Pacing During Hilly Races -- What's Proven to Work?

Training Advice/Discussion

5 years ago 03/17/2019 12:18pm EDT

We've all raced some sort of course with a massive hill that interrupts the flow of all runners. Usually, there's a downhill on the other side of it. So I'm curious, is there a proven best way to pace yourself during these races?

Let's take a 10k for example. Miles 1 and 2 are flat, and mile 3 starts with a hill that covers roughly half a mile rises roughly 120 feet. Let's say your goal pace is 5:20/mile. Around how much slower should that half mile be? The only two ways I can think of intelligently approaching that pacing:

1) Run the hill at the same relative effort as the flat/downhill miles, giving up only a modest amount of time;

2) Run the hill at less of an effort (say 7-10 seconds slower) with the hope that your legs keep more pop, allowing you run more than 7-10 seconds faster over the final 6k.

Does anyone have any insight on which of the approaches would work better?

5 years ago 03/17/2019 12:50pm EDT

re: runharwell

5 years ago 03/17/2019 1:01pm EDT

re: run by feel....

run by feel.... wrote:
Just run by feel.

I hear that, and that's usually my default. But I'm curious if there's a proven way to approach it. Running by feel could be costing us some time (or not -- just trying to figure that out).

5 years ago 03/17/2019 1:06pm EDT

re: runharwell

On a gradual long hill, you want to keep the effort consistent. That will slow your pace down.

Here is the calculation I would use. Start with this calculator.

https://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/

The calculator is set up to run a certain pace up hill and find the equivalent flat time so you have to work backwards. 5:20 pace is 11.3 mph. The hill you described is a 4.5% incline. When you put the information in the top boxes which include 1 mile (for reference), 4.5% incline, and an unknown speed, you want the bottom conversion box to say 11.3 mph (equal to flat pace). By changing the unkown speed until I came up with 11.3 mph, it ended up being 9.4 mph. Divide that number into 60 and you will get a pace of 6:23/mile. That is the pace you should be able to hold running up that hill. Note that since it is a half mile hill, you will lose 31.5 seconds. If you had to run down the exact same hill on the other side, the general rule is that you could gain half that time back or 16 seconds. By running at the same effort, that mile would be 15 or 16 seconds slower than the others.

I've used this method with great success. At the Bobby Crim 10 mile, there are some hills after the 5 mile mark. They actually had mats at the bottom and top of one of those hills. My calculated pace ended up being exactly what I ran. I was able run the last 4 miles strong and negative split the race because I ran the proper pace up those hills. I happen to be close to pacers who kept the same speed up those hills and they dropped everyone who they were supposed to be pacing.

5 years ago 03/17/2019 7:31pm EDT

re: hope this helps......

bumping up this great knowledge

5 years ago 03/17/2019 8:26pm EDT

re: hope this helps......

hope this helps...... wrote:
On a gradual long hill, you want to keep the effort consistent. That will slow your pace down.
Here is the calculation I would use. Start with this calculator.
https://42.195km.net/e/treadsim/
The calculator is set up to run a certain pace up hill and find the equivalent flat time so you have to work backwards. 5:20 pace is 11.3 mph. The hill you described is a 4.5% incline. When you put the information in the top boxes which include 1 mile (for reference), 4.5% incline, and an unknown speed, you want the bottom conversion box to say 11.3 mph (equal to flat pace). By changing the unkown speed until I came up with 11.3 mph, it ended up being 9.4 mph. Divide that number into 60 and you will get a pace of 6:23/mile. That is the pace you should be able to hold running up that hill. Note that since it is a half mile hill, you will lose 31.5 seconds. If you had to run down the exact same hill on the other side, the general rule is that you could gain half that time back or 16 seconds. By running at the same effort, that mile would be 15 or 16 seconds slower than the others.
I've used this method with great success. At the Bobby Crim 10 mile, there are some hills after the 5 mile mark. They actually had mats at the bottom and top of one of those hills. My calculated pace ended up being exactly what I ran. I was able run the last 4 miles strong and negative split the race because I ran the proper pace up those hills. I happen to be close to pacers who kept the same speed up those hills and they dropped everyone who they were supposed to be pacing.

This is exactly the type of insight I was looking for. Thank you very much

5 years ago 03/17/2019 8:44pm EDT

re: runharwell

Strava’s web interface (but not the app) gives a GAP (grade adjusted pace) for every mile/km split it records. It is calculated based on the elevation changes (doesn’t take terrain or wind into consideration though) and likely uses similar adjustments to the other calculator posted. I have found it to be fairly accurate in that when I have run what feels like a consistent effort up and downhill my GAP yields fairly even splits even though my actuals are quite varied. I have my Garmin set to auto-upload to Strava so I can view this information without any extra effort. Makes Strava worthwhile for me (said as someone with a free account).

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