Heart rate training for runners works best as a speed limit, not a target. You find your own zones with a simple field test (not “220 minus your age”), keep your easy and long runs in your easy zone, let your hard sessions go well above it, and use a chest strap so the numbers are worth trusting. Above all, you check your heart rate against how the run feels, because effort comes first and the watch comes second.
Before I joined Coach Parry full time, I spent more than ten years as a sport scientist at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre, and a big part of that job was lab based physiology testing. I’ve seen heart rate data at its most useful and at its most misleading. This guide is the practical version: how to set your zones, what heart rate to run at, why your heart rate sometimes goes haywire, and how to build a week around it.
In this guide
What is heart rate training for runners?
Heart rate training for runners means using your heart rate, rather than your pace, to control how hard each run is. Every session gets a heart rate range, and you run at whatever pace keeps you inside that range on the day.
The reason it works is simple. Your heart rate reflects the effort your body is exerting, while pace is just a number on a watch. Ten kilometres at the same pace feels completely different on a cool flat morning, on a hot hilly afternoon, or the day after a bad night’s sleep. Your heart rate picks that up. Your pace target doesn’t.
To be honest, most runners don’t need heart rate to tell them how to run fast. Where it earns its place is on the easy days. It’s the clearest way to stop yourself drifting into running every run “kind of hard”, which is the most common reason runners stay tired and stop improving.
Is heart rate training effective?
Yes, heart rate training is effective, mainly because it stops you running your easy runs too fast. Get the easy days right and your body can execute the hard days properly. That’s how you progress.
I can speak from experience here. A few years ago, coming back from Covid, I followed our MAF training plan: heart rate capped running and strength work, with no speed work at all. When I then ran a 5km time trial, I went under 30 minutes for the first time, with a 28:45. You can read the full story in the Fast Friday post about my 5km PB using MAF training. That’s not proof that everyone should avoid speed work. It’s a good example of what happens when you build the engine properly.
Having said that, heart rate is a tool, not the boss. It can be thrown by heat, dehydration, tiredness and a poor sensor, so it always needs checking against how the run feels. For more on how easy running fits into getting faster, read my guide on how to run faster.
Heart rate zones for running explained
Heart rate zones split your effort into bands, from very easy to flat out, so each session has a clear job. Garmin and many other watches use five zones. For everyday training, what matters is the difference between easy, threshold and above threshold.
Here’s how I’d explain the zones in practical terms. The talk test column is the one to learn, because it works with or without a watch.
| Zone | What it’s for | Talk test |
|---|---|---|
| Zone 1 | Warm-ups, cool-downs, very easy recovery jogs | Chatting easily |
| Zone 2 | Easy runs and long runs: building your aerobic base | Full conversation |
| Zone 3 | The “grey zone”: harder than easy, easier than tempo | Short sentences |
| Zone 4 | Tempo and threshold sessions | A few words at a time |
| Zone 5 | Intervals and hard hill repeats | Not talking |
Zone 2 is where most of your running should lie. Zones 4 and 5 are for your one or two quality sessions a week. Zone 3 isn’t banned, but if every run ends up there, you’re running your easy days too hard and your hard days not hard enough.
How to calculate your heart rate zones for running
The best way to calculate your heart rate zones for running is to test your threshold heart rate with a hard, steady time trial, then set your zones as percentages of it. Age-based formulas are a rough starting point at best.
Why “220 minus your age” is a poor guide
The old 220 minus age formula gives a very rough idea of your maximum heart rate, and it can be a long way off for you personally. A large analysis by Hirofumi Tanaka and colleagues, pooling data from 351 studies and 18,712 people, found that it underestimates maximum heart rate past the age of 40, markedly so in older adults. They proposed 208 minus 0.7 times your age instead. Here’s what that difference looks like:
| Age | 220 minus age | 208 minus 0.7 x age |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | 190 | 187 |
| 50 | 170 | 173 |
| 70 | 150 | 159 |
That’s around 10 beats a minute at 70, which is the difference between a zone that works and a zone that has you shuffling. And both formulas are averages across thousands of people. Your own maximum could sit well above or below either of them. So if you’re going to train by heart rate, it’s worth measuring it.
How to test your threshold heart rate
Your threshold heart rate is roughly the highest intensity you can sustain for an extended period of about 35 to 40 minutes. At Coach Parry, we prefer to build zones from threshold rather than from maximum heart rate, because it’s more specific to you and you can test it outside a lab.
