A marathon pace chart turns a goal finish into the number that matters on the day: the pace you have to hold, mile after mile, for 26.2 of them. Because the distance is fixed, the arithmetic is exact, a four-hour marathon is a shade over nine minutes per mile, and the chart lays out that trade for every finish so you can pick a realistic target and pace to it.
Marathon pace chart km and miles: how it is built
A marathon pace chart is pure arithmetic: 26.2 miles, or 42.2 kilometres, divided into the finish time gives the average pace. Marathon pace in minutes per mile and marathon pace per kilometre are the same target expressed two ways, and the chart holds both so a runner training in either unit reads the number they think in without converting in their head mid-race.
Marathon times by pace, read against your training
The honest use of a marathon pace chart is to find the finish your training supports, not the one you wish for. Marathon times by pace make the trade concrete. Every half hour of finish time, per mile and per kilometre: 2:30 is 5:43 and 3:33, 3:00 is 6:52 and 4:16, 3:05 is 7:03 and 4:23, 3:30 is 8:01 and 4:59, 4:00 is 9:09 and 5:41, 4:30 is 10:18 and 6:24, 5:00 is 11:27 and 7:07, 5:30 is 12:35 and 7:49, and 6:00 is 13:44 and 8:32. Read the other way, a flat ten-minute mile brings you home in 4:22. Shaving fifteen minutes off a target means holding a meaningfully faster pace for the whole distance, and those rows show exactly how much faster, which is sobering and useful in equal measure.
Even pace versus the wall
The chart gives an even pace, but marathons are rarely run evenly; most people slow in the last few miles. Reading marathon pacing off the chart and then banking a few seconds a mile early is a common mistake that causes the fade, so the better plan is to hold the chart pace and let the even split protect the finish.
Questions people ask about marathon pace chart
What pace is a four-hour marathon?
A four-hour marathon is about nine minutes and nine seconds per mile, or roughly five minutes forty per kilometre, held for the full 26.2 miles.
Should I run marathon pace evenly?
Yes; the chart gives an even split, and holding it beats banking time early, which is the usual cause of the late-race fade.
Is the marathon pacing chart km as well as miles?
Yes, a marathon pace chart in km expresses the same target in minutes per kilometre, so runners who train in metric read their pace directly.
How do marathon times pace out per mile and per kilometre?
Divide the finish time by 26.219 miles or 42.195 kilometres. A 3:30 marathon is 8:01 a mile and 4:59 a kilometre; a 5:00 marathon is 11:27 and 7:07. The rows above run from 2:30 to 6:00 in half-hour steps.
What are the marathon pace times per km and per mile for the common targets?
A 3:00 marathon is 6:52 a mile or 4:16 a km; 3:30 is 8:01 or 4:59; 4:00 is 9:09 or 5:41; 4:30 is 10:18 or 6:24; and 5:00 is 11:27 or 7:07. Each is the finish time divided by 26.2 miles or 42.195 km.
What is the average pace for a marathon?
This site does not publish an average marathon finish time. Your marathon running pace is your target time divided by the distance, so read your target off the chart above: a 4:30 finish, for example, is an even 10:18 a mile.