CoursePace
Overview
CoursePace helps distance runners turn a goal finish time into realistic race-day split targets based on the actual terrain of a marathon course. Instead of treating every kilometer or mile as equal, it accounts for climbs, descents, bridges, tunnels, and rolling sections that can make the same pace feel very different.
The goal is simple: give runners a pacing plan that is easier to trust on race day.
Why I Built It
Most distance runners start a race with a goal finish time, and during the race they need to know: am I on pace, going too fast, or falling behind?
A naive average pace can be misleading on non-flat courses. Holding the same pace uphill, downhill, and across flat sections does not mean holding the same effort. Many marathon routes include bridges, tunnels, hills, and rolling terrain, so runners need a plan that reflects how the course actually feels underfoot.
CoursePace was built to help runners distribute effort more evenly, make better pacing decisions during the race, and give themselves a stronger chance at their best result.
How It Works
CoursePace builds each pacing plan from a reviewed course profile:
- Start with the best available course route, preferably an official GPX file from the race organizer. When an official route is not available, use reviewed community route data.
- Normalize the route to marathon distance, attach elevation data, and check for suspicious gaps or noisy elevation points.
- Smooth the elevation profile so small map artifacts do not create fake surges in the pacing plan.
- Review sections where terrain data can be wrong for runners, such as bridges, tunnels, underpasses, and overpasses, and apply manual course-surface corrections where needed.
- Estimate how each part of the course changes running effort. CoursePace breaks the route into small sections, looks at whether each section climbs, descends, or stays flat, and converts that terrain into an effort adjustment so the pacing plan reflects how hard each split should feel.
- Combine the adjusted course profile with the runner's goal finish time to generate per-kilometer or per-mile target paces and cumulative split times.
For a deeper explanation of the data preparation and pacing model, see the CoursePace methodology.
Availability
CoursePace is available as a public pacing planner for many of the world’s major marathons, with more courses on the way.