0.6*10kPace + 0.4*5kPace
So, if you run an 8min pace for a 10K and a 7:15min pace for a 5K, you should run a 7:42 pace for an 8K. End of blog post? Nahhhh... I mean, the math works, but...
Ok, so now for a more realistic scenario (i.e., the upcoming Raleigh 8000). You could go out hard (close to your 5K pace, but maybe a hair slower) to establish position (might not be a bad tactic because the greenway is going to narrow and the first bit is downhill) in the first mile (20% of the race). Then, cruise along the middle section because it's mostly flat and a nice area to run (say your pace slows between 1-5% over the next few miles). The last mile (or so... say 20% of the race to make the math nice) is uphill. No matter how easy (or hard) you went up to this point, it's going to hurt, it's just a matter of how much you'll die (I'm so optimistic aren't I?!). So, try and hold your 10K pace and picture the finish line. I mean, this is basically the strategy for any race (unless you're one of those runners who can even- or negative-split a race... I've always been impressed by those select few).
Ok, back to our fictitious runner... with splits of 7:15, 7:25, 7:40, 7:50, and 8:00 - 7:38 pace (and I think those splits are actually fairly realistic given our fake runner's ability... you might disagree, but oh well... this post has been banked for nearly a month). So, what's missing with the 60/40 rule (that I completely just made up and put in equation form to make it look more legitimate)? Basically, an 8K is an 8K, and NOT some combination of other races (I mean, I could have selected a 100m dash and a marathon). So, you should run an 8K like you were running a 4.97 mile race. I did try and find out how other people (with better credentials than I) thought you should run an 8K, and didn't find much (the articles / posts that I found were more training related).
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