Pace Chart Tutorial

During every ultra marathon, I carry with me a homemade pace chart that looks something like this: My process and end-result continually evolve, due to past learnings and to the particularities of the next race. But I feel confident now in sharing a framework for creating a pace chart for an ultra marathon. Ultras versus…

Unless you have created a pace chart for an ultra marathon before or found a template online, the process begins with a blank spreadsheet. Personally, I use Google Sheets, a free platform that is easily shareable and that I can access from all of my devices (e.g. desktop, Chromebook, smartphone). Critical data I start by importing…

The scariest part of creating a pace chart for an ultra marathon is the need to settle on a goal finishing time. I say scary because: A goal time, and the associated splits, are something of a commitment; It requires an honest assessment of physical and mental preparedness; and, It’s difficult to account for all…

Before I jump into the third and final step in creating a pace chart for an ultra marathon, I thought it would be helpful to review the process so far. Step 1: In a spreadsheet we created a list of key landmarks on the course, and added pertinent information like distances between these landmarks and where…