Inside Rory Linkletter’s Record‑Breaking Training: Elite Pacing Strategies You Can Use Today
I still hear the faint hum of the street‑lights flickering as I line up at the start of a 10 km loop in the park. The air is crisp, the path is wet from the night’s drizzle, and a tiny voice in my head asks, “What will it feel like when I finally trust my own pace?” It’s a question I’ve asked every time I’ve stood on the edge of a race‑day start, and it’s the same question that drove Canadian runner Rory Linkletter to re‑think his whole approach to pacing.
The concept: personalised pacing as a training philosophy
Instead of chasing a generic “run faster” mantra, Rory and his coach began to treat pace as a conversation with the body. The idea is simple: break the race into zones that match the physiological systems you want to stress. Research from the Journal of Applied Physiology shows that training within clearly defined intensity bands improves lactate clearance and mitochondrial efficiency more than unstructured “hard” sessions (Billat et al., 2003).
When you can see those zones in real‑time – a colour‑coded display that tells you whether you’re in easy, tempo or hard – you stop guessing and start listening. The brain’s perception of effort drops dramatically when the data you’re looking at matches the feeling you expect (Miller & Snyder, 2018). In short, personalised pace zones turn abstract effort into a concrete, repeatable metric.
Science meets the road: why the zones work
- Aerobic base (Zone 1 – 65‑75 % HRmax) – builds the capillary network; a 30‑minute easy run at this intensity improves fat utilisation.
- Lactate threshold (Zone 2 – 80‑85 % HRmax) – the sweet spot for marathon‑specific speed; training here raises the speed you can hold before lactate spikes.
- VO₂‑max intervals (Zone 3 – 90‑95 % HRmax) – short, hard bursts that push your maximal oxygen uptake, sharpening the engine for race surges.
Rory’s breakthrough workouts combined a tempo run at the upper end of Zone 2 with a brief Zone 3 surge on the Newton Hills. The result was a half‑marathon split of 61 minutes 45 seconds – a pace he could now trust to hold for 13 miles of a marathon.
Self‑coaching: turning the concept into your own plan
- Define your zones – Use a recent race or a field test (e.g., 5 km at max effort) to calculate heart‑rate or perceived‑effort thresholds.
- Map a weekly pattern
- Monday: easy 6 km in Zone 1
- Wednesday: 8 km with 3 × 1 km at the top of Zone 2, 2 min jog recovery
- Saturday: long run 16 km, 75 % in Zone 2, the final 3 km in Zone 3 for a controlled surge
- Use adaptive feedback – A training platform that nudges you when you drift out of a zone keeps the session honest without you having to stare at a watch all the time.
- Collect and compare – After each week, glance at the “collection” of your runs; spotting a pattern (e.g., a steady drop in average heart‑rate for the same pace) tells you you’re getting stronger.
These steps let you act like a personal coach, using data that feels personalised rather than generic.
Subtle tech‑enabled advantages
When you have a tool that shows personalised pace zones on the screen, you instantly know whether you’re on‑track for a race‑pace effort. Adaptive training plans will automatically shift the next week’s target if a recent long run felt easier than expected – a built‑in safety net that prevents over‑training. Real‑time feedback during a hill repeat tells you if you’re still in Zone 3 or slipping back to Zone 2, letting you fine‑tune effort on the fly. And the ability to pull together a collection of similar workouts means you can see progress across months, not just days, reinforcing confidence in your self‑coaching decisions.
Closing thought & a ready‑to‑run workout
The beauty of running is that the most valuable lessons come from the miles you log, not the articles you read. By treating pace as a dialogue rather than a command, you give yourself the freedom to experiment, adapt and, ultimately, enjoy the journey.
Try this workout this week (distances shown in miles; convert to kilometres if you prefer):
- Warm‑up – 1 mile easy (Zone 1) + 4 min of dynamic drills
- Main set – 3 × 0.6 mile at the upper edge of your “marathon‑pace” zone (just a touch faster than your typical long‑run speed) with 2 min easy jog between each repeat
- Cool‑down – 1 mile very easy, checking that you stay in Zone 1
During the repeats, watch the on‑screen zone indicator; aim to stay within the coloured band that matches your target pace. If you drift, adjust effort until you’re back in the right zone – that’s the moment self‑coaching becomes real‑time coaching.
Happy running – and when you finish this session, you’ll have another data point to add to your personal collection, bringing you one step closer to that trusted pace you’ve been looking for.
References
- How Rory Linkletter ran a personal best at the Boston Marathon - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
- The Rundown with Canadian half-marathon record-holder Rory Linkletter - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
- Rory Linkletter runs second-fastest Canadian time at Boston Marathon - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
- Rory Linkletter adjusts to new coach ahead of TCS New York City Marathon - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
- Rory Linkletter is tapered and “ready to fight” at Canadian Olympic Marathon Trials - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
- Rory Linkletter joins forces with Puma Running - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
- Canadian marathoner Rory Linkletter and coach Ryan Hall: excelling on a razor’s edge - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
- Rory Linkletter’s crazy Strava workout ahead of the Boston Marathon - Canadian Running Magazine (Blog)
Collection - The Linkletter Method: Record-Breaker Pacing
Aerobic Foundation
View workout details
- 10min @ 6'15''/km
- 35min @ 5'52''/km
- 5min @ 12'00''/km
Tempo Introduction
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- 15min @ 6'00''/km
- 2 lots of:
- 8min @ 4'50''/km
- 3min rest
- 10min @ 6'30''/km
Leg Speed & Strides
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- 10min @ 6'15''/km
- 25min @ 5'45''/km
- 4 lots of:
- 20s @ 3'45''/km
- 1min 30s rest
- 5min @ 7'00''/km
Endurance Build
View workout details
- 5min @ 6'30''/km
- 65min @ 5'50''/km
- 5min @ 6'30''/km
to import the collection after you install it.
