Pacing on the downhill/uphills sections

by Arsénio
(Vila Real, Portugal)

Uphill pacing :

"Dear Marius,

I'm following the 3:30 plan (week 7+3) and feeling very good.

About pacing
How do you (or, do you) take in account the terrain when planning your marathon pacing? I mean, as an example, the Porto marathon has an initial leg of 15 kms downhill. As a beginner, it’s tempting to run this part faster, as it is downhill, and should take less effort, but that way I may not be negative splitting… In more general terms, on a HM or FM, should one run the downhills faster and the uphills slower in order to balance the effort?

Regards,
ARs"

Answer: Hi Arsénio, you are quite right in this.

You have to pace yourself in the uphills and downhills. In general you will use a little bit more energy uphills vs. downhills but always to to aim for a "steady effort" - meaning you want to run as economically and even as possible.

This can be trained in workouts so make sure to add some runs in there that are similar in terrain as the actual marathon.

all the best,
Marius