Marathon pace chart: finish times from 2:30 to 7:00

Find your goal finish time in the marathon pace chart below and read across: it gives the pace per mile, the pace per kilometer and the splits that get you there. Every time from 2:30 to 7:00 is listed in 5-minute steps, so first-timers and runners chasing Boston Marathon qualifying times can use the same table.

How to read the marathon pace chart

Each row is one finish time. The pace columns show the average speed you need for the whole 26.2 miles (42.195 km) to finish in exactly that time. If your goal falls between two rows, say 4:12, your pace sits between the two neighboring rows.

Two things to keep in mind:

• Paces are rounded to the nearest second. Over 26.2 miles, one second per mile adds up to about 26 seconds at the finish. If your goal is to break a time, not just match it, round your pace down, not up (more on that below).
• The chart assumes even pace. Real courses have hills, wind and water stops. Treat the pace as an average to hit over several miles, not a number to match on every single mile.

Pace per mile vs pace per kilometer

US races mark every mile, and most training plans here talk in minutes per mile. Many international races, and some watch settings, use kilometers instead. The chart gives both, so use whichever your race marks and your watch shows.

To convert yourself: one mile is 1.609 kilometers. Divide the pace per mile by 1.609 to get pace per kilometer, or multiply the other way. A 10:00 mile is 6:13 per kilometer; a 5:00 kilometer is 8:03 per mile.

Paces for common marathon goal times

These are the paces for the goal times runners ask about most. "Even pace" is the exact average for that finish time. "Pace to break it" is the rounded-down pace that actually gets you under the time if you hold it all the way.

Notice the sub-3 trap: the rounded pace for 3:00:00 is 6:52 per mile, but 6:52 held for the full distance finishes in 3:00:02. The same happens at 3:30 (8:01 gives 3:30:11), 4:30 and 5:00. For a sub-4 marathon you have a little more room: 9:09 per mile brings you in at 3:59:54.

If you're aiming for sub-4, our sub 4 hour marathon training plan is built for that goal. Not sure what goal is realistic? See what the average marathon time looks like first.

Why your watch pace and the chart don't match

Certified courses are measured along the shortest possible route runners could take, and the measurer then adds a "short course prevention factor" of one tenth of one percent, according to a Running USA article by course measurer Doug Thurston. Few runners hold that exact line. Weaving through crowds and swinging wide on turns adds distance, and the same article notes that GPS watches almost always overestimate race distance by at least 1%.

The result: your watch will often show more than 26.2 miles at the finish, and its pace will look a little faster than your real race pace. Say your watch ends up reading 26.5 miles (about 1% long) and you held its 9:09 per mile all day. You'd finish in 4:02:28, not under four hours. That's why many runners check their time at the official mile markers instead of trusting the watch's average pace alone. Our marathon splits calculator gives you the clock times to look for at each marker.

Pacing tips for race day

Start no faster than goal pace. The first miles feel easy, which is exactly why they're dangerous. A large study of about 92,000 performances in 14 US marathons found that runners ran the second half slower than the first on average: 15.6% slower for men and 11.7% for women (Deaner et al., 2015).

Aim for even, or close to it. In Barry Smyth's analysis of Chicago Marathon results, reported by World Athletics, half of the runners who hit the wall (slowing by at least 33% in the second half, his definition) ran their first 5K as their fastest. Runners whose first 5K was their slowest never hit the wall. Smyth notes that correlation is not causation, so forcing an even split won't guarantee a faster time, but it's a strong argument against a fast start.

Check pace over chunks, not single miles. A hill or a crowded water stop can cost 20 seconds in one mile. Look at your time at every 5K or every few miles and adjust gently.

Use a pace group if there's one for your time. Pacers aim for a steady pace toward a set finish time, so you don't have to do the math in your head.

Have a plan B. Heat, wind or a bad day can make your goal pace unrealistic. Decide before the race what slower pace you'll switch to, so you don't burn out trying to hold the original number.

Related tools and plans

Racing 13.1 first? The half marathon pace chart works the same way. For mile-by-mile and 5K splits for one specific goal, including a negative split, use the marathon splits calculator.