“You should be able to regulate your breathing and speak some words, but it should feel like a challenge,” says Lamar. “It teaches you to rely on your own body and intuition rather than technology, which may or may not be accurate.” That’s because if you go by pace or heart rate, there are a number of factors that can mess with those numbers including elevation, inclines or declines, weather, or overtraining.Īnother way to determine your effort is the talk test, or how breathless you are at a certain pace. Perceived effort is one of the most valuable ways that you can figure out what the best pace is for you, explains Chris Knighton, a USATF-certified coach specializing in 5K through half-marathon distances. “The go-to standard for a 10K is an eight out of 10 on the RPE scale,” says Lamar. One of those methods is rate of perceived exertion, which ranks your effort level on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 being no effort and 10 being max effort). Coaches and runners use a couple of different methods for gauging pace.

If you’ve never run that distance before, that’s okay. On the most basic level, your 10K pace is the pace you can hold consistently for 6.2 miles. If you’re thinking about running or racing a 10K, here’s everything you need to know to conquer the 6.2-mile distance and at what speed to target to you cross the finish line with a PR. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play

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