To finish a marathon in 3:00:00, you need to average 4:15/km (6:52/mile). Every other goal time follows the same arithmetic: a marathon is 42.195 km, so finish time equals your average pace per kilometer multiplied by 42.195. The rest of this page is the chart.
The headline benchmarks
If you only remember five numbers, remember these. Each one is the average pace required to just break the round-number barrier.
- Sub-3:00 marathon → 4:15/km (6:52/mile). Strict line is 4:15.95/km, so 4:16/km gets you 3:00:15 — miss.
- Sub-3:30 marathon → 4:58/km (8:00/mile). Strict line is 4:58.61/km.
- Sub-4:00 marathon → 5:41/km (9:09/mile). Strict line is 5:41.27/km. The most popular goal in the sport.
- Sub-4:30 marathon → 6:23/km (10:17/mile). Strict line is 6:23.93/km. Run a flat 6:24/km and you finish in 4:30:03 — three seconds over. Aim for 6:23/km to bank the buffer.
- Sub-5:00 marathon → 7:06/km (11:25/mile). Strict line is 7:06.59/km.
A worked example so you can audit the rest of this page: a 3:00:00 marathon is 10,800 seconds. Divide by 42.195 km and you get 255.95 seconds per kilometer, or 4 minutes and 15.95 seconds per kilometer. Round to display as 4:16/km and you've already added 15 seconds to your finish — which is why the chart below uses the exact unrounded math and shows the resulting finish time to the nearest second.
The reverse direction is just as useful. If you know the pace you can hold, you can read off the finish time without doing arithmetic on race morning. A runner who can comfortably run 5:00/km in training is, all else equal, looking at a 3:31 marathon. Not 3:30, not 3:32 — 3:30:59. The math doesn't negotiate.
Marathon pace chart (metric)
Pace per km from 4:00 to 7:00 in 5-second increments. Finish times calculated as pace × 42.195 km. Half-marathon splits calculated as pace × 21.0975 km. Mile pace calculated as pace × 1.609344.
| Pace per km | Marathon finish | Pace per mile | Half marathon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:00 | 2:48:47 | 6:26 | 1:24:23 |
| 4:05 | 2:52:18 | 6:34 | 1:26:09 |
| 4:10 | 2:55:49 | 6:42 | 1:27:54 |
| 4:15 | 2:59:20 | 6:50 | 1:29:40 |
| 4:20 | 3:02:51 | 6:58 | 1:31:25 |
| 4:25 | 3:06:22 | 7:06 | 1:33:11 |
| 4:30 | 3:09:53 | 7:15 | 1:34:56 |
| 4:35 | 3:13:24 | 7:23 | 1:36:42 |
| 4:40 | 3:16:55 | 7:31 | 1:38:27 |
| 4:45 | 3:20:26 | 7:39 | 1:40:13 |
| 4:50 | 3:23:57 | 7:47 | 1:41:58 |
| 4:55 | 3:27:28 | 7:55 | 1:43:44 |
| 5:00 | 3:30:59 | 8:03 | 1:45:29 |
| 5:05 | 3:34:29 | 8:11 | 1:47:15 |
| 5:10 | 3:38:00 | 8:19 | 1:49:00 |
| 5:15 | 3:41:31 | 8:27 | 1:50:46 |
| 5:20 | 3:45:02 | 8:35 | 1:52:31 |
| 5:25 | 3:48:33 | 8:43 | 1:54:17 |
| 5:30 | 3:52:04 | 8:51 | 1:56:02 |
| 5:35 | 3:55:35 | 8:59 | 1:57:48 |
| 5:40 | 3:59:06 | 9:07 | 1:59:33 |
| 5:45 | 4:02:37 | 9:15 | 2:01:19 |
| 5:50 | 4:06:08 | 9:23 | 2:03:04 |
| 5:55 | 4:09:39 | 9:31 | 2:04:50 |
| 6:00 | 4:13:10 | 9:39 | 2:06:35 |
| 6:05 | 4:16:41 | 9:47 | 2:08:21 |
| 6:10 | 4:20:12 | 9:55 | 2:10:06 |
| 6:15 | 4:23:43 | 10:04 | 2:11:52 |
| 6:20 | 4:27:14 | 10:12 | 2:13:37 |
| 6:25 | 4:30:45 | 10:20 | 2:15:23 |
| 6:30 | 4:34:16 | 10:28 | 2:17:08 |
| 6:35 | 4:37:47 | 10:36 | 2:18:54 |
| 6:40 | 4:41:18 | 10:44 | 2:20:39 |
| 6:45 | 4:44:49 | 10:52 | 2:22:25 |
| 6:50 | 4:48:20 | 11:00 | 2:24:10 |
| 6:55 | 4:51:51 | 11:08 | 2:25:56 |
| 7:00 | 4:55:22 | 11:16 | 2:27:41 |
A note on rounding: pace columns are rounded to the nearest second. Finish time and half-marathon columns are computed from the unrounded pace and then rounded to the nearest second. That's why a 4:00/km pace shows a 6:26/mile pace but the 6:25/mile row in the imperial chart below produces a slightly different marathon time. They're the same race plan viewed through two different rounding lenses — and on race day, neither will land you within a second of the displayed time anyway, because GPS watches drift, courses run long, and you'll walk through at least one aid station. Treat the chart as the target, not the prophecy.
