Marathon pace calculator
Work out marathon pace from a finish time, or a finish time from a pace. The chart below covers the range most runners race in.
Enter a finish time
Result
These are estimates from population-level equations, not a measurement of you and not medical advice. Individual results vary widely. Talk to a doctor or a registered dietitian before making significant changes to how you eat or train.
The Marathon
The marathon is 42.195 km — a distance fixed by World Athletics, and the reason the last 195 metres exist as a separate split.
Physiologically, the marathon is bounded by aerobic endurance, fuelling and thermoregulation. Glycogen depletion is the defining constraint: most runners store enough for roughly 30 km at race pace, which is why the wall appears where it does.
Even pacing, and the discipline to run the first 10 km slower than feels natural. A marathon run at even effort will show a slight positive split in time terms as fatigue accumulates, which is normal.
Distance: 42.195 km (42,195 m). Fixed by World Athletics Competition Rule 55.
Marathon pace chart
Finish time, pace per mile and speed for each pace per kilometre. Everything is computed in metres and seconds and converted once, so no rounding accumulates down the table.
| Pace / km | Finish time | Pace / mile | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:00 | 2:48:47 | 6:26 | 15 km/h |
| 4:30 | 3:09:53 | 7:15 | 13.3 km/h |
| 5:00 | 3:30:59 | 8:03 | 12 km/h |
| 5:30 | 3:52:04 | 8:51 | 10.9 km/h |
| 6:00 | 4:13:10 | 9:39 | 10 km/h |
| 6:30 | 4:34:16 | 10:28 | 9.2 km/h |
| 7:00 | 4:55:22 | 11:16 | 8.6 km/h |
| 7:30 | 5:16:28 | 12:04 | 8 km/h |
| 8:00 | 5:37:34 | 12:52 | 7.5 km/h |
| 8:30 | 5:58:39 | 13:41 | 7.1 km/h |
Split times
6:30 / km · 4:34:16
| Distance | Elapsed |
|---|---|
| 1 km | 6:30 |
| 2 km | 13:00 |
| 3 km | 19:30 |
| 4 km | 26:00 |
| 5 km | 32:30 |
| 6 km | 39:00 |
| 7 km | 45:30 |
| 8 km | 52:00 |
| 9 km | 58:30 |
| 10 km | 1:05:00 |
| 11 km | 1:11:30 |
| 12 km | 1:18:00 |
| 13 km | 1:24:30 |
| 14 km | 1:31:00 |
| 15 km | 1:37:30 |
| 16 km | 1:44:00 |
| 17 km | 1:50:30 |
| 18 km | 1:57:00 |
| 19 km | 2:03:30 |
| 20 km | 2:10:00 |
| 21 km | 2:16:30 |
| 22 km | 2:23:00 |
| 23 km | 2:29:30 |
| 24 km | 2:36:00 |
| 25 km | 2:42:30 |
| 26 km | 2:49:00 |
| 27 km | 2:55:30 |
| 28 km | 3:02:00 |
| 29 km | 3:08:30 |
| 30 km | 3:15:00 |
| 31 km | 3:21:30 |
| 32 km | 3:28:00 |
| 33 km | 3:34:30 |
| 34 km | 3:41:00 |
| 35 km | 3:47:30 |
| 36 km | 3:54:00 |
| 37 km | 4:00:30 |
| 38 km | 4:07:00 |
| 39 km | 4:13:30 |
| 40 km | 4:20:00 |
| 41 km | 4:26:30 |
| 42 km | 4:33:00 |
| 42.195 km→ | 4:34:16 |
Questions
- What pace do I need for a given Marathon time?
- Divide the target time by the distance in kilometres. For the Marathon, 6:30 per kilometre gives 4:34:16. The chart below covers the range most runners race in.
- How should I pace a Marathon?
- Even pacing, and the discipline to run the first 10 km slower than feels natural. A marathon run at even effort will show a slight positive split in time terms as fatigue accumulates, which is normal.
- What limits performance over the Marathon?
- Aerobic endurance, fuelling and thermoregulation. Glycogen depletion is the defining constraint: most runners store enough for roughly 30 km at race pace, which is why the wall appears where it does.
- Are the projections to other distances reliable?
- No, and the page says so. They assume the same pace holds over a different distance, which it does not — pace falls as distance rises. Riegel's formula applies a fatigue exponent and is the right tool for actual prediction.
- Why does the split table have a partial final segment?
- Because Marathon is 42.195 km, which is not a whole number of split intervals. The final partial segment is shown rather than dropped, since a table that ends before the finish line is wrong exactly where it matters.