with Brooks Restart? It's a site where they sell (what I assume are) returned items. It's a bit hit or miss and stock changes often, but I have it bookmarked and just check every now and then to see if they have what I run in.
https://restart.brooksrunning.com/collections/shoes

I am familiar with it. I've been a little leery about purchasing used shoes, not knowing how many miles they have one them. But if they are just ones that were returned and are still in new condition, maybe I'll keep a closer eye on it.

 

[Zutroy]

I keep getting ads for On running shoes, and I might need to go back to them (my first pair were Cloudrunners, now I use Brooks Adrenaline) because the colors are SO GOOD.

Meh, I find On to be a lot of marketing for people to wear as fashion shoes. The whole “cloud” technology thing disappeared when they tried to make actual running shoes. The Cloudmonster and the Cloudsurfer are decent, but you can do much better for the price. Adidas has been knocking it out of the park recently, and for $150, the Evo SL is the best shoe right now on the market at that price point (and above).