Hi there my running friend this is Coach Claire Bartholic, the Planted Runner, and this is the

Run to the Top Podcast, one of the first and only running podcast dedicated to making

you a better runner with each and every episode. We are created and produced by the

expert team of running coaches at runnersconnect.net where you can find the

best running Have you ever watched a little kid run? They blast off as fast as their little

lakes can go and then they flame out to a stop almost as fast as they started.

This instinct to run hard from the start is something that's tough to unlearn. That's why you so often see new runners and even experienced runners do the exact same thing in workouts and races.

They start off too fast and at some point dramatically and disappointingly slow down,

finishing far slower than their potential.

But there is a proven race strategy that race after race

produces far better results.

It's a strategy that has led to nearly every world record in distances from 1,500 meters to the

marathon and beyond. It's called the negative split. A negative split is

simply running the first half of your race slower than your second half.

That means you have to run slower when you're feeling good and run faster when you're feeling

tired.

Sounds impossible, right?

Well, it's not easy for sure, but it's a concept that can work in nearly any race to ensure that you get the very most out of your potential.

It's easy to see why we naturally go out too fast. We feel good and fresh

at the start and often underestimate the effort required to sustain our pace through the entire distance.

Sure, intellectually, we know that the race will get tougher the longer it goes on.

But in the quest to run a new PR or crush a new distance, we often get

...