Published 7 June 2026 by the Edge team. Honest guidance for UK beginners.
TL;DR
Easy run pace is the speed at which you can hold a full conversation without gasping. For most beginners, that is roughly 75 to 90 seconds per mile slower than your 5K race pace, or about 60 to 75 seconds per kilometre slower. Around 80 percent of your weekly running should be at this pace. Most beginners run their easy runs too fast, which parks them in the unproductive grey zone (Zone 3) where fitness gains are slow and fatigue builds up.
What is easy run pace, in plain English?
Easy run pace is the slow, steady speed where your breathing is calm and you could happily chat to a friend running next to you. It is the cornerstone of every smart training plan, from couch to 5K all the way up to a sub three hour marathon.
The science backs it up. Easy running builds aerobic capacity, strengthens your heart and improves how efficiently your muscles use oxygen, all without the joint strain or recovery cost of harder running. It is the slow, boring, deeply important part of training that quietly makes you faster over time.
Here is the catch. Easy pace feels almost too easy. New runners often think they are wasting their time. They are not.
The talk test (the gold standard for beginners)
Before you worry about watches, formulas or heart rate zones, learn the talk test. It is the most reliable everyday tool for finding easy pace.
- Easy pace: you can speak in full sentences, breath stays smooth, you finish a paragraph without pausing for breath.
- Steady pace (too hard for easy days): you can speak in short sentences, but you are starting to feel it.
- Threshold pace: you can only manage a few words at a time.
- Race pace: you do not want to talk at all.
If you cannot read this paragraph out loud while running without gasping, you are running too fast for an easy day. Slow down. Yes, that slow.
The maths: how to calculate your easy pace
If you want a number to aim for, the Riegel formula and Jack Daniels VDOT tables give a solid starting point. Both work from a recent race time, usually a 5K.
The simple beginner rule of thumb is:
- In miles: easy pace = 5K race pace + 75 to 90 seconds per mile.
- In kilometres: easy pace = 5K race pace + 60 to 75 seconds per kilometre.
Worked example. You ran a 30 minute parkrun. That is a 5K pace of 9:39 per mile (6:00 per km). Your easy pace target is roughly 10:54 to 11:09 per mile, or 7:00 to 7:15 per kilometre.
If that sounds slow, it is. That is the point.
Easy Pace Calculator
Enter a recent 5K time. The calculator returns your easy, long, recovery, tempo and threshold paces.
Estimates based on Jack Daniels and Riegel pacing models. Use as a guide, not a rule. Your body, weather and terrain will move these numbers.
The heart rate version (if you wear a watch)
If your watch tracks heart rate, easy pace lines up almost exactly with Zone 2. That is roughly 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
The classic estimate is 220 minus your age, then take 60 to 70 percent of that. For a 35 year old, max HR is around 185 bpm and easy pace sits between 111 and 130 bpm. Use this as a sense check, not gospel. Many beginners have a max HR 10 bpm above or below the formula.
| Effort label | % of max HR | Talk test | How it feels (RPE) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recovery | 50-60% | Could sing | 2 out of 10 |
| Easy | 60-70% | Full sentences | 3-4 out of 10 |
| Steady (grey zone) | 70-80% | Short sentences | 5-6 out of 10 |
| Threshold | 80-88% | A few words | 7-8 out of 10 |
| VO2 / interval | 88-95% | Cannot talk | 9 out of 10 |
Why most beginners ignore easy pace (and pay for it)
If easy running is the most important kind, why does almost every new runner skip it? Three reasons.
- It feels too slow. If you can run 10 minute miles, jogging at 11:30 per mile feels almost silly. New runners assume slower means worse.
- Strava and social media. A 5 mile easy run at 11:30 pace does not get many kudos. So people push.
- No one explained the grey zone. The space between easy and threshold is the danger zone. Too hard to recover from, not hard enough to drive big gains.
The result is what coaches call moderate intensity syndrome. Every run feels okay, every run leaves you slightly tired, and progress slowly stalls.
The 80 / 20 rule (and why it works)
Elite endurance athletes from Kenyan marathoners to Norwegian triathletes share one habit. They run roughly 80 percent of their weekly volume easy, and 20 percent hard. The hard 20 percent is genuinely hard (intervals, threshold, race efforts). The easy 80 percent is genuinely easy.