- Warm up well with some easy running.
- Run a solo time trial at the hardest effort you can hold steadily for 35 to 40 minutes. Pick a flat route, and wear a chest strap.
- Look at your heart rate graph. After the first few minutes it should climb and then level off.
- Your average heart rate over that steady section is a good estimate of your threshold heart rate.
Pace it evenly. If you go out too hard and fade, the number is less useful. If you go much longer than about 45 minutes, your heart rate tends to drop off, and much shorter efforts let you hold a heart rate that’s too high.
From there, the upper limit of your zone 2 sits at about 80 to 85% of your threshold heart rate. That’s the ceiling for your easy runs and your long runs. My colleagues have written up the full method in our guide to training to pace, maximum heart rate and threshold heart rate.
How to find your maximum heart rate
If you’d rather work from maximum heart rate, measure it with a field test instead of using a formula. Only do this if you’ve been exercising regularly and have been cleared by a healthcare practitioner.
Head to a hill (better) or a track. After a thorough warm-up, run three or four all-out efforts of about three minutes, with around five minutes’ recovery between them. You should get very close to your maximum heart rate on the third or fourth effort. Once you have that number, easy runs sit at about 70 to 75% of it, and hard sessions from 85% upwards, depending on the session.
The MAF method: the simplest starting point
If testing sounds like a lot, the MAF method, developed by Dr Phil Maffetone, is the simplest way in. You run at a heart rate of 180 minus your age, or slower. We’ve found it the most useful heart rate method for most runners because it almost guarantees you’re running aerobically.
- If you keep getting injured or sick, take a further 5 beats off.
- In extreme cases, take off 10.
- The method has limitations as you age, so for runners over 50 we use 190 minus your age as the starting point.
So a 45-year-old would start at 135 beats per minute. A 55-year-old, using 190 minus age, would also start at 135.
What heart rate should I run at?
Run your easy runs and long runs in zone 2, run your tempo sessions around threshold, and save zone 5 for short, hard intervals. For most runners, that means the large majority of their weekly running is easy.
Here’s how that plays out across your training:
- Easy runs: zone 2, below about 80 to 85% of your threshold heart rate (or roughly 70 to 75% of your maximum). You should be able to hold a full conversation.
- Long runs: also zone 2. Your long run should be steadily increasing over a training block, and keeping it easy is what lets you recover from it.
- Tempo runs: close to your threshold. Comfortably hard: you could say a few words, but you wouldn’t want to chat.
- Intervals: zone 5 by the end of each rep. Don’t chase heart rate here, though. Your heart rate takes time to climb, so on short reps it won’t catch up with the effort until the rep is nearly over. Run these by pace or feel, and use heart rate afterwards to see how hard the session was.
Zone 2 running
Zone 2 running is easy, conversational running that builds your aerobic base, and it’s where most of your weekly kilometres should be done. Whether you’re at the top or the bottom of your zone 2, you’re getting the same physiological benefit. The top end just costs you more, puts more load through your legs and needs more recovery.
So don’t sit right on the ceiling of the zone every run. Here’s a worked example. Say your threshold heart rate is 170. The top of your zone 2 is then about 136 to 145 beats per minute. Treat the top of that range as a ceiling, not a target. On most easy runs, you’ll be happy to sit a little below it. If it’s hot or hilly and you can’t stay under it, slow down or walk the steep bits. That’s the session working, not failing.
Heart rate training for beginner runners
If you’re new to running, you don’t need a heart rate monitor yet. Use the talk test: if you can’t hold a conversation, slow down or walk. Heart rate training becomes useful once you’re running regularly and want more control over your easy days.
When you do start, expect it to feel frustrating. The pace that keeps your heart rate down can seem ridiculously slow, and sometimes you’ll be forced into a walk, especially on hills. That’s normal. If you stick with it, you’ll usually see significant improvements in your speed at those same heart rates over eight to twelve weeks.
One more thing for beginners: being out of breath on your first runs is a pacing error, not something wrong with your lung capacity. Slow right down and the breathing settles. Our guide on how to start running walks you through the first few weeks.
Not sure what your easy runs, tempo runs or intervals should look like? Our free training zone calculator works out your ideal training paces for you. It’s a quick way to check that your heart rate zones and your paces are telling the same story.
