Comrades Marathon Pacing is on every runners minds this week ahead of Sunday’s Comrades Marathon. How fast is too fast? How slow is too slow? When to hold back and when to go? These are questions that are running through the mind of most Comrades Marathon runners this week. On today’s Ask Coach Parry Podcast we look at pacing and what sort of Comrades Marathon pacing strategy you should employ. Read more here

Brad Brown: Comrades Marathon Pacing is on every runners minds this week ahead of Sunday’s Comrades Marathon. How fast is too fast? How slow is too slow? When to hold back and when to go? These are questions that are running through the mind of most Comrades Marathon runners this week. On today’s Ask Coach Parry Podcast we look at pacing and what sort of Comrades Marathon pacing strategy you should employ. Read more here

Comrades Marathon Pacing – The right way

Lindsey Parry: So the people who are at the biggest disadvantage when it comes to Comrades Marathon pacing are the guys in seeding batch G and H. I understand that, because if you take 8 minutes to get over the start line, and just to remind everyone, particularly the international Comrades runners, it is a gun to gun race and not a timing mat to timing mat race. So when the gun goes your time starts and anxiety levels really start to build up. Later on this week we’ll talk about how you can save yourself at least 20 minutes on Comrades race day.

If you go too hard, even for the first five to eight kilometres out of panic because you’ve lost too much time, I’m telling you that you will lose way more than 20 minutes in the second half. You really need to go out quite conservatively at Comrades. That is why I tell people to plan their race meticulously. Know that when you get to the top of Polly Shorts that is a little under 6kms in I think. Know the landmarks, go through the Comrades route, plan it and execute. Hold yourself back. You don’t want to be checking every kilometre because 89km of checking every kilometre will make you lose your marbles.

I would certainly check your average pace. If you’re aiming at a silver medal you want to be running at five minute a k’ish. If you’re going much faster than that then you need to reign yourself in. If you’re aiming for a Bill Rowan medal then six minutes a kilometre is about where you want to be so if you’re banging out five minutes per kilometre then cool it. Slow yourself down, even if you have to force yourself to slow down. The truth of the matter when it comes to Comrades Marathon pacing is if you don’t slow yourself down now, then Comrades will slow you down later. That is the reality of this story.

The order of the day is conservative pacing and a lot of people don’t realise that the first 30 to 40km of the Comrades down run are really not easy. There are no major mountains to get over but it’s not easy. There are lots of really slow, long, poisonous drags. You may find yourself falling just a little bit off your desired pace but it is ok because there are plenty of opportunities later on in the race to make some of it up.