5-hour marathon pace

A 5-hour marathon is 11:27 per mile or 7:07 per km, with halfway at 2:30:00. Every mile and km split, the arithmetic, and how to train for sub-5.

11:27

Pace per mile

7:07

Pace per km

2:30:00

Halfway split

5.24 mph

Speed

Every split for 5:00

Cumulative clock time at each mile or kilometre marker on even pace, for 4:55:00, 5:00:00 and 5:05:00. Switch units with the toggle. Formula: goal seconds × distance covered ÷ race distance.

Splits per

Mile	4:55:00	5:00:00	5:05:00
1	11:15	11:27	11:38
2	22:30	22:53	23:16
3	33:45	34:20	34:54
4	45:00	45:46	46:32
5	56:15	57:13	58:10
6	1:07:31	1:08:39	1:09:48
7	1:18:46	1:20:06	1:21:26
8	1:30:01	1:31:32	1:33:04
9	1:41:16	1:42:59	1:44:42
10	1:52:31	1:54:25	1:56:20
11	2:03:46	2:05:52	2:07:58
12	2:15:01	2:17:18	2:19:36
13	2:26:16	2:28:45	2:31:14
14	2:37:31	2:40:11	2:42:52
15	2:48:46	2:51:38	2:54:30
16	3:00:01	3:03:05	3:06:08
17	3:11:17	3:14:31	3:17:46
18	3:22:32	3:25:58	3:29:24
19	3:33:47	3:37:24	3:41:01
20	3:45:02	3:48:51	3:52:39
21	3:56:17	4:00:17	4:04:17
22	4:07:32	4:11:44	4:15:55
23	4:18:47	4:23:10	4:27:33
24	4:30:02	4:34:37	4:39:11
25	4:41:17	4:46:03	4:50:49
26	4:52:32	4:57:30	5:02:27
26.22	4:55:00	5:00:00	5:05:00

Cumulative clock time at each mile marker, at perfectly even pace over 42.195 km. Nobody runs even splits and nobody should try to; use these as the line you are measuring drift against, not as an instruction. The difference between the number here and the number on your watch is information — a minute up at 15 km is a race you are about to lose.

Your exact pace

The chart moves in fixed steps. Enter the marathon time you actually want.

hours

min

sec

Units

Per mile: 11:27
Per km: 7:07
Speed: 5.24 mph

Checkpoints at even pace

5 mi: 57:13
10 mi: 1:54:25
Half: 2:30:00
20 mi: 3:48:51

The same goal as a 1% negative split

First half: 2:31:30
Second half: 2:28:30

Pace band: every mile, ready to print

Band

111:33
223:07
334:40
446:14
557:47
61:09:20
71:20:54
81:32:27
91:44:01
101:55:34
112:07:07
122:18:41
132:30:14
142:41:35
152:52:55
163:04:15
173:15:34
183:26:54
193:38:14
203:49:33
214:00:53
224:12:13
234:23:32
244:34:52
254:46:12
264:57:31
26.25:00:00

Even-pace arithmetic: goal seconds × distance covered ÷ race distance. It assumes you can hold the pace, which is the part training decides.

A plan for a 5:00 marathon

Your plan · free preview

16-week marathon plan

Beginner · 3 runs a week

Starts next Monday

Level

Length

Race date

Week 1Race week

Longest run: 18mi
Biggest week: 32mi
Whole plan: 367mi
Goal pace: 11:27/mi

Goal pace is arithmetic: 5:00:00 ÷ 26.2 mi. It is not a training zone.

Train for this in Runsy

$12.99/mo after a 7-day free trial. iPhone only.

The app builds your own plan when you set it up; this preview is a guide.

Download on theApp Store

Week by week · 16 weeks · in miles

16-week marathon plan, week by week
Week	Phase	Long run	Total
1	base	9.9	18
2	base	11	20
3	base	12	22
4	cutback	8.1	15
5	build	13	23
6	build	14	25
7	build	15	27
8	cutback	11	19
9	build	16	29
10	build	17	30
11	peak	18	32
12	peak	18	32
13	taper	12	22
14	taper	7.5	13
15	taper	5	9.3
16	race	26.2	31

The pace, and the arithmetic

A 5-hour marathon is 11:27 per mile, or 7:07 per kilometre, held for 26.2 miles (42.195 km). On even pace you pass halfway at 2:30:00 and 20 miles at 3:48:51. To finish under 5:00, run 11:26 per mile, which finishes in 4:59:46.

How the numbers are worked out

5:00:00 is 18,000 seconds.
Per mile: 18,000 ÷ 26.2188 miles = 686.5 s = 11:27.
Per kilometre: 18,000 ÷ 42.195 km = 426.6 s = 7:07.
At halfway: 18,000 × 21.0975 ÷ 42.195 = 9,000.0 s = 2:30:00.
At 20 miles: 18,000 × 20 ÷ 26.2188 = 13,730.6 s = 3:48:51.
At 40 km: 18,000 × 40 ÷ 42.195 = 17,063.6 s = 4:44:24.
Speed: 26.2188 miles ÷ 5 h = 5.24 mph (8.44 km/h).

