Why one target for the whole group doesn't work
When everyone chases the same time, the fastest athletes jog and the slowest ones turn a controlled workout into a race. Neither group gets the training effect you planned. Individual targets keep the intent of the session the same for everyone: same effort, different times.
The method below works for sprint groups and distance groups alike. Only the reference event changes.
Step 1: Pick one reference PR per athlete
Choose a single recent mark for each athlete that's close to the distance of the reps you're planning.
- Sprints and short reps: 200m or 400m.
- Middle distance: 800m, 1600m, or the mile.
- Distance and cross country: 3200m or 5K.
Recent and realistic beats fastest-ever. For freshmen or new athletes without a PR, run a short time trial early in the season, or start from a conservative estimate and adjust after the first workout.
Step 2: Define the workout by effort, not by time
Write the session as a percentage of race pace, like "6 × 400m at 90%, 2:00 recovery." That one line produces a correct target for every athlete. The math is simple: scale the PR to the rep distance, then divide by the effort.
Example: An athlete with a 5:20 1600m has a race pace of 80.0 per 400m. At 90% effort, the 400m target is 80.0 ÷ 0.90 = 88.9. A teammate with a 4:48 1600m gets 72.0 ÷ 0.90 = 80.0.
You can check any athlete quickly with the free interval pace calculator.
Step 3: Build pace groups from the targets
Once each athlete has a target, sort them and group anyone within about a second or two per 400m. Pace groups make practice run smoothly:
- Athletes in a group can share the work of leading.
- You can start groups on a stagger so they finish close together.
- Timing is easier when a group crosses the line together.
Rebuild the groups as PRs change. An athlete who drops five seconds in the 1600m belongs in a different group next week.
Step 4: Give athletes their numbers before the first rep
Targets only help if athletes know them before they start. Common approaches include a whiteboard list by group, a printed card, or targets sent to each athlete's phone. Include the split for longer reps (the 200m split for a 400m rep, every 200m for an 800m) so athletes can correct pacing during the rep, not after it.
Step 5: Record actual times and compare
The real value comes after the workout. When you record what each athlete actually ran next to their target, you can see who was too fast early, who faded, and whose PR is probably out of date. Over a few weeks, that tells you more about fitness than any single race.
If timing a full group is the hard part, see how to time multiple runners at practice.
Adjusting targets on the day
Targets are a starting point, not a contract. Most coaches adjust for:
- Heat, wind, and footing: grass, a muddy course, or a hot track slow everything down.
- Recent load: the day after a race or a hard session isn't the day to hit 95%.
- Training phase: early-season targets usually sit lower than championship-phase targets.
- How the athlete responds: if the first two reps are well off target, adjust the target rather than letting the session fall apart.
Doing this without a spreadsheet
For a few athletes, a calculator and a whiteboard are fine. With a full roster and several event groups, rebuilding targets every week gets slow. In PaceCommand, you assign a workout with an effort percentage, and each athlete gets a target from their own PR automatically. You can also set custom intensity multipliers if your program uses its own system. The same targets show up when you time the session, so actual times land next to planned ones.