Milemark

Half marathon pace chart in km and miles

A sub-2 hour half marathon needs 5:41 per kilometre, or 9:09 per mile. That is the most searched target in the distance, and the chart below places it among finish times from 1:15 to 3:00 in both units.

The sub-2 half in detail

Two hours over 21.0975 kilometres works out at 5:41/km, which puts you across the line at 1:59:57. Three seconds of margin across 21 kilometres is not margin at all.

Most coaches point runners at 5:38/km instead. The extra three seconds per kilometre buys roughly a minute over the distance, which covers a queue at a water station, a course measured slightly long, or the twenty metres you add running the racing line badly through a crowded first mile.

Half marathon pace chart

Finish times in five minute steps, with pace in both units.

Finish timePace per kmPace per mile
1:15:003:33 /km5:43 /mi
1:20:003:48 /km6:06 /mi
1:25:004:02 /km6:29 /mi
1:30:004:16 /km6:52 /mi
1:35:004:30 /km7:15 /mi
1:40:004:44 /km7:38 /mi
1:45:004:59 /km8:01 /mi
1:50:005:13 /km8:23 /mi
1:55:005:27 /km8:46 /mi
2:00:005:41 /km9:09 /mi
2:05:005:55 /km9:32 /mi
2:10:006:10 /km9:55 /mi
2:15:006:24 /km10:18 /mi
2:20:006:38 /km10:41 /mi
2:25:006:52 /km11:04 /mi
2:30:007:07 /km11:27 /mi
2:35:007:21 /km11:49 /mi
2:40:007:35 /km12:12 /mi
2:45:007:49 /km12:35 /mi
2:50:008:03 /km12:58 /mi
2:55:008:18 /km13:21 /mi
3:00:008:32 /km13:44 /mi

Same pace, half the distance

5:41 per kilometre is both a sub-2 half and a 4:00 marathon. The pace is identical; the distance is what makes one a realistic first goal and the other a season's work.

This is worth knowing if you are stepping up. A comfortable sub-2 half does not mean a four hour marathon is waiting for you, because the second half of a marathon is run in a physiological state a half marathon never reaches.

Reading finish times live

Milemark lists the half marathon time alongside 5K, 10K and marathon for whatever pace is on screen, using the official 21.0975 km rather than a rounded 21.

Race times list calculated from a 5:15 min/km pace: 5K in 26:15, 10K in 52:30, half marathon in 1:50:46, marathon in 3:41:31

Questions about this

What pace is a 1:45 half marathon?