Marathon pace chart (imperial)
Pace per mile from 6:30 to 11:00 in 5-second increments. Marathon distance in miles = 42.195 / 1.609344 = 26.21875 mi.
| Pace per mile | Marathon finish | Pace per km |
|---|---|---|
| 6:30 | 2:50:25 | 4:02 |
| 6:35 | 2:52:36 | 4:05 |
| 6:40 | 2:54:48 | 4:09 |
| 6:45 | 2:56:59 | 4:12 |
| 6:50 | 2:59:10 | 4:15 |
| 6:55 | 3:01:21 | 4:18 |
| 7:00 | 3:03:32 | 4:21 |
| 7:05 | 3:05:43 | 4:24 |
| 7:10 | 3:07:54 | 4:27 |
| 7:15 | 3:10:05 | 4:30 |
| 7:20 | 3:12:16 | 4:33 |
| 7:25 | 3:14:27 | 4:37 |
| 7:30 | 3:16:38 | 4:40 |
| 7:35 | 3:18:50 | 4:43 |
| 7:40 | 3:21:01 | 4:46 |
| 7:45 | 3:23:12 | 4:49 |
| 7:50 | 3:25:23 | 4:52 |
| 7:55 | 3:27:34 | 4:55 |
| 8:00 | 3:29:45 | 4:58 |
| 8:05 | 3:31:56 | 5:01 |
| 8:10 | 3:34:07 | 5:04 |
| 8:15 | 3:36:18 | 5:08 |
| 8:20 | 3:38:29 | 5:11 |
| 8:25 | 3:40:40 | 5:14 |
| 8:30 | 3:42:52 | 5:17 |
| 8:35 | 3:45:03 | 5:20 |
| 8:40 | 3:47:14 | 5:23 |
| 8:45 | 3:49:25 | 5:26 |
| 8:50 | 3:51:36 | 5:29 |
| 8:55 | 3:53:47 | 5:32 |
| 9:00 | 3:55:58 | 5:36 |
| 9:05 | 3:58:09 | 5:39 |
| 9:10 | 4:00:20 | 5:42 |
| 9:15 | 4:02:31 | 5:45 |
| 9:20 | 4:04:43 | 5:48 |
| 9:25 | 4:06:54 | 5:51 |
| 9:30 | 4:09:05 | 5:54 |
| 9:35 | 4:11:16 | 5:57 |
| 9:40 | 4:13:27 | 6:00 |
| 9:45 | 4:15:38 | 6:03 |
| 9:50 | 4:17:49 | 6:07 |
| 9:55 | 4:20:00 | 6:10 |
| 10:00 | 4:22:11 | 6:13 |
| 10:05 | 4:24:22 | 6:16 |
| 10:10 | 4:26:33 | 6:19 |
| 10:15 | 4:28:45 | 6:22 |
| 10:20 | 4:30:56 | 6:25 |
| 10:25 | 4:33:07 | 6:28 |
| 10:30 | 4:35:18 | 6:31 |
| 10:35 | 4:37:29 | 6:35 |
| 10:40 | 4:39:40 | 6:38 |
| 10:45 | 4:41:51 | 6:41 |
| 10:50 | 4:44:02 | 6:44 |
| 10:55 | 4:46:13 | 6:47 |
| 11:00 | 4:48:24 | 6:50 |
How to use the chart
The workflow is short. Pick the goal time you actually want — not the goal time you'd like in a perfect world, but the one a recent half-marathon or 10K result says is realistic. Find the row. Memorize the pace. That number is what your watch should read for the entire race, give or take a few seconds per kilometer.
A rough sanity check: a realistic marathon time is roughly your recent half-marathon time multiplied by 2.1 to 2.2. If your half PR is 1:35, your honest marathon prediction sits between 3:19 and 3:29. If you're hunting sub-3:30, that's the row to circle. If you're hunting sub-3:15 with a 1:35 half on your record, the chart will not save you — the training will.
Two reminders that save races:
- Race pace is not training pace. Marathon pace sits roughly 25–35 seconds per kilometer slower than threshold pace and 60–90 seconds per kilometer faster than easy pace. If your easy runs are at 5:30/km, that doesn't mean you're a 3:52 marathoner — it means easy is easy. Race-pace work in the final 8–10 weeks of a build is what tells you whether the chart pace is honest.
- Round the wrong way on race day. If your goal is sub-3:30 (4:58/km strict), aim for 4:55/km on the watch, not 4:58. Tangents, GPS drift, walking through aid stations, and the inevitable extra distance from weaving all add up to roughly 0.3–0.6% extra distance over the race. On a 3:30 goal, that's 60–90 seconds. Plan for 4:55/km splits and you'll bank the buffer you actually need.
A note on splits
The chart assumes even pacing — every kilometer at the same number. That's the right plan for almost every first-time marathoner. If you've run two or three marathons and want to run your fastest one yet, the answer is almost always a slight negative split: first half 5–10 seconds per kilometer slower than goal, second half 5–10 seconds per kilometer faster. Eliud Kipchoge's 2:01:09 was a negative split. Sabastian Sawe's 1:59:30 in London on April 26, 2026 was a negative split by 88 seconds.
For the full breakdown of when and how to run each split shape, see How to pace a marathon: even, negative, and positive splits explained.
Build your own splits
The chart above gives you a single average pace. The race itself rarely cooperates — uphills, headwinds, aid stations, and the inevitable 32K wobble all push you off it. Tweak per-kilometer paces and model splits at runpace.co. Build the race shape you actually want to run, then put the watch on the wrist that has to deliver it.