Pace for every goal time
The halfway column assumes an even split, which is the most reliable way to run a marathon. A row is highlighted for a 4:00 marathon: 5:41 per km, 9:09 per mile.
| Goal | Pace /km | Pace /mile | Halfway | Easy | Threshold | VMA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2h30 | 3:33 | 5:43 | 1:15:00 | 4:05–4:31 | 3:22–3:28 | 3:01–3:05 |
| 2h35 | 3:40 | 5:54 | 1:17:30 | 4:13–4:40 | 3:28–3:34 | 3:07–3:12 |
| 2h40 | 3:47 | 6:06 | 1:20:00 | 4:22–4:49 | 3:34–3:41 | 3:13–3:18 |
| 2h45 | 3:55 | 6:18 | 1:22:30 | 4:30–4:58 | 3:40–3:47 | 3:19–3:24 |
| 2h50 | 4:02 | 6:29 | 1:25:00 | 4:38–5:07 | 3:47–3:53 | 3:25–3:31 |
| 2h55 | 4:09 | 6:41 | 1:27:30 | 4:46–5:16 | 3:53–4:00 | 3:31–3:37 |
| 3h00 | 4:16 | 6:52 | 1:30:00 | 4:55–5:25 | 3:59–4:07 | 3:37–3:43 |
| 3h05 | 4:23 | 7:03 | 1:32:30 | 5:02–5:34 | 4:05–4:13 | 3:43–3:49 |
| 3h10 | 4:30 | 7:15 | 1:35:00 | 5:11–5:43 | 4:12–4:19 | 3:49–3:55 |
| 3h15 | 4:37 | 7:26 | 1:37:30 | 5:19–5:52 | 4:18–4:26 | 3:55–4:01 |
| 3h20 | 4:44 | 7:38 | 1:40:00 | 5:27–6:01 | 4:25–4:32 | 4:01–4:08 |
| 3h25 | 4:52 | 7:49 | 1:42:30 | 5:35–6:10 | 4:31–4:39 | 4:08–4:14 |
| 3h30 | 4:59 | 8:01 | 1:45:00 | 5:43–6:19 | 4:37–4:45 | 4:14–4:20 |
| 3h35 | 5:06 | 8:12 | 1:47:30 | 5:52–6:28 | 4:43–4:52 | 4:20–4:26 |
| 3h40 | 5:13 | 8:23 | 1:50:00 | 6:00–6:37 | 4:49–4:58 | 4:26–4:32 |
| 3h45 | 5:20 | 8:35 | 1:52:30 | 6:08–6:46 | 4:55–5:04 | 4:32–4:38 |
| 3h50 | 5:27 | 8:46 | 1:55:00 | 6:16–6:55 | 5:02–5:11 | 4:38–4:44 |
| 3h55 | 5:34 | 8:58 | 1:57:30 | 6:24–7:04 | 5:08–5:17 | 4:44–4:51 |
| 4h00 | 5:41 | 9:09 | 2:00:00 | 6:32–7:13 | 5:14–5:23 | 4:50–4:57 |
| 4h05 | 5:49 | 9:21 | 2:02:30 | 6:41–7:22 | 5:20–5:30 | 4:56–5:03 |
| 4h10 | 5:55 | 9:32 | 2:05:00 | 6:49–7:31 | 5:26–5:36 | 5:02–5:10 |
| 4h15 | 6:02 | 9:43 | 2:07:30 | 6:57–7:41 | 5:32–5:43 | 5:08–5:16 |
| 4h20 | 6:10 | 9:55 | 2:10:00 | 7:05–7:50 | 5:38–5:49 | 5:14–5:22 |
| 4h25 | 6:17 | 10:06 | 2:12:30 | 7:13–7:59 | 5:45–5:55 | 5:20–5:28 |
| 4h30 | 6:24 | 10:18 | 2:15:00 | 7:22–8:08 | 5:51–6:01 | 5:26–5:34 |
| 4h35 | 6:31 | 10:30 | 2:17:30 | 7:29–8:17 | 5:57–6:08 | 5:32–5:40 |
| 4h40 | 6:38 | 10:41 | 2:20:00 | 7:38–8:26 | 6:03–6:14 | 5:38–5:47 |
| 4h45 | 6:45 | 10:52 | 2:22:30 | 7:46–8:35 | 6:09–6:20 | 5:44–5:53 |
| 4h50 | 6:52 | 11:03 | 2:25:00 | 7:54–8:44 | 6:16–6:26 | 5:50–5:59 |
| 4h55 | 6:59 | 11:15 | 2:27:30 | 8:02–8:53 | 6:22–6:33 | 5:56–6:05 |
| 5h00 | 7:07 | 11:27 | 2:30:00 | 8:11–9:02 | 6:28–6:39 | 6:02–6:11 |
| 5h05 | 7:14 | 11:38 | 2:32:30 | 8:19–9:11 | 6:34–6:46 | 6:08–6:17 |
| 5h10 | 7:21 | 11:50 | 2:35:00 | 8:27–9:20 | 6:40–6:52 | 6:14–6:23 |
| 5h15 | 7:28 | 12:01 | 2:37:30 | 8:35–9:29 | 6:46–6:58 | 6:20–6:30 |
| 5h20 | 7:35 | 12:12 | 2:40:00 | 8:43–9:38 | 6:52–7:04 | 6:26–6:36 |
| 5h25 | 7:42 | 12:24 | 2:42:30 | 8:52–9:47 | 6:58–7:10 | 6:32–6:42 |
| 5h30 | 7:49 | 12:35 | 2:45:00 | 8:59–9:56 | 7:04–7:17 | 6:38–6:49 |
| 5h35 | 7:56 | 12:47 | 2:47:30 | 9:08–10:05 | 7:10–7:23 | 6:44–6:55 |
| 5h40 | 8:04 | 12:58 | 2:50:00 | 9:16–10:14 | 7:16–7:29 | 6:50–7:01 |
| 5h45 | 8:11 | 13:10 | 2:52:30 | 9:24–10:23 | 7:22–7:35 | 6:56–7:07 |
| 5h50 | 8:17 | 13:20 | 2:55:00 | 9:32–10:32 | 7:28–7:41 | 7:02–7:13 |
| 5h55 | 8:25 | 13:32 | 2:57:30 | 9:41–10:41 | 7:34–7:48 | 7:08–7:19 |
| 6h00 | 8:32 | 13:44 | 3:00:00 | 9:49–10:50 | 7:40–7:54 | 7:14–7:26 |
How the training paces are worked out
These are the same numbers Run 42 puts in your plan. Each training pace is an equivalent race effort, worked out with Riegel’s formula (time grows with distance to the power 1.06):
- Easy is 15 to 27% slower than your marathon pace. Most of your running, and every long run, happens here.
- Threshold is the pace you could race for about an hour. It is used for intervals like 3×10 minutes.
- VMA is about the pace of a 3 km race, for short repeats such as 400 m or 800 m.
Because the zones come from race equivalents and not a fixed number of seconds, the gaps between them scale with you: a 3-hour marathoner’s threshold sits about 15 seconds per km faster than marathon pace, a 5-hour runner’s about 35 seconds.
Using the chart
- Not sure of your goal? Put a recent 10K or half into the race time predictor first.
- On hilly or hot courses, run by effort on the climbs and in the heat, and accept a slower average.
- Watches drift. GPS usually measures a city marathon a little long, so your watch may show a faster average than the official time. Use the kilometre markers.
For a full week-by-week plan at these paces, see the sample plans for sub-3, sub-3:30, sub-4, sub-4:30 and sub-5.
