Easy pace

“This should feel super comfortable – you should be able to hold a conversation and not be breathless. If you imagine a scale of one to 10 with 10 being your maximum effort, you want to be aiming for around three or four.”

Tempo pace

“I like to call this pace ‘comfortably uncomfortable’. It should feel like you are putting effort in, but not to the point you are gasping for breath or working at your top effort. Try to aim for around five or six out of 10.”

Race pace

“This, quite simply, is the pace you need to run to achieve a certain time, be that a 25-minute 5k, or a four-hour marathon. It is important to include this pace during your training so that you know what it feels like and hopefully, by the end of your training block, this will feel like an achievable pace.”

You’ll notice that Foster talks in terms of how a pace ‘feels’, rather than setting out specific numbers. That’s important – even when you’re a ridiculously fast runner like she is. For her, using that relative perceived effort (RPE) scale is more useful than stats because it’s consistency that matters for many of us.

“If you are consistent with your running, you will notice improvements quite quickly and that can be a real confidence boost when you realise that your runs have started to feel a bit easier,” she says. Without noticing, your pace will probably pick up too.

Running tips: how to pace yourself while running to feel more comfortable on the road