Question: What's a Negative Split?
I've heard runners talk about how they ran a "negative split" for a marathon. What does that mean?
Answer: The term "negative splitting" refers to running the second half of a race faster than the first. So, for instance, if you're running a marathon and you run the first 13.1 miles in 2:01:46, and then run the second 13.1 miles in 1:59:30, then you ran a negative split.
Negative splitting is the ideal way to run a long distance race such as a half or full marathon. Many runners do the opposite by going out too fast in the beginning, and then slowing down significantly in the second half of the race. It's a common mistake because you feel rested and strong in the beginning, so it's tempting to go out fast. It takes a lot of discipline and practice to achieve a negative split. Most people can't do it in their first marathon . But, generally, if you can hold back and conserve your energy in the first half of the race so that you can run faster in the second half, you'll perform much better overall.
