Split Times Calculator

300 m

Enter distance and time to calculate split times. Select a pacing strategy, positive or negative splits.

How to Run a Marathon: Negative Split, Even Pace, or Positive Split

The marathon is a long race and for such a distance you need a strategy to set a new personal best or finish your first marathon. Therefore, the chosen pace strategy in the marathon has a very important role.

There are three basic strategies for running pace in a marathon or half marathon:

• Positive split.
• Even split.
• Negative split.

The positive split is a strategy followed by beginners and even seasoned runners. At the beginning of the race, the speed is maximum or close to it. In the middle of the race, the pace of the race decreases. Such runners finish the marathon, almost on foot, because at the beginning of the race they spent a lot of energy on a fast pace and later could not maintain this pace.

Running in a positive split is not a good strategy for a marathon.

The even split strategy is followed by experienced runners; for beginners, this strategy will be difficult, since you need to maintain the target running pace throughout the marathon.

If you are a seasoned runner and love pain (No pain, no gain), you can use a steady pace in the race.

A negative split will save energy loss and help you feel strong at the finish line. The negative split strategy is suitable for runners of all levels and provides an opportunity to distribute forces throughout the marathon.

Negative split is used even by pro athletes, most of the records in races are set with negative split.

What are Negative Splits

The strategy of the negative split is very simple to understand. The first half of the race runs slower than the second. In the first half of the race, you must run slower than you can to save energy for the second half of the marathon. During the second half of the race, you should gradually increase the pace of your run, which will allow you to finish very well.

The main problem that can prevent you from running with a negative split is excitement and adrenaline at the start of the marathon. Calm down and start slower than your target running pace.

How to Run Negative Splits

To run a negative split, you need to know well your pace per mile, which you can maintain throughout the distance. Our pace calculator will help you calculate the pace and time of a Marathon, Half Marathon or any other distance. Knowing your target pace will help you know the estimated finish time for the marathon. Add data to the calculator: race distance and time, and set a negative split from 1% to 3%. You will receive a layout of pace for the entire race

FAQ about the Marathon Split