What pace is a 46 minute 10K?

4:36 per kilometre, held for the full ten kilometres. On a 400 metre track that is 1:50 for each of the twenty-five laps, with nothing left over. In imperial units it is 7:24 per mile, or 8.10 mph. Halfway at an even pace is 23:00.

What should I go through 5 km in?

23:00 for an even race. The two halves must add to 46:00, so anything you take off the first half has to be given back in the second — go through in 22:30 and the second half has to be 23:30, a minute slower than the first. Most 10K personal bests are run with the halves within about fifteen seconds of each other.

What should the clock read at each kilometre?

At an even 4:36: 9:12 at two kilometres, 18:24 at four, 23:00 at halfway, 36:48 at eight and 46:00 at the finish. On a track the same splits fall at laps five, ten, twelve and a half, twenty and twenty-five — a 10K is exactly twenty-five laps, so it starts and finishes on the same line.

How much quicker is 45 minutes than 46?

Six seconds per kilometre. Ten kilometres divides a minute into six-second steps, which is half the twelve seconds a minute is worth on a 5K — so a whole minute is a smaller pace change here than at the shorter distance. 46:00 needs 4:36 and 45:00 needs 4:30; going the other way, 47:00 needs 4:42.

What does a 46 minute 10K suggest at other distances?

Using Riegel's model, roughly 22:04 for 5K, 1:41:30 for a half marathon and 3:31:37 for a marathon. Note the 5K figure — it implies a 5K pace about 0:11 per kilometre quicker than your 10K pace, which is the usual gap between the two.

Should I eat before a 10K?

Something light, and nothing unfamiliar. A 10K is short enough that fuel is not the limiting factor, so the aim is simply to avoid discomfort — a small carbohydrate-based meal two to three hours beforehand suits most people, or nothing at all before a morning race. Water is worth having, but drinking during the race is rarely necessary at this distance.

What is a realistic first 10K goal?

Finishing, and then a time on the second attempt. Setting a target before you know what the distance feels like usually produces a badly paced first race, which teaches you less than a steady one. Run the first at a comfortable effort, note the time, and use that as the basis for a target — the calculator on this page will do the arithmetic from there.

How should I pace the second half?

By having something left to pace it with. The last three kilometres of a 10K are decided almost entirely by the first five — if you are holding pace comfortably at seven kilometres, the finish is yours to shape. If you are already fading, the only strategy left is damage limitation. This is the practical case for starting a little inside target rather than a little outside it.

Does a hilly course change the plan?

Yes, and the change is to stop watching pace. On a rolling course an even pace requires an uneven effort, which is exactly backwards — ease off the climbs, let gravity help on the descents, and accept that individual kilometre splits will vary widely. Chasing a target pace up a hill is one of the most reliable ways to ruin the second half of a 10K.

10K in 46 Minutes — Pace, Splits and Halfway Plan

A 10K in 46 minutes means holding 4:36 per kilometre — 1:50 for each of the twenty-five laps of a 400 metre track, with halfway at 23:00. That is 7:24 per mile, or 13.04 km/h. Forty-six minutes is a good time at which to run by effort rather than by pace. On any course with hills, holding an even pa...

YOUR 10K TARGET

TARGET TIME — mm:ss or h:mm:ss

COMMON TARGETS

YOU NEED TO HOLD

4:36 / km

PER MILE

7:24

PER LAP × 25

1:50

HALFWAY

23:00

13.04 km/h, 8.10 mph. On a track that is 1:50 for twenty-five laps with nothing left over — a 10K starts and finishes on the same line.

KILOMETRE SPLITS — EVEN PACE

1 km

lap 2.5