Reading the Land: How to Pace a Trail Race Without Burning Out

Pacing on the trail isn’t about holding even splits. It’s about two things: listening to the land beneath your feet, and managing the decisions that come with it.

Because every climb, descent, and technical stretch asks you a question: push or pull back, run or hike, fuel now or later? If you answer every question reactively, you drain mental energy long before your legs give out.

Learn to Read the Land

The trail gives cues, if you know how to listen.

• Climbs: If the grade spikes and your breath shortens, that’s the trail telling you to hike early, not late. Power hiking with short, quick steps protects energy for when you’ll need it most.
• Flats: Smooth ground is an invitation to settle into rhythm and eat. Use flats as a chance to cruise, refuel, and reset.
• Descents: Gravity offers free speed, but only if you stay relaxed. If you feel your quads braking hard, back off and let flow carry you.
• Technical sections: Roots and rocks ask for patience. Slowing slightly saves more time (and energy) than tripping.

When you pace by terrain, you stop fighting the course. You move with it.

Pace Your Mind Too

Trail ultras aren’t just about leg fatigue: they’re about decision fatigue.

• Every time you wonder “should I eat now?”, you’re burning energy.
• Every time you debate “is this runnable or should I hike?”, you’re loading your brain.
• Every time you compare to someone else’s stride, you add another mental cost.

The solution is to remove as many decisions as possible before the race.

• Have a fuelling rhythm: e.g. every 30 minutes, no negotiation.
• Pre-decide hike points: big climbs = hike from the base, not halfway up.
• Use mantras: “Strong steps, steady breath” cuts through chatter and anchors rhythm.

When decisions are rehearsed, your brain stays fresh for the moments you actually need it, like navigating a tricky descent in the dark.

Why This Matters for Women

Women often excel at pacing ultras: not because of brute force, but because of steadiness. By combining terrain literacy with smart decision-making, you lean into that strength. You protect energy, reduce stress, and give yourself space to run the second half stronger than the first.

The Real Goal

Pacing isn’t about even splits. It’s about conserving both physical and mental energy across unpredictable terrain.

The more you can read the land, and pre-plan the decisions, the more space you have to simply run: free, strong, steady.

Reflection Prompt

What decisions can I pre-make before race day, so I save energy for when it really matters?

And how can I practise reading the terrain in training, so the land itself becomes my pacing guide?