Friday Q&A: Negative Splits
I hear a lot about negative splits in marathons, but I’ve never been able to do them. What is the best way to PR in a marathon, negative or positive splits?- Marcie in Hartford
Marcie that is a great question and one where I disagree with a lot of experts. I think negative splits are the wrong goal. You can get negative splits every time just by running your first half ridiculously slow. If you average marathon time is 4 hours, if you took 2.5 hours to run the first half the odds are quite good you’d finish in less than 5 hours, thus giving yourself a negative split, but no where near your best possible time.
Unless you are an elite runner and are able to stay super even I think negative splits are a bad thing to try for. To me, it means you didn’t go hard enough in the first half. You may wind up with a good time, but how do you know that if you had run 4-5 minutes faster the first half if it would have cost you that much on the back half.
My best time ever came off of a 4 minute positive split. I ran a 1:27 first half and a 1:31 second half to set my PR of 2:58.
Ryan Hall, who holds the American record for fastest debut marathon, did it with a positive split in London. He ran a 1:02 first half and finished with a 1:04 second half, for a 2 minute positive split.
Now, I am not advocating setting your half-marathon PR in the first half of your marathon, as then you will surely crater. For me personally, I try to hit between a 1:27 - 1:35 first half and then hang on. If I am trying for a sub-3, then I need to be way closer to the 1:27-1:29 range to have a chance. If I am trying to get my Boston time, then I like to be in the 1:27 - 1:32 range, which gives me some room to positive split and still make it.
The other way I look at it is I would much rather be at the half way point in 1:27, than 1:35, and that’s gives me an extra mile in the same amount of time. It also allows each of my later miles to be slower than the first, which is normal. It is a great confidence boost when you hit the half right where you want to be and know you’ve got a shot for your PR.
For me I know if I ever get to the half a 1:30 or higher I have zero shot at sub three and a negative split is out of the question.
That being said, I did negative split Pike’s Peak. Hahaha
Best of luck in your upcoming marathons.
Readers, do you try for positive or negative splits? Let us know.
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You know I agree. I can’t think of anything more discouraging than to get into a second half of a race, realize you need to GET FASTER, just as you are starting to fatigue. It’s more motivating to realize you are DOING GREAT and just need to hold on for another few miles, in my opinion.
You are such an inspiration. I’m not *that* kind of a runner, just an amateur, but it’s bloggers like you that make me feel I’m a little bit a part of this world.
I think I even understand splits. Not that I’m ever going to run a marathon or anything.