Average half marathon time for men and women, and what's decent

The average half marathon time is a little over two hours. At two of the biggest US half marathons in 2026, the NYC Half and the RBC Brooklyn Half, the average finish time was 2:07:57 and 2:08:52.

Averages for women run slower than for men, and the spread around the average is wide. Below are the numbers, where each one comes from, the pace each finish time takes, and a straight answer on what counts as a decent half marathon time.

The average half marathon time in the US

We couldn't find a current national figure, so we use two kinds of source: Running USA's national reports, and results summaries for very large recent races. Paces are computed from 13.1094 miles.

The race figures are MarathonGuide.com's own summaries of each race's results (it labels them "average finish time"), not statistics published by the race organizers. Both races are in New York, so they reflect one region and one set of courses, but with more than 30,000 results each they are large fields.

The spread is wide. MarathonGuide.com gives a standard deviation of 28 minutes 57 seconds for the 2026 NYC Half, so one standard deviation either side of the average runs from about 1:39 to 2:37.

Running USA's national report is older, but it's the most recent national split by sex we could confirm. Its table labels these as median times (the report's text calls them "average times"). In 2014, US half marathon finishers passed two million for the first time.

Average half marathon time for women

Nationally, women outnumber men in US half marathons. In Running USA's 2014 report, women made up 61 percent of US half marathon finishers, about 1.2 million runners. Individual races vary: MarathonGuide.com lists 15,279 women among 30,240 results at the 2026 NYC Half, and 13,993 among 30,405 at the 2026 RBC Brooklyn Half.

Running USA's median times by year show the gap between women and men (2005 from the 2012 report, 2012–2014 from the 2014 report):

So the median half marathon time for a woman in those years was about 2 hours 20 minutes, around 18 minutes slower than the median man. A study of about 300,000 runners by Leyk et al. found a similar gap: women's half marathon times were about 13 percent above those of men the same age.

The medians drifted slower from 2005 to 2014. Running USA doesn't pin that on one cause, but the field changed a lot in those years: the 2012 Running USA report estimates about 482,000 US half marathon finishers in 2000 and 1.85 million in 2012, with women's share rising from 53 percent in 2005 to 60 percent in 2012. A slower median in a much bigger field doesn't mean individual runners got slower.

Average half marathon time by age

We couldn't find a current, well-sourced US table of half marathon averages for every age group, so we're not going to invent one. Here is what the evidence supports:

• From 20 to 49, age barely moves the average. In the Leyk study, mean half marathon and marathon times were "virtually identical" across the age groups from 20 to 49.
• From 50 to 69, times slow gradually, by about 2.6 to 4.4 percent per decade. On a 2:10 half marathon, 3 percent is about 4 minutes.
• The typical half marathoner is in their late 30s. In 2014, the average age of US half marathon finishers was 36.0 for women and 39.1 for men, according to Running USA.

In other words, in that study the average finisher in their 40s was about as fast as the average finisher in their 20s or 30s.

Average half marathon pace

Here are common half marathon finish times and the even pace each one takes:

The average half marathon pace is therefore somewhere around 9:20 to 10:50 per mile: about 9:46 to 9:50 for the recent race averages, 9:23 for the 2014 men's median and 10:47 for the women's. For every finish time in between, use the half marathon pace chart.

What is a decent half marathon time?

There's no official line, so here is a way to think about it based on the numbers above:

• Finishing a first half marathon is a good result, full stop. 13.1 miles is a serious distance. Our half marathon training plan for beginners is built around getting there healthy, and the run-walk method is a perfectly legitimate way to do it.
• Around 2:00 to 2:20 is right in the typical range for adult runners in the data above, with women's medians nearer the top of that range and men's nearer the bottom.
• Under 2:00 is the classic goal. It takes 9:09 per mile, faster than the recent big-race averages. If that's your target, see the sub-2-hour half marathon plan.
• Under 1:45 or so is well ahead of the average at the races above, which averaged close to 2:08.

A "decent" time is really one that matches your training and the day. Heat, hills and crowded starts can all cost time, so compare your result with your own previous races before you compare it with anyone else's.

How to set your own target

A population average is a poor goal on its own. A better approach:

1. Start from a recent race. A 5K or 10K run in the last couple of months tells you more about your half marathon potential than any national median.
2. Pick a pace you can hold in training. If your long runs at a given pace feel controlled at 10 to 11 miles, that pace is a realistic starting point for race day.
3. Run the first miles slightly slower than goal pace. Starting too fast tends to cost more time in the second half than it gained in the first.
4. Check the course. A hilly course or a hot, humid morning means adjusting the goal, not chasing the same number.

If you are new to running or have a health condition, check with your doctor before you start training for a half marathon. And if you're thinking ahead to the full distance, our guide to the average marathon time uses the same kind of data.