Half Marathon Pace Chart

Find your goal finish time in the left column, then read across for the pace you have to average — per kilometer or per mile, whichever matches your watch and the course markings. Set that pace as an alert on your watch and rehearse it in training, especially in your longer runs, so it feels familiar by race morning.

The split columns show where you should be at 5K, 10K, and 10 miles if you run perfectly even, and most half marathons have clocks or signs at those points. The 5K check matters most: adrenaline and crowds make the first kilometers feel easy, and arriving more than about 30 seconds ahead of the chart means you are spending energy you will want after the 10-mile mark. Use 10K to confirm your rhythm, and treat the 10-mile split as the launch point — if you are on the chart there, the last 5K is yours to push.

Sub-2:00 is the big one — the half marathon's equivalent of the four-hour marathon. It takes about 5:41 per kilometer (9:09 per mile), which is realistic for most consistent runners after a focused training block, yet demanding enough that the final 5K decides it. For many people it is the first time goal they ever chase, and the chart row at 1:50:00 makes a natural stepping stone beyond it.

Further up, sub-1:45 (about 4:58 per kilometer) marks a strong club-level runner, and sub-1:30 — roughly 4:16 per kilometer, or 6:52 per mile — is a serious benchmark that usually requires structured speed work and years of aerobic base. In the other direction, 2:15 (about 6:24 per kilometer) and 2:30 (about 7:06 per kilometer) are popular, respectable targets for newer runners and run-walkers, comfortably inside typical first-timer territory. Every one of these milestones is just a pace held long enough; the chart tells you which pace.

Your half marathon pace is faster than your marathon pace, but not by as much as many runners hope. For most people the gap is roughly 15 to 20 seconds per kilometer (25 to 30 seconds per mile): if you can race a half at 5:20 per kilometer, a marathon around 5:35 to 5:40 per kilometer is a sensible target, assuming you have done the long-run training the full distance demands.

Common race predictors say the same thing in different ways. The popular Riegel formula multiplies your half marathon time by about 2.1 (not 2.0) to project a marathon finish, so a 2:00 half points to a marathon around 4:11, not 4:00. The half also works the other way as the single best marathon tune-up race: run one at honest effort six to eight weeks out, and you will know exactly which row of the marathon pace chart to trust.

Goal time between two rows, or training over a different distance? Enter any time and distance below, or use the full pace calculator for speed conversions and projected finish times at every race distance.