Effort 1 Very, very easy
Full conversation. You finish fresh and feel fine all day.
103-123bpm
60-72% of max
Goal pace 10:55 /mi · 6:47 /km
Your Marathon Heart Rate Zones
Every run in your plan is set as a % of max heart rate. Pop in your numbers to see your Effort 1 to 5 targets in beats per minute, and the matching paces for your goal time.
Max heart rate from
Formula: 205.4 - (0.685 x age)
Estimated max HR: 171 bpm
Paces scale to this goal time.
20°C (68°F) or cooler: no adjustment.
- Max HR used
- 171bpm
- Marathon pace
- 9:09/mi
- Heat adjustment
- No heat adjustment
Effort 2 Easy
Full sentences, breaking a sweat.
123-137bpm
72-80% of max
Goal pace 9:54 /mi · 6:09 /km
Effort 3 Moderate
A breath every 4-5 words. Between marathon and half pace.
137-149bpm
80-87% of max
Goal pace 8:54 /mi · 5:32 /km
Effort 4 Hard
Talking is over. 10K to half marathon pace.
149-157bpm
87-92% of max
Goal pace 8:25 /mi · 5:14 /km
Effort 5 Very hard
One word at a time. Short bursts only.
157-166bpm
92-97% of max
Goal pace 8:05 /mi · 5:01 /km
Put it in TrainingPeaks
- Open TrainingPeaks settings, then Zones, then Heart Rate.
- Enter your max HR: 171 bpm.
- Save. Your workouts and watch now show the targets in bpm.
Two honest warnings
Formulas are estimates. If your easy runs feel hard at these numbers, tell me and we test your real max instead of guessing.
Watches run hot. If your watch sets zones for you, it usually puts the threshold zone a few beats too high. Knock 3 to 5 beats off its top zone. Your legs will thank you. Your ego will cope.
Hot days
Above 20°C (68°F) your heart rate runs higher at the same effort. The bpm numbers above already allow about 1% extra for every degree C over 20.
Pace slows on hot days. That is fine. Heart rate is the boss, pace is the sanity check.
Want a coach to set these for you?
A Wingman coach reads your test results, sets your zones and race-day plan, and adjusts them as you get fitter, so every session is pitched right.
Questions about your zones? Ask Coach Stephan .