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AnswersHow fast should easy runs be?
Slower than most runners run them. An easy run should sit at roughly 59–70% of VO₂max, which for a runner with a 25-minute 5 km means no faster than about 6:19 per kilometre. It should feel conversational. The number is a ceiling, not a target: slower is fine, faster is the mistake.
Easy pace ceiling by 5 km time
| Current fitness | Easy ceiling · for comparison, threshold |
|---|---|
| 5 km in 35:00 | 8:38/km or slower · threshold 7:23/km |
| 5 km in 30:00 | 7:30/km or slower · threshold 6:23/km |
| 5 km in 27:00 | 6:48/km or slower · threshold 5:47/km |
| 5 km in 25:00 | 6:19/km or slower · threshold 5:22/km |
| 5 km in 22:00 | 5:37/km or slower · threshold 4:45/km |
| 5 km in 20:00 | 5:08/km or slower · threshold 4:21/km |
| 5 km in 18:00 | 4:39/km or slower · threshold 3:56/km |
Look at the gap between the two columns. For most runners it is well over a minute a kilometre, and that gap is the point. Easy running builds the aerobic machinery — capillaries, mitochondria, the ability to use fat — at a cost you can recover from by tomorrow. Run it in the grey zone between easy and threshold and you pay more of the cost without much more of the benefit, and arrive at the next hard session too tired to do it properly.
Why runners get it wrong
Easy pace feels embarrassingly slow, especially in company, on Strava, or at altitude where it is slower still. The fix is to treat the ceiling as a rule rather than a suggestion for a few weeks. Most people find their hard sessions improve before their easy pace does.
Common questions
Can I use heart rate instead?
Yes. Easy running sits below about 85% of your lactate threshold heart rate. Heart rate drifts up in heat and at altitude, which makes it a useful check on days when pace is misleading.
What if my easy pace feels too slow?
It is supposed to. If it genuinely feels like nothing, check that your time trial was recent — an old, slower result sets paces that no longer fit.
Does this change at altitude?
It gets slower. In Johannesburg the plan sets the easy ceiling roughly 8% slower than the same effort at the coast.
Sources
- Daniels, J. Daniels' Running Formula.
- Seiler, K. S. & Kjerland, G. Ø. (2006). Quantifying training intensity distribution in elite endurance athletes. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.