How to Find Your Marathon Pace (For Beginners)
Most beginner marathoners are sabotaging their race before training even begins by choosing a goal pace that has nothing to do with their current fitness. If you’ve picked a time because it sounded good, matched someone else’s result, or felt like the “right” number, there’s a good chance every run in your build is being anchored to the wrong pace. That leads to workouts that feel too hard, easy runs that aren’t actually easy, inconsistent training, and ultimately a race day that doesn’t reflect your true ability.
There’s been a lot of conversation around marathon pace on this channel, but I wanted to approach this specifically for beginners and first-time marathoners who don’t have a clear reference point yet. In this video, I break down what marathon pace actually is (and why it’s not a goal), how to calculate it using real performance data instead of guesswork, and how to use tools like VDOT, RPE, heart rate, and the talk test to triangulate your correct pace. We also cover how to build that pace into your training properly so it becomes automatic by race day.
By the end, you’ll understand how to set a realistic marathon pace based on your current fitness, how to train it without burning out, and how to execute it across all 26.2 miles. Whether you’re aiming for your first finish or trying to avoid blowing up late in the race, this framework will help you run within yourself early, lock into the right effort through the middle, and give yourself the best chance to finish strong.
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Chapters:
00:00 - Understanding Marathon Goals and Pacing
03:10 - The Importance of Current Fitness in Marathon Training
06:03 - Training for Marathon Pace: Building the Foundation
08:57 - Executing Race Day Strategy: From Start to Finish
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