Zone 2 running: heart rate, pace and how to stay in it

What is zone 2 running?

Heart-rate training splits effort into five zones. Zone 2 is the second-easiest: above a recovery jog, well below tempo. It is the effort of a comfortable long run.

There are a few ways to define it, and they land in roughly the same place:

• 60–70% of max heart rate — the most common definition, and the one WHOOP and ZoneTempo use by default.
• 60–70% of heart-rate reserve (Karvonen) — also uses your resting heart rate, so it adapts as you get fitter.
• Just below your first lactate threshold — the lab definition, measured with blood lactate or gas exchange.
• The talk test — you can speak in full sentences but would rather not sing.

Zone 2 heart rate by age

Your zone 2 depends on your max heart rate, not your age. If you don't know your max, this table uses the estimate 208 − 0.7 × age. Real max heart rates can differ by 10 bpm or more, so treat it as a starting point.

Want your own numbers, including heart-rate reserve? Use the zone 2 calculator.

What pace is zone 2 running?

There is no universal zone 2 pace: it is whatever pace keeps your heart rate in zone 2 today. Heat, hills, sleep and fatigue all move it. As a rough guide, easy pace is often 25–40% slower than your 5K race pace:

If your heart rate says zone 3 at that pace, the heart rate wins — slow down.

Benefits of zone 2 running

• A bigger aerobic base. Easy volume drives the adaptations that let you run faster at the same effort.
• More running, less fatigue. Easy runs recover quickly, so you can run more often without breaking down.
• Better fat use. At low intensity your body relies more on fat, and gets better at it with training.
• Harder days that are actually hard. Keeping easy days easy leaves energy for intervals and tempo runs.

How to stay in zone 2 while running

1. Start slower than you think. Heart rate lags behind effort; a fast first kilometre shows up in zone 3 five minutes later.
2. Walk the hills. Or shorten your stride. Running uphill at the same pace almost always pushes you out of zone 2.
3. Expect drift. On long or warm runs, heart rate creeps up at the same pace (cardiac drift). Ease off to stay in zone.
4. Use the talk test as a backup. Wrist and arm sensors can spike; if you can still talk easily, you are probably fine.
5. Hear it instead of checking it. Glancing at a watch every minute is what makes zone 2 tedious. Audio alerts tell you only when you leave zone 2 — so you can just run.

Why does zone 2 feel so slow?

Almost every runner who starts heart-rate training finds zone 2 frustratingly slow, sometimes slow enough to walk hills. That is normal: it means your aerobic system is behind your legs. With consistent easy running, your zone 2 pace typically improves over weeks to months. If your zone 2 seems impossibly low, check your max heart rate — an age-based estimate that is too low makes every zone too low.

Zone 2 vs zone 3

Zone 3 (70–80% of max) feels only slightly harder, but it is tiring enough to need more recovery and not hard enough to build speed. It is the “grey zone” many easy runs drift into. Keep easy runs in zone 2 and make hard sessions properly hard.

How much zone 2 running should I do?

A common guideline is around 80% easy, 20% hard by time. For most runners that means nearly every run except one or two weekly workouts is a zone 2 run.

Zone 2 with ZoneTempo

ZoneTempo is an iPhone running coach that speaks over your music. Set zone 2 as your target and it tells you when you drift into zone 3 — or drop out of it — while your live pace stays on track. It reads live heart rate from your WHOOP strap through Broadcast Heart Rate. See how ZoneTempo works →

This guide is general information, not medical advice. Check with a doctor before starting hard training if you have a heart condition or other health concerns.