Every split on this page uses one formula: goal seconds × distance covered ÷ race distance, rounded to the nearest second. A mile is 1.609344 km, so the marathon is 26.2188 miles.

Checkpoints

Finish	/mi	/km	5 mi	10 mi	Half	20 mi
4:40:00	10:41	6:38	53:24	1:46:48	2:20:00	3:33:35
4:45:00	10:52	6:45	54:21	1:48:42	2:22:30	3:37:24
4:50:00	11:04	6:52	55:18	1:50:36	2:25:00	3:41:13
4:55:00	11:15	6:59	56:15	1:52:31	2:27:30	3:45:02
5:00:00	11:27	7:07	57:13	1:54:25	2:30:00	3:48:51
5:05:00	11:38	7:14	58:10	1:56:20	2:32:30	3:52:39
5:10:00	11:49	7:21	59:07	1:58:14	2:35:00	3:56:28
5:15:00	12:01	7:28	1:00:04	2:00:09	2:37:30	4:00:17
5:20:00	12:12	7:35	1:01:02	2:02:03	2:40:00	4:04:06

Checkpoints are even-pace clock times for the marathon (42.195 km / 26.22 mi), on mile markers or kilometre markers to match the toggle. Underlined times open that goal's page, with every split.

Where 5:00 sits in the field

RunRepeat's finish-time percentiles (35M results across 28,000+ races, as printed on our average marathon time page) place 5:00:00 between the median (4:26:33) and the slowest 20% (5:11:00) of all finishers. For men it sits slower than the 4:55:33 that marks the slowest 20%; for women, between the median (4:42:09) and the slowest 20% (5:26:40).

Read the other way: a sub-5 is faster than more than a fifth of all finishers in that data, and 33:27 slower than the median finisher.

Next goals up: 4:30 marathon pace (10:18 per mile) and 4-hour marathon pace (9:09). Every finish time from 2:30 to 6:00 is on the marathon pace chart.

How to train for a sub-5 marathon

Check the goal before you train for it. Riegel's formula, T2 = T1 × (D2 ÷ D1)^1.06 (Riegel, American Scientist 69(3), 1981), says 5:00:00 for the marathon is worth:

Half marathon: 18,000 × (21.0975 ÷ 42.195)^1.06 = 8,633 s = 2:23:53.
10K: 18,000 × (10 ÷ 42.195)^1.06 = 3,913 s = 1:05:13.

Riegel is optimistic when it predicts a marathon from a shorter race, because it assumes marathon-specific endurance. Treat a recent half marathon near 2:24 as the minimum evidence for sub-5, not proof. Run your own recent result through the race time predictor, and use the VDOT calculator to turn it into training paces.

Then pick a plan. The beginner level fits a first sub-5: it assumes you can run 5 km without stopping and want to finish comfortably. The free 16-week beginner marathon plan is 3 runs a week, peaking at 52 km with a 29 km long run, with cutback weeks and a taper. If you already have a marathon behind you and 5:00 is a time goal, the intermediate 16-week plan adds a fourth run.

Even splits are the reference line, not the plan

Nobody runs a perfect even split, and the opening of a marathon feels easy at almost any pace. Use these times as the line you measure drift against: if you are well ahead early, you are spending the end of the race at the start.

Stop calculating. Start training.

Runsy sets your paces from your real runs, then keeps them current.

Download on theApp Store

Runsy is on iPhone

Point your iPhone camera at the code to open it in the App Store.

Runsy is iPhone-only for now.

The plans, pace charts and calculators on this site are free on any phone, with no account.

Free training plans Calculators

$12.99/mo after a 7-day free trialiPhone only

Fair questions

How do I convert marathon time to pace?

Divide the time in seconds by the distance. 5:00:00 is 18,000 seconds: 18,000 ÷ 26.2188 miles = 686.5 s = 11:27 per mile, and 18,000 ÷ 42.195 km = 426.6 s = 7:07 per km.

What is sub-5 marathon pace per km?

7:07 per km is 5:00:00 to the nearest second. Run 7:06 per km and you finish in 4:59:35, a margin of about 25 seconds.

What is the average pace for running a 4-hour marathon?

9:09 per mile, or 5:41 per kilometre, passing halfway at 2:00:00.

Is 5 hours a good marathon time?

RunRepeat's finish-time percentiles (35M results) put the median marathon finisher at 4:26:33 and mark the slowest 20% at 5:11:00. A 5:00 sits between the two: slower than half the field, faster than more than a fifth of it.

What pace is a 4:30 marathon per km?

6:24 per kilometre, or 10:18 per mile, passing halfway at 2:15:00.