Race Shape › Calculators › Marathon pace chart
CalculatorMarathon pace chart
Pick a target and get the pace per kilometre and your clock time at every 5 km, halfway and the finish. A sub-4 marathon is 5:41 per kilometre and halfway in about 2:00:00.
| Distance | Clock |
|---|---|
| 5 km | 28:26 |
| 10 km | 56:52 |
| 15 km | 1:25:19 |
| 20 km | 1:53:45 |
| 21.1 km | 1:59:59 |
| 25 km | 2:22:11 |
| 30 km | 2:50:37 |
| 35 km | 3:19:04 |
| 40 km | 3:47:30 |
| 42.2 km | 3:59:59 |
Every common target
| Target | Pace | Halfway | 30 km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2:59:59 | 4:16/km | 1:30:00 | 2:07:58 |
| 3:15:00 | 4:37/km | 1:37:30 | 2:18:39 |
| 3:30:00 | 4:59/km | 1:45:00 | 2:29:18 |
| 3:45:00 | 5:20/km | 1:52:30 | 2:39:58 |
| 3:59:59 | 5:41/km | 2:00:00 | 2:50:37 |
| 4:15:00 | 6:03/km | 2:07:30 | 3:01:18 |
| 4:30:00 | 6:24/km | 2:15:00 | 3:11:58 |
| 4:59:59 | 7:07/km | 2:30:00 | 3:33:17 |
| 5:30:00 | 7:49/km | 2:45:00 | 3:54:37 |
Even splits, honestly
Even splits are the target on a flat course, and the first half should never be faster than the second. The typical marathon goes wrong at 30 km, not at the start, and the cause is almost always early pace. If you are a minute up on the chart at halfway, you are not ahead — you have borrowed a minute you will pay back with interest.
The Cape Town Marathon, Soweto and altitude
The Cape Town Marathon — a World Marathon Major from 2027, now run in May — is flat, fast and at sea level, the best place in the country for a personal best. Soweto is hilly and at 1 680 m: do not expect a sea-level time there, and run the hills by effort. Gauteng runners racing at the coast will find the same effort quicker on the day; convert with the altitude pace calculator.
From a target to a plan
A pace chart tells you where you want to be. Whether your fitness supports it is another question: the race time predictor answers it from a recent race, and a Race Shape plan says plainly whether your goal is on — including when the answer is no.
Common questions
What pace is a sub-3 marathon?
4:15 per kilometre, with halfway in about 1:30.
What pace is a 3:30 marathon?
About 4:59 per kilometre, halfway in 1:45.
What pace is a 5-hour marathon?
About 7:07 per kilometre, halfway in 2:30.
Should I take walk breaks?
If you plan them from the first water table rather than waiting until you need them, they often make a marathon faster, not slower.
Put this calculator on your club’s website
Free for running clubs, coaches, race organisers and bloggers. Copy the code below into any page that accepts HTML — WordPress, Wix and Squarespace all do — and your members get the same live marathon pace chart, with nothing to install and no sign-up.
Keep the credit line under it, please: that is the only thing we ask in return.
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