Type a time like 3:45:00 or 52:30.
Faster than 72% of finishers.
4 min faster puts you in the top 25%.
The average marathon time
The median marathon finisher crosses the line in 4:26:33. For men the median is 4:14:29, for women 4:42:09. The median is the time half the field beats, and it is what people usually mean by the average finish time.
These figures come from RunRepeat’s analysis: 35 million race results collected over 20 years from more than 28,000 races. They count finishers only, and a race’s course, weather and time limit all move its own median, so the field at your race may be a little faster or slower.
What is a good marathon time?
It depends on who you compare yourself with, so here is the field itself:
- Under 3h00 beats 97% of finishers: the top 3%.
- Under 3h30 beats 90% of finishers: the top 10%.
- Under 4h00 beats 72% of finishers: the top 28%.
- Under 4h30 beats 47% of finishers: the top 53%.
- Under 5h00 beats 26% of finishers: the top 74%.
To turn a goal into paces, use the marathon pace chart; to see how a block for it is built, read the sample sub-4 plan.
Is 4h00 a good marathon time?
Yes: 4h00 is faster than 72% of all marathon finishers, 64% of men and 84% of women. It puts you in the top 28% of the field.
Marathon finish times by percentile
The time you need to be in each slice of the field. Top 10% means nine finishers in ten are slower.
| Place in the field | Everyone | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 1% | 2:50:48 | 2:44:18 | 3:11:35 |
| Top 10% | 3:31:46 | 3:22:40 | 3:49:22 |
| Top 20% | 3:49:53 | 3:40:13 | 4:06:58 |
| Top 30% | 4:02:56 | 3:53:07 | 4:20:24 |
| Top 40% | 4:15:09 | 4:03:47 | 4:31:21 |
| Median | 4:26:33 | 4:14:29 | 4:42:09 |
| Top 60% | 4:38:30 | 4:25:33 | 4:53:37 |
| Top 70% | 4:52:18 | 4:38:26 | 5:07:36 |
| Top 80% | 5:11:00 | 4:55:33 | 5:26:40 |
| Top 90% | 5:41:45 | 5:25:26 | 5:56:31 |