Why is my heart rate so high when running?
Your heart rate is usually high on easy runs for one of five reasons: you’re running faster than you think, it’s hot, you’re dehydrated or tired, your zones are set too low, or your watch is giving you bad data. Rule out the watch first.
- You’re running too fast. The most likely answer. Slow down until the talk test is easy and see where your heart rate settles.
- Heat and humidity. Heat pushes your heart rate up and your pace down. On hot days, run by effort and accept a slower pace.
- Dehydration and tiredness. A poor night’s sleep, a stressful week or not drinking enough can all lift your heart rate at the same pace.
- Your zones are wrong. If they came from 220 minus your age, they may simply be too low for you. Test your threshold.
- Bad data. If your graph has strange straight lines or sudden jumps, it’s probably the sensor and poor data collection, not your heart.
Cardiac drift on long runs
Cardiac drift is the slow rise in your heart rate during a long, steady run, even when your pace stays the same. Researchers describe it as a progressive rise in heart rate and a fall in the amount of blood pumped per beat during prolonged exercise, and it’s affected by heat and dehydration.
Fluid makes a real difference. In a 1991 study, ten endurance-trained athletes cycled for two hours at a steady intensity: without fluid their heart rate rose by 10%, but with fluid replacement it rose by only 5% (Hamilton and colleagues, Journal of Applied Physiology). So drink regularly on long runs, especially in the heat.
In practice, expect your heart rate to creep up from about an hour onwards. Ease off a little if it pushes well past your zone 2 ceiling, BUT don’t turn every long run into a walk because of a few beats. If the effort still feels easy and you can still talk, you’re in the right place.
Chest strap vs wrist heart rate monitors for running
If you’re going to train by heart rate, use a chest strap. Wrist-based monitors are convenient, but they’re less accurate, particularly at higher intensities.
A 2017 Cleveland Clinic study of 50 healthy adults compared four popular wrist devices against a chest strap and an ECG (the gold standard for measuring heart rate). The chest strap closely matched the ECG, while the wrist devices were less accurate. Most of them became less accurate as the exercise got harder. The researchers noted it was a small study, and devices change all the time, but it’s the reason we recommend a chest strap at Coach Parry for anything you’re going to make training decisions from.
| Chest strap | Wrist monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | Close to an ECG | Less accurate, worse at high effort |
| Best for | Threshold tests, zone training, intervals | Daily tracking, easy runs |
| Watch out for | Dry contacts early in a run, chafing | Loose straps, cold arms, sudden spikes |
A practical tip: wet the strap’s contacts before you start, and wear your watch snug if you do rely on your wrist. And if the numbers look odd, trust how you feel over the screen.
A heart rate training plan for runners: what a week looks like
A good heart rate training plan for runners has one or two quality sessions above threshold and everything else in zone 2, built around strength training and a rest day. Here’s the weekly structure we use at Coach Parry: three runs of mixed intensity and duration plus a long run.
| Day | Session | Heart rate |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Strength | n/a |
| Tuesday | Higher-intensity session (intervals, tempo or hills) | Zones 4-5 in the efforts |
| Wednesday | Strength | n/a |
| Thursday | Easy run plus strength | Zone 2 |
| Friday | Rest | n/a |
| Saturday | Long run | Zone 2 |
| Sunday | Easy run | Zone 2 (low end) |
If you’re running three days a week, keep the same strength days and run on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Add the Sunday easy run as your fourth day when you’re ready.
Don’t skip the strength days because they don’t show up in your heart rate data. Strength training improves running economy by 2 to 8%, which means you use less energy to run at the same pace. Keep it simple: when an exercise gets easy, add weight, but don’t keep adding reps and sets. We’re training you to be a stronger, more efficient runner, not a bodybuilder.
How to adjust heart rate training for hills, heat and treadmills
Real life doesn’t happen on a flat road at 15°C. Here’s how I’d adjust:
- Hills: your heart rate will climb on the way up. On easy runs, slow to a power walk on steep sections to stay in zone 2. Hills can throw your pace all over the place, so run the effort, not the pace.
- Heat: expect a higher heart rate at the same pace. Run early, drink regularly and let your pace drop.
- Treadmill: a good option on very hot days or when you want a controlled threshold test, because you remove the hills and the wind.
