How marathon pace is worked out
A marathon is 42.195 km, or 26 miles 385 yards — the distance World Athletics fixes for the event. Your required pace is that distance divided into your goal time:
Pace per km = goal time ÷ 42.195
Pace per mile = goal time ÷ 26.219
The exactness matters more than it looks. People round the marathon to 26.2 miles, which sounds harmless, but over a four-hour race that rounding is worth about ten seconds — and goal times are usually missed by less than that.
Marathon pace chart
Every goal time from 2:20 to 6:00, in five-minute steps, with the pace it needs and the halfway split that goes with it. For a time that falls between two rows, the calculator above takes any goal time exactly.
| Goal time | Per mile | Per km | Halfway |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:20:00 | 5:20 | 3:19 | 1:10:00 |
| 2:25:00 | 5:32 | 3:26 | 1:12:30 |
| 2:30:00 | 5:43 | 3:33 | 1:15:00 |
| 2:35:00 | 5:55 | 3:40 | 1:17:30 |
| 2:40:00 | 6:06 | 3:48 | 1:20:00 |
| 2:45:00 | 6:18 | 3:55 | 1:22:30 |
| 2:50:00 | 6:29 | 4:02 | 1:25:00 |
| 2:55:00 | 6:40 | 4:09 | 1:27:30 |
| 3:00:00 | 6:52 | 4:16 | 1:30:00 |
| 3:05:00 | 7:03 | 4:23 | 1:32:30 |
| 3:10:00 | 7:15 | 4:30 | 1:35:00 |
| 3:15:00 | 7:26 | 4:37 | 1:37:30 |
| 3:20:00 | 7:38 | 4:44 | 1:40:00 |
| 3:25:00 | 7:49 | 4:52 | 1:42:30 |
| 3:30:00 | 8:01 | 4:59 | 1:45:00 |
| 3:35:00 | 8:12 | 5:06 | 1:47:30 |
| 3:40:00 | 8:23 | 5:13 | 1:50:00 |
| 3:45:00 | 8:35 | 5:20 | 1:52:30 |
| 3:50:00 | 8:46 | 5:27 | 1:55:00 |
| 3:55:00 | 8:58 | 5:34 | 1:57:30 |
| 4:00:00 | 9:09 | 5:41 | 2:00:00 |
| 4:05:00 | 9:21 | 5:48 | 2:02:30 |
| 4:10:00 | 9:32 | 5:55 | 2:05:00 |
| 4:15:00 | 9:44 | 6:03 | 2:07:30 |
| 4:20:00 | 9:55 | 6:10 | 2:10:00 |
| 4:25:00 | 10:06 | 6:17 | 2:12:30 |
| 4:30:00 | 10:18 | 6:24 | 2:15:00 |
| 4:35:00 | 10:29 | 6:31 | 2:17:30 |
| 4:40:00 | 10:41 | 6:38 | 2:20:00 |
| 4:45:00 | 10:52 | 6:45 | 2:22:30 |
| 4:50:00 | 11:04 | 6:52 | 2:25:00 |
| 4:55:00 | 11:15 | 6:59 | 2:27:30 |
| 5:00:00 | 11:27 | 7:07 | 2:30:00 |
| 5:05:00 | 11:38 | 7:14 | 2:32:30 |
| 5:10:00 | 11:49 | 7:21 | 2:35:00 |
| 5:15:00 | 12:01 | 7:28 | 2:37:30 |
| 5:20:00 | 12:12 | 7:35 | 2:40:00 |
| 5:25:00 | 12:24 | 7:42 | 2:42:30 |
| 5:30:00 | 12:35 | 7:49 | 2:45:00 |
| 5:35:00 | 12:47 | 7:56 | 2:47:30 |
| 5:40:00 | 12:58 | 8:03 | 2:50:00 |
| 5:45:00 | 13:10 | 8:11 | 2:52:30 |
| 5:50:00 | 13:21 | 8:18 | 2:55:00 |
| 5:55:00 | 13:32 | 8:25 | 2:57:30 |
| 6:00:00 | 13:44 | 8:32 | 3:00:00 |
What actually happens to pace in a marathon
Even splits are the plan. They are not what runners do. Santos-Lozano and colleagues (2014) took every New York City Marathon finish from 2006 to 2011 — 190,228 runners — and looked at the 5 km splits. Every group of runners, from the front of the field to the back, ran a positive split. Everybody slows down.
The difference between runners was not whether they slowed but how much. Across 5 km splits the fastest runners varied their speed by 6.6% (women) to 7.8% (men). The slowest varied by up to 14.4% — roughly twice as much drift across the same course.
That gives the honest way to use the chart above: treat the even splits as the line you are trying not to fall too far behind, not as a prediction. A plan that needs a negative split is a plan that a very large sample of real marathoners did not manage.
Don't bank time in the first half
The same study points at the mechanism: an excessively fast start is what produces a pronounced slowdown in the second half. The time you gain in the first 10 km comes back with interest after 30 km, and a marathon is long enough that the interest rate is brutal.
If anything, give the first mile away. Settling into goal pace by mile two costs you fifteen seconds you can afford, and removes the single most common way the second half falls apart.
Hills, heat and the limits of a pace chart
This chart assumes flat ground and constant effort. On a rolling course, pace is the wrong thing to hold steady — effort is — and the grade-adjusted pace calculator shows what each gradient is costing. Heat does something similar and less forgiving: on a warm day, holding goal pace through halfway is often how a race ends rather than how it goes well.
If your plan involves walk breaks — and for a first marathon it reasonably might — the run-walk calculator works out the average pace a given ratio actually produces, which is rarely the number people expect.
Frequently asked questions
What pace do I need for a 4-hour marathon?
9:09 per mile, or 5:41 per kilometre, held for the full 42.195 km. Halfway should come up at 2:00:00. A sub-3:30 needs 8:01 per mile (4:59/km) and a sub-3:00 needs 6:52 per mile (4:16/km).
Should I run even splits or negative splits?
Even is the realistic target. In 190,228 New York City Marathon finishes, Santos-Lozano et al. (2014) found every group of runners ran a positive split — they slowed down. The difference was how much: the fastest runners varied their 5 km speed by 6.6–7.8%, the slowest by up to 14.4%. Planning even splits and drifting a little is normal; planning negative splits rarely survives contact with the race.
How much faster should the first half be?
It shouldn't be. The same data shows that an excessively fast start is what produces a pronounced slowdown in the second half. If anything, give the first mile or two away and settle into goal pace rather than banking time.
Why is the marathon 42.195 km?
World Athletics fixes the distance at 42.195 km, or 26 miles 385 yards. The calculator uses that exact figure, which is why a pace that looks right to the nearest second can still miss a goal time by half a minute over the full distance.
Does the pace chart account for hills?
No — it assumes constant effort on flat ground. On a hilly course, the useful planning tool is effort rather than pace: see the grade-adjusted pace calculator for what a given gradient costs.
Sources
The formula on this page comes from the published work below. We check the numbers against the worked examples in these sources with automated tests, and re-read the page against them when we review it.
- Santos-Lozano A, Collado PS, Foster C, Lucia A, Garatachea N. Influence of sex and level on marathon pacing strategy: insights from the New York City race. Int J Sports Med. 2014;35(11):933–938. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24886929/
- World Athletics. Technical information and competition rules — standard road race distances, including the marathon at 42.195 km. worldathletics.org/about-iaaf/documents/technical-information
General fitness information, not medical advice. Results are estimates; check with a doctor or qualified coach before major changes to diet or training. Formula and copy last reviewed 31 October 2026.