Dulles Community Church

One-Mile Test

One-Mile Test

Jeff Galloway Race Prediction Formulas

(based upon a one mile time trial)

After having worked with over 170,000 runners over 30 years, I've compiled hundreds of performances and have established a prediction formula based upon a one mile time trial. In other words, every 2 weeks or so, you can run a measured mile (at a good, hard pace for you) and use the time to predict what you could run at longer distances.

This assumes that

* You do the training needed for the distance and time goal (See my books MARATHON & GALLOWAY'S BOOK ON RUNNING 2ND ED)
* The temperature on the race day of your race is 60F or cooler
* You pace yourself correctly and take the walk breaks necessary for your goal (see the same two books for details)

Take your one mile time and adjust as follows:

add 33 seconds for your pace for a 5K
multiply by 1.15 for 10K pace
multiply by 1.2 for half marathon pace
multiply by 1.3 for marathon pace

Here's how to do the one mile time trial:

1. warm up with a slow one mile run
2. do a few acceleration-gliders (see MARATHON & GALLOWAY'S BOOK ON RUNNING 2ND ED)
3. pace yourself as even as possible on each quarter mile
4. run about as hard as you could run for one mile--but no puking! (finish feeling that you couldn't have run more than a football field at the same pace)
5. keep walking after the time trial for 5 minutes, and jog a slow 1-6 miles, as needed for the mileage for that day

Predicting race performance:

Take your last 4 one mile time trials
Eliminate the slowest
Average the other three
Use the prediction formula for your race
Adjust for heat and humidity: slow down by 30 sec a mile for every 5 degree temperature increase above 60F