Marathon training can be a grind, and so can race day—especially if you have your GPS watch buzzing with pace notifications at every kilometre marker. Don’t get me wrong—pacing is crucial in a marathon. It’s something you want to get right. But checking your watch every three or four minutes can quickly become a mental drain.
According to American marathoner and coach Reed Fischer of Hammer & Axe Training, a simple tweak to your watch settings could make all the difference. Instead of receiving notifications for each mile or kilometre, Fischer suggests changing your splits to 5K intervals.
“Break the race down into 5K chunks,” says Fischer. “You’ll find your kilometre splits more volatile if you’re constantly checking the watch. Dividing the race into eight sections instead of 42 will make your pacing smoother and easier on your mind.”
Plus, a marathon is already long enough—so why make it feel even longer by checking your splits 42 times (for kilometres) or 26 times (for miles)? The marathon is about conserving energy and turning your brain off in the early stages, and Fischer’s tip can help you do just that.
Fischer’s advice comes with experience, as he has five career marathons to his name and a personal best of 2:10:14 from the 2024 Chicago Marathon, where he finished as the third American.
Frequent split updates can mess with your mindset, especially if you hit a rough patch or hilly portion of the course, such as Heartbreak Hill on the Boston Marathon course. “If your watch is set to shorter splits, it’s easy to convince yourself you’re slowing down,” says Fischer. “With 5K splits, you’ll have a broader mark and won’t stress over every minor fluctuation in pace.”
Of course, everything in running is personal, so utilize whatever you feel most comfortable with. However, small, stress-free strategies like this can give you the slight mental edge you might need. The same approach can also work with a half-marathon, so if you’re looking to make your next race feel just a little shorter, consider adjusting the settings on your watch. And if you’re not sure how to do so, go into activity settings and change the auto-lap from a kilometre to 5K.
Canadian record holder Kieran Lumb doesn’t wear a GPS watch. Should you?