- Tired legs: if your heart rate is higher than normal at your usual easy pace and you feel flat, swap a hard session for an easy one. No single session or long run can define the success of a plan.
Heart rate training for a marathon or half marathon
For a marathon or half marathon, heart rate training does most of its work in the build-up, keeping your easy and long runs in zone 2 so you can recover well from the training load. On race day, pace and effort should lead, with heart rate as a check.
The reason is cardiac drift. In a long race, your heart rate will rise in the second half even if you hold an even pace, so racing strictly to a heart rate number would force you to slow down late in the race. Where heart rate is useful on race day is in the first few kilometres: if it’s already well above where it normally sits at that pace, take it as a sign to settle down.
If you’re working towards a specific race, our Half Marathon Training Roadmap and Marathon Training Roadmap put this structure into a plan for you. My colleague Lindsey goes deeper in his half marathon training plan guide and his complete guide to marathon training. For shorter races, read my guide to your 10km training plan.
Heart rate training for runners over 50
Heart rate training works well over 50, but age-based formulas become even less reliable, so test your own numbers rather than trusting a chart. As we’ve seen, 220 minus age tends to underestimate maximum heart rate in older runners.
That’s why we use 190 minus your age, rather than 180, as the MAF starting point for runners over 50. And if you’re on medication that affects your heart rate, such as beta blockers, you may not be able to reach normal target heart rates at all. In that case, perceived effort is a better guide, and it’s worth asking your doctor how to set your training intensity.
For the bigger picture on training as you get older, read Lindsey’s complete guide to running over 50. If you want a structured plan built for older runners, have a look at Faster Beyond 50.
When your heart rate is telling you to back off
Your morning resting heart rate is one of the simplest recovery checks there is. If it’s more than 10% above your normal, take it as a sign to make the day easy or rest.
Take your resting heart rate for a few mornings when you feel well rested, so you know your normal. After that, a jump of more than 10%, especially alongside poor sleep, heavy legs or a session that felt much harder than it should, usually means you need more recovery. Better to lose one session than a week.
Heart rate data can also flag something that needs a doctor rather than a rest day. Stop running and get medical advice if you have chest pain, feel dizzy or light-headed, or notice a racing or irregular heartbeat that doesn’t match your effort. The NHS advises getting immediate help for chest pain that doesn’t go away, or chest pain with sweating, nausea, light-headedness or shortness of breath. Don’t try to diagnose it from your watch.
Common heart rate training mistakes
The most common heart rate training mistakes all come back to trusting the number over the runner. Here are the ones I’d fix first:
- Using 220 minus your age. Test your threshold or use the MAF formula instead.
- Trusting a wrist reading on hard sessions. Use a chest strap for anything you’re going to make decisions from.
- Chasing heart rate on short intervals. Your heart rate takes time to climb, so run the reps by feel or pace.
- Treating the top of zone 2 as the target. It’s a ceiling. Easy should still FEEL easy.
- Giving up after two weeks. It feels slow at first. Give it six to twelve weeks before you judge it.
- Copying someone else’s zones. Your zones are personal. Do the session that’s right for where you are now, not what your running partner or an influencer is doing.
Week in and week out, consistency outweighs any perfectly executed heart rate session.
Heart rate training FAQs
Do heart rate zones change with fitness level?
Your zones are personal and can shift as your fitness changes, which is why a tested threshold beats a formula. The bigger change is usually your pace: as you get fitter, you’ll run noticeably faster at the same heart rate. Retest your threshold when you start a new training block.
Do I need a heart rate monitor to train by heart rate?
You need some way of measuring heart rate, and a chest strap is the most accurate. But you don’t need one to train well. The talk test does most of the job, and many runners start with effort alone before adding heart rate.
How long does heart rate training take to work?
Most runners see significant improvements in their pace at the same heart rate within six to twelve weeks of consistent zone 2 running. The early weeks feel slow, and that’s normal.
How we can help you train by heart rate
Heart rate training is simple once your zones are right: test your threshold, keep your easy days in zone 2, let your quality sessions go hard, and check the numbers against how you feel. The hard part is having the patience to stick with it week after week.
If you’d like a plan that does this for you, with your sessions set out and a coach to answer your questions when the numbers look strange, join Coach Parry. Your next step is easy: pick a flat route this week, warm up, and do your threshold test. Then you’ll have zones that actually belong to you.
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