parkrun Pacing Guide
Ideally you will have chosen a target finishing time one or two minutes slower than your usual average finishing time (don’t worry too much if you haven’t). Whatever time you have chosen, you should be able to run at a comfortable level and finish at your chosen time. The best pieces of advice for pacing are:
- Don’t go off too fast.
- Try to maintain a constant pace.
- Have fun!
Other Points
Don’t worry about criticism. There will often be someone who makes a comment, you can always remind them of our “money back guarantee” if you don’t finish exactly on time!
Talk to the runners around you and offer plenty of encouragement right until the very end. Try to keep them informed of how the run is going, if you are over/under your predicted pace or finish time for example.
Above all else, just enjoy the experience and try to have fun.
parkrun (5k) Pace Chart for Victoria Park, Widnes
| Finish Time | Avg. Pace (mins/Km) | Avg. Pace (mins/mile) | 1st Lap Time (1.5k/0.9m) | 2nd Lap Time (3.0k/1.9m) | 3rd Lap Time (4.5k/2.8m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20:00 | 04:00 | 06:26 | 06:00 | 12:00 | 18:00 |
| 21:00 | 04:12 | 06:46 | 06:18 | 12:36 | 18:54 |
| 22:00 | 04:24 | 07:05 | 06:36 | 13:12 | 19:48 |
| 23:00 | 04:36 | 07:24 | 06:54 | 13:48 | 20:42 |
| 24:00 | 04:48 | 07:43 | 07:12 | 14:24 | 21:36 |
| 25:00 | 05:00 | 08:03 | 07:30 | 15:00 | 22:30 |
| 26:00 | 05:12 | 08:22 | 07:48 | 15:36 | 23:24 |
| 27:00 | 05:24 | 08:41 | 08:06 | 16:12 | 24:18 |
| 28:00 | 05:36 | 09:01 | 08:24 | 16:48 | 25:12 |
| 29:00 | 05:48 | 09:20 | 08:42 | 17:24 | 26:06 |
| 30:00 | 06:00 | 09:39 | 09:00 | 18:00 | 27:00 |
| 31:00 | 06:12 | 09:59 | 09:18 | 18:36 | 27:54 |
| 32:00 | 06:24 | 10:18 | 09:36 | 19:12 | 28:48 |
| 33:00 | 06:36 | 10:37 | 09:54 | 19:48 | 29:42 |
| 34:00 | 06:48 | 10:57 | 10:12 | 20:24 | 30:36 |
| 35:00 | 07:00 | 11:16 | 10:30 | 21:00 | 31:30 |
How the pacing chart works
Let’s take a finish time of 25 minutes as an example.
The chart shows what your average pace should be for both mins/Km and mins/mile (depending on what units you have your gps tracker set to). Average pace on your device however may not be entirely reliable, especially over 5k. Therefore the most important times to remember are your 1st lap, 2nd lap and 3rd lap times.
For our 25 minute example, you should aim to pass the start line and complete your 1st lap in 7min 30secs, your 2nd lap in 15mins and your final lap in 22mins 30secs. This then leaves you 2min 30sec to complete the final 500m to the finish line.
Using the lap times is more accurate and should give you a better idea if you are too fast or slow on each lap and allow you to adjust accordingly.
You should aim to finish just under the required time if possible, however just do your best, it is always difficult to be that exact over a short distance.
