Head To Head Treadmill Knockout - Famous Marathon Paces - The Running Channel

Aug 13, 2025

Intro

This is a quick summary of Head To Head Treadmill Knockout – Famous Marathon Paces from The Running Channel. It’s a great watch — we’re breaking it down so you can try the workout today. Be sure to check out the full video for all the details.

Key Points

The challenge is to run a series of iconic marathon paces for 30 seconds each on a treadmill, moving from historic slower records to modern world-record speeds.
Using a treadmill (or Zwift) removes guesswork: you set the exact speed, letting you focus on form, cadence, and efficiency during each short interval. This is the core benefit of any well-designed interval session, as it allows you to practice running fast without accumulating major fatigue. For a deeper dive, explore our guide on Mastering Interval Training: Science-Backed Workouts and How a Smart App Can Personalize Them.
Practical tip: keep shoulders down, knees high, and maintain a steady cadence – the short burst makes you hyper-aware of your running mechanics.

Workout Example

This pace ladder is a fantastic example of a fun, high-intensity interval workout. While it’s built around historic marathon paces, the fundamental principles of building speed over short bursts can be applied to any distance. In fact, similar interval structures are crucial for anyone interested in Mastering 5K Speed: Proven Interval Strategies to Cut Minutes off Your Time.

Treadmill Knockout Pace Ladder (all speeds in km/h)

Warm-up: 5–10 min easy jog
30-second all-out at 11.5 kph – Violet Piercy (1924) pace
30-second at 12.6 kph – Roberta Gibb (1966) pace
30-second at 14 kph – early men’s record pace
30-second at 17 kph – Albert Michelsen (1925) pace
30-second at 18.3 kph – Jim Peters (1979) pace
30-second at 18.9 kph – Brigid Kosgei (2019) pace
30-second at 19.5 kph – Eliud Kipchoge (2018) pace
Cool-down: 5 min easy jog Feel free to adjust the speeds to match your own training paces using the Pacing app.

Closing Note

Give it a go – hit those historic paces for 30 seconds, notice your form, and celebrate each interval. You can easily customize the ladder to suit your current speed in the Pacing app. This personalized approach is key, whether you’re tackling a fun challenge like this or preparing for a specific race. If you have a goal event on the horizon, applying these principles to a structured plan can make all the difference in Mastering the 10K: Proven Training Plans, Pace Strategies, and How a Smart App Can Elevate Your Performance.

Have fun, and don’t forget to watch the full video for the full story behind each pace