Sample strategy · the real thing
What your race-day plan looks like
This is a complete, genuinely-computed strategy for the Berlin Marathon — nothing mocked up. It's built for a sample runner; your own plan is computed from your fitness and the live race-day forecast.
Sample runner: recent 10 K 42:00 (VDOT 50)· 70 kg · experienced· Berlin Marathon, typical 17 °C
Predicted finish
3:13:53
Even pace
4:36/km
Difficulty
4.7 · Moderate
Heat cost
1.9%
Goal check (3:05:00): Your goal is faster than predicted — achievable but it will hurt; execute the plan precisely. The limiter: current fitness (your VDOT) is the main constraint.
Course & elevation
Fly the course
How the course actually runs
Flat / rolling
km 0–42 · 42 km
Flat-to-rolling for 42 km at 4:37/km. Lock into goal rhythm and spend as little mental energy as possible.
Per-kilometre splits
Every km is in the real plan — here are the 5 km checkpoints.
| km | Target pace | Gradient | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4:34/km | -0.4% | 23:03 |
| 10 | 4:36/km | -0.1% | 46:12 |
| 15 | 4:37/km | +0.1% | 1:09:11 |
| 20 | 4:36/km | 0.0% | 1:32:22 |
| 25 | 4:40/km | +0.3% | 1:55:31 |
| 30 | 4:34/km | -0.3% | 2:18:40 |
| 35 | 4:41/km | +0.4% | 2:41:40 |
| 40 | 4:30/km | -1.0% | 3:04:37 |
| 42 | 4:35/km | -0.2% | 3:13:53 |
Fuelling & hydration
Carbs / hour
80 g
Total carbs
259 g
Fluid / hour
640 ml
Sodium / hour
500 mg
Train your gut first. 80 g/h is a lot to absorb — practise this exact fuelling in your long runs, never try anything new on race day.
| At minute | Take | Carbs | Fluid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | gel | 26 g | 207 ml |
| 35 | gel | 26 g | 207 ml |
| 53 | gel | 26 g | 207 ml |
| 71 | gel | 26 g | 207 ml |
| 88 | gel | 26 g | 207 ml |
| 106 | gel | 26 g | 207 ml |
| 123 | gel | 26 g | 207 ml |
| 141 | gel | 26 g | 206 ml |
What to wear
Warm
- · Singlet
- · Cap or visor
- · Start hydration plan early
Carb-load
For a race over ~90 min, top up glycogen: 560–700 g of carbohydrate per day (8–10 g/kg) for the ~48 h before the start, easing training right down. It is normal to gain 1–2 kg of water weight.
Cutoff
Comfortable — 3:31:07 inside the 6:45:00 cutoff.
Get this for your race
Your plan is built from your real fitness and the live race-day forecast — not a sample. The first one is free.
Deterministic estimates from sports-science models (Daniels VDOT, Riegel, grade-adjusted pace, ISSN nutrition guidance) — not coaching or medical advice, and not a guaranteed finish time. Practise pacing and fuelling in training; never try anything new on race day.