Supplements for Runners — Running Nutrition | 6AM Run

Every marathon has two races in it. There's the race you run in the first 10 miles — when you feel fresh, the crowd is loud, and every pace feels easy. And there's the race that actually counts, from mile 20 to the finish, when your legs are heavy and your brain is begging you to slow down.

Pacing is how you make sure you still have something left for that second race. It is not about being cautious for the sake of it. It is about spending your energy evenly, so you finish strong instead of surviving the last six miles.

I've learned this the hard way on long runs where I went out chasing a good feeling and paid for it an hour later. The runners who PR run the whole race controlled early, patient in the middle, and brave late.

Here is the simple framework I teach every first-time marathoner.

1. Pick a goal pace you can actually defend

Your goal pace should come from your training, not your hopes. Use a recent half marathon or a long run with marathon-pace miles as your guide:

• Recent half marathon: Double your half time and add 10 to 20 minutes for a realistic first marathon goal.
• Long run test: If you held marathon pace for the last 6 to 8 miles of an 18 to 20-miler and finished feeling like you had one more mile in you, that pace is honest.
• Talk test on easy days: Marathon pace should feel steady and controlled — you can speak in short sentences, but you wouldn't want to hold a full conversation.

Write that pace down as mile, 5K, half, and 20-mile splits, so you never have to do math at mile 14.

If you need help with the fueling side of that goal, start with our Marathon Fueling Calculator guide — pace and fueling only work when they work together.

2. The first 5K: run it deliberately slower

Adrenaline lies. The start line makes an 8:30 mile feel like a jog when your goal is 9:10. Trust your watch for the first three miles, not your legs.

Aim to run the first 5K 10 to 20 seconds per mile slower than goal pace. You are not losing time — you are buying it. Every second you bank too early by running hot comes back as a minute lost late when you hit the wall. I wrote about that exact crash in How to Avoid Hitting the Wall at Mile 20, and pacing is half of that story.

Let people pass you. Smile. High-five the kids. Your race does not start yet.

3. Miles 6 to 13: settle, don't surge

From mile 6, ease onto goal pace and lock in. This is the most boring — and most important — part of the marathon.

• Check your watch every mile, not every 30 seconds. Constant surging to correct small GPS swings wastes energy.
• Run the tangents where it's safe, stay relaxed in your shoulders, and keep your cadence quick and light.
• Take your fuel on schedule, not on feeling. Start fueling by mile 4 or 5 and stay ahead of it every 25 to 30 minutes.

This is where I personally keep it simple. On my own long runs I use 6AM Run Marathon Gummies because they sit easy on my stomach, there's no sticky gel mess on my hands at 6AM in the dark, and I can take a little at a time instead of forcing down a whole gel when I'm already working hard. That's what works for me — if gels work better for you and you've trained with them, stick with your plan. Race day is never the day to experiment.

By halfway, you should feel like you're working, but in control. If halfway feels hard, it is hard — slow by 5 to 10 seconds a mile now and protect the finish.

4. Miles 14 to 20: the patient middle

Break it into chunks: to 16, to 18, to 20. Hold goal pace, keep eating and drinking at aid stations, and do quick form checks — tall posture, relaxed hands, eyes up. If a hill or a bridge slows you for a mile (New York runners, that Queensboro Bridge is real — see our NYC Marathon Fueling Guide), don't sprint the downhill to make it up. Let the pace come back naturally over the next mile.

Practice this in training. Your weekend long run is where pacing becomes a habit — our Long Run Fueling Plan shows how to pair pace work with fueling on those 10+ mile days.

5. Miles 20 to 26.2: now you can race

Mile 20 is where the marathon actually starts. If you paced honestly, you will start passing people here — not because you're speeding up dramatically, but because you're not slowing down as much as everyone who went out too fast.

• Miles 20–23: Hold goal pace by effort. It will feel harder to run the same pace. That's normal.
• Miles 23–25: If you feel strong, nudge 5 to 10 seconds faster. Shorten your focus: catch the runner in the blue shirt, then the next one.
• Final mile: Empty what you have left. No one regrets finishing spent.

This is the negative split in real life: first half a touch slower, second half even or faster. It beats a heroic first half every time.

Common pacing mistakes to avoid

• Banking time: There is no bank. Fast early miles don't save time, they borrow it at terrible interest.
• Racing the runner next to you: You don't know their goal, their training, or whether they're running the half. Run your splits.
• Skipping early fuel because you feel good: You feel good because you're fueled. Keep the schedule.
• Starting a new watch, shoes, or fuel on race day: Nothing new on race day. Ever.
• Ignoring conditions: Heat, humidity, and wind change the math. On a hot day, add 10 to 20 seconds a mile from the start and call it smart, not soft.

A simple race-day pacing checklist

1. Goal pace, 5K, 10K, half, and 20-mile splits written on your arm or bib.
2. First 5K planned 10–20 sec/mile slower than goal.
3. Fueling alarm or schedule set — every 25–30 minutes, starting early.
4. One mantra for mile 22. Mine is simple: "Patient early, brave late."
5. Recovery planned before you finish: walk, eat real food, hydrate, and sleep that night like it's your job.

After a hard effort I use FinishLine as part of my own routine — aminos I reach for when I need to be ready again the next morning. I built 6AM Run for that daily-runner life: clean, portable, no fuss. Pair it with a real meal and water first.

The bottom line

You don't need a perfect race to have a great marathon. You need a pace you can defend, fuel you start early, and the patience to let the race come to you. Run the first half like you want to finish, and the second half like you mean it.

Want to build the engine behind that pace? Start with our 8-Week Base-Building Plan and build up week by week.

See you out there at 6AM.

— Hami, 6AM Run