For a beginner running four times a week, that often looks like:
- 3 easy runs at conversational pace
- 1 harder session (intervals, hills or tempo)
Five runs a week? Four easy plus one quality. Six runs? Five easy plus one quality, or four easy plus two quality.
Common easy pace mistakes
1. Starting too fast
The first kilometre always feels easy because you are fresh. Hold back. A useful rule is to keep your heart rate 10 bpm under the easy ceiling for the first 10 minutes.
2. Letting hills wreck the effort
On easy days, pace goes out of the window on hills. Effort is the king. Slow down on the up, do not chase the same pace.
3. Treating every parkrun as an easy run
Parkrun is a 5K race in disguise. If you run it flat out, count it as your hard day, not your easy long run.
4. Refusing to walk
If your heart rate climbs out of easy on a long hill, walking briefly is the right call. It keeps the effort honest. This is not failure, it is intelligent pacing.
5. Picking a target then never updating it
Fitness changes. Easy pace from January should not still be your target in June. Re-run a parkrun (or a hard mile) every six to eight weeks and recalibrate.
How Edge handles easy pace (the honest version)
We get a lot of questions about how Edge fits into easy run training, so here is the straight answer.
What Edge does: Edge builds you an adaptive starting plan that includes easy runs, long runs and tougher sessions in a sensible mix. You can sync directly with Strava, Garmin, Apple Watch and Coros, so your easy runs flow into your dashboard without manual logging. During runs, you get lean voice prompts to mark the start, transitions and finish. Outside of runs, you can chat to Edge AI in 30 seconds or message a real coach when you want a human opinion on whether your easy runs are actually easy.
What Edge does not do: Edge does not enforce easy pace. We do not buzz your watch or shout at you when you drift too fast. We do not auto-set a pace target for each run. We do not analyse your form or measure cadence directly. The talk test, your heart rate and your honesty are still the tools that keep easy easy. We give you the plan, the tracking and the people to ask. Slowing down is still your job.
Around 17,000 UK members use Edge to train, and the most common note from coaches is the same one in this article. Slow down on easy days. Making fitness feel good for everyone starts with not torching yourself on Tuesday.
You can try the free 7 day trial and see whether the structure helps. After that it is £19.99 a month or £119.99 a year, with Flexi Swap if your week falls apart and you need to shuffle sessions.
A simple two week easy pace test
Want proof that easy running works? Try this.
- Week one: run your usual mileage, but force 80 percent of it at honest easy pace. Use the talk test ruthlessly.
- Week two: same volume, same easy discipline. Add one short session at threshold (something like 4 x 5 minutes at comfortably hard, with 90 seconds easy between).
- End of week two: run a parkrun or a hard mile. Compare your time to two weeks ago.
Most beginners knock 20 to 40 seconds off their mile time within two weeks of running easy properly. The fitness was already there. Easy pace just lets it show.
Frequently asked questions
How slow should my easy runs really be?
Slow enough to hold a full conversation, finish a paragraph out loud, or sing a verse of a song. In pace terms, around 75 to 90 seconds per mile slower than 5K race pace. If you feel even slightly out of breath, slow down further.
Is easy run pace the same as Zone 2?
In practice, yes, they overlap heavily. Zone 2 typically lines up with 60 to 70 percent of maximum heart rate, which is the same range coaches use for easy effort. Use either as your guide, just do not run both at the same time and confuse yourself.
What if my easy pace is walking pace?
Then walk run is the right strategy. Many couch to 5K plans start with 60 seconds running and 90 seconds walking. That is honest easy training. Forcing yourself to jog continuously at a heart rate that belongs to threshold is the worst of both worlds.
How often should I do easy runs?
For new runners, 80 percent of your weekly running. If you run three times a week, two should be easy. If you run five times a week, four should be easy. The remaining sessions are where the harder work lives.
Will easy running make me faster?
Yes, more than almost any other tool. Easy mileage builds the aerobic engine, improves your bodys ability to burn fat for fuel and lets you absorb harder sessions without breaking down. Most runners who stall at 5K do so because their easy runs are not easy.
What is the difference between easy pace and long run pace?
Long run pace sits at the slower end of easy. The point of the long run is time on feet, not speed. As a rule, your long run should feel slightly slower than a midweek easy run, especially if it is over 90 minutes.
