How many seconds will tick off the clock on race day? We have a tool for that!

If you dream of crossing the marathon finishing line in 2:59:59 to beat your 3 hour goal...

or, crossing the 10K finishing line in 39:59 to beat your 40 minutes goal...

I have a formula that will let you approach that dream in a methodical way.

This formula is not some magic hack that will guarantee you break your goal.

But, you will have a realistic path of reaching your goal when you know this equation.

Let's call a 39:59 10K or a 2:59:59 Marathon a "time-based" goal.

This "time-based" line of thinking causes runners to think of running in terms of pace.

i.e. I must run 6:25 min/mile (3:59 min/km) if I want to run sub-40 in the 10k.

This line of thinking works great for a flat course where you can keep a constant pace from start to finish.

But, unless you live in a pancake flat area, you won't be running many flat races.

And, every race course is slightly different with different levels of hills.

This means that running according to a certain time is pretty difficult.

However, it is possible if you have the right tools.

Let's say I wanted to run a full Marathon.

I know that I can maximally maintain 300 watts of power over a Marathon.

Here is a series of possible times I could finish at, while holding that same power:

1. 3:28:27, on a slightly downhill course.
2. 3:30:42, on a flat course.
3. 3:32:59, on a course with a few rolling hills, but no net elevation gain.
4. 3:35:20, on a course with a few rolling hills, but it is slightly more uphill.
5. 3:37:43, on a tougher course with numerous climbs and descents in the middle, and a net uphill.

Although my fitness is exactly the same for all of these hypothetical races, there is nearly a 10 minute difference between the best result and the worst result!

If my goal is to run under 3:30 for my Marathon, I would only be able to achieve that on a downhill course.

Every other race would end in disappointment.

Good thing I know that before I step up to the start line.

Here is how I determined that.

Finishing time is determined by two things.

1. Running power capability (i.e. how much power I can produce over a marathon)
2. Running effectiveness (i.e. how I turn power into speed... which depends on how hilly the course is)

If I wanted to be finishing under 3:30, I have two choices:

1. I can only run on flat or downhill courses where my running effectiveness is good!

2. Or, I would need to improve my running power over a marathon so my finishing times go down.

Stryd data will give you a realistic idea of your finishing times, by considering your capability and your race courses.

This is tremendously important info if you want to finish under a certain time.

You can get Stryd here: https://store.stryd.com

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