I’ve not done the Heathfield 10k yet. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s the massive hill from 5k onwards that has deterred me from giving this event a try.

With many of the team in action in 2026 I have put together this short guide on how best to approach it. With no experience of the route myself I have looked at the elevation and how some of the runners in the past have tackled the course to get a rough idea of how best to pace yourselves.

If you work in miles, then sorry, but really for a 10km it’s worth switching, you get more data and more opportunity to adjust your pace if things are not going to plan.

The first km is 41 metres downhill so you’ll want to attack this at around your 5k pace. Normally going off quickly is a bad idea, but this is the best chance to bank some time for the uphill that awaits.

Someone said the other day, “ah Heathfield, 5km downhill, 5km up”. Not true. At the 1.2km mark a nasty hill awaits and lasts 600 metres. So you’re going to lose some time here based on your overall average pace, but not much.

The next 3km are where you want to attack. Km 3 (-32m), Km 4 (-6m) and Km 5 (-39m) are a chance to bank well over a minute on your expected pace, across this stretch. If you are too conservative down the hill, you won’t hit your target time.

It then gets tough. 5km is the lowest point of the course and you’re greeted by another short sharp hill. It’s 400 metres long and over 10% gradient in sections. Take your time up there as a little downhill follows, before the climb to the finish line.

The last 3km are the toughest, Km 8 (+27m), Km 9 (+19m) and Km 10 (+35m), will really test your mental strength. There’s no point looking at the watch at this stage, as your pace is going to be much slower than the start of the race, but if you’ve banked some time, just focus on effort level, keep going and you’ll cross that line under your target.

Good luck, 10ks are tough, Heathfield is no different, but you can do this.