What Pace Do I Need for My Marathon Goal?
Enter your goal finish time above to get the even pace you need per mile and per kilometer, plus the checkpoint times to hit at every 5K, at halfway and at key miles. You can also work backward: choose Pace per mile or Pace per kilometer to see what finish time a pace leads to. A marathon is 26.2 miles, or 42.195 kilometers.
Popular Marathon Goal Paces
- Sub-3 hours: 6:52 per mile (4:16 per km).
- Sub-3:30: 8:01 per mile (4:59 per km).
- Sub-4 hours: 9:09 per mile (5:41 per km), the most popular marathon goal.
- Sub-4:30: 10:18 per mile (6:24 per km).
- Sub-5 hours: 11:27 per mile (7:07 per km).
To actually finish under a goal, aim a few seconds per mile faster than the exact pace. GPS watches usually measure a race as slightly longer than 26.2 miles, because you rarely run the shortest possible line around every corner.
Pacing Tips
Most runners do best with even or slightly negative splits, running the second half the same pace or a little faster than the first. Starting too fast is the most common marathon mistake, because the cost shows up late in the race when glycogen runs low. Use the halfway split above as your check: if you pass halfway more than a minute or two ahead of it, ease off.
Marathon Pace Chart
| Finish time | Pace / mile | Pace / km | Halfway split |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:30:00 | 5:43 | 3:33 | 1:15:00 |
| 2:45:00 | 6:18 | 3:55 | 1:22:30 |
| 3:00:00 | 6:52 | 4:16 | 1:30:00 |
| 3:15:00 | 7:26 | 4:37 | 1:37:30 |
| 3:30:00 | 8:01 | 4:59 | 1:45:00 |
| 3:45:00 | 8:35 | 5:20 | 1:52:30 |
| 4:00:00 | 9:09 | 5:41 | 2:00:00 |
| 4:15:00 | 9:44 | 6:03 | 2:07:30 |
| 4:30:00 | 10:18 | 6:24 | 2:15:00 |
| 4:45:00 | 10:52 | 6:45 | 2:22:30 |
| 5:00:00 | 11:27 | 7:07 | 2:30:00 |
| 5:15:00 | 12:01 | 7:28 | 2:37:30 |
| 5:30:00 | 12:35 | 7:49 | 2:45:00 |
| 5:45:00 | 13:10 | 8:11 | 2:52:30 |
| 6:00:00 | 13:44 | 8:32 | 3:00:00 |
| 6:15:00 | 14:18 | 8:53 | 3:07:30 |
| 6:30:00 | 14:52 | 9:15 | 3:15:00 |
Paces are even splits, the same pace from start to finish. For other distances, or to work out pace from any time and distance, use the general pace calculator.