10/08/2026
Earlier this year, I had a client use Runna as part of our preparation for one of his fitness races in May.
Runna gave him structure, target paces and running sessions to followâbut the interesting part came when we compared his standalone running with his performance on race day.
Before the event, we tested his 10km paceâone of the simple benchmarks I like to use when assessing someoneâs potential HYROX running pace.
His average 10km pace: 6:50/kmâ¨His average race running pace: 7:20/km
Thatâs a drop of approximately 30 seconds per kilometre once the workout stations and accumulated fatigue were added.
So, what did that tell us?
It didnât mean the app had failed.
It told us that his standalone running fitness wasnât transferring fully into compromised running.
The next step wasnât simply to tell him to run faster. We needed to look at the bigger picture:
â Was he working too hard on the stations?â¨â Was his strength endurance limiting him?â¨â Was his race pacing sustainable?â¨â Were his transitions and station techniques efficient?â¨â Did his training include enough race-specific compromised running?
A running app can give you a valuable plan, but it canât always interpret everything happening around that plan.
It doesnât necessarily know:
â How tired you are from workâ¨â Whether a small ni**le is getting worseâ¨â How well youâve recoveredâ¨â How station fatigue affects your runningâ¨â When your training needs to be adjusted
This is where coaching becomes important.
A good coach doesnât just give you sessions. They interpret the results, identify what is limiting you and adapt your training around your body, lifestyle and event.
Use the app as a toolâbut remember that collecting the data and understanding what the data means are two different things.
Have you ever performed well in training but struggled to transfer that pace into a race? Let me know in the comments đ
