The round-hour marathon goals, sub-3, sub-4, sub-5, are the ones runners chase, and each is a specific pace held for 26.2 miles. A sub-3 is elite-amateur territory at just under seven minutes a mile; a sub-4 is the popular milestone at just over nine; a sub-5 is a steady jog-walk for many. This page gives the pace behind each.
What each hour target costs, from a sub-3 to a 6 hour marathon pace
A sub 3 hour marathon pace is about six minutes fifty per mile, a demanding pace to hold for the whole distance and out of reach for most without serious training. A sub 4 hour marathon pace is about nine minutes nine, the popular milestone; a five-hour marathon is a shade under eleven and a half. Six hours is 13 minutes 44 a mile, or 8 minutes 32 a kilometre, which is a steady run-walk and the finish many first-timers and charity entrants are actually pacing to. What pace is a three-hour marathon or a four-hour one is answered directly by the distance divided by the target.
The gap between the bands
The jump from a four-hour to a three-hour marathon is not a small trim; it is over two minutes a mile held for 26.2 miles, which is a different level of fitness, not a harder day. Reading the pace for a 4 hour marathon and the pace for a 3 hour marathon side by side makes the size of that gap honest, and stops a runner targeting a leap their training cannot support.
Holding the pace to the finish
Every hour target assumes an even pace, and the marathon punishes going out faster than the chart says. Banking time early against a sub-4 or sub-3 goal is the classic cause of the late fade; the pace for a 5 hour marathon or any other target is best treated as a ceiling to hold from the gun, not a start-line minimum to beat.
Questions people ask about sub 3 hour marathon pace
What pace is a 3 hour marathon?
A sub-3 marathon is about six minutes fifty per mile held for 26.2 miles, which is demanding amateur-elite territory requiring serious training.
What is sub 4 hour marathon pace?
A four-hour marathon is about nine minutes nine per mile, the popular milestone reachable for many runners with consistent training.
How much faster is a sub-3 than a sub-4?
Over two minutes per mile held for the whole distance, which is a different level of fitness rather than simply a harder effort on the day.
What pace is a 5 hour marathon?
A shade under eleven and a half minutes per mile, held evenly for 26.2 miles; like every hour target it is best treated as a ceiling to hold from the gun rather than a pace to beat early.
Is there a sub 3 to sub 5 marathon pace chart?
Yes, the hour targets in one chart: sub-3 is 6:52 a mile (4:16 a km), sub-3:30 is 8:01 (4:59), sub-4 is 9:09 (5:41), sub-4:30 is 10:18 (6:24) and sub-5 is 11:27 (7:07), each the finish time divided by 26.2 miles or 42.195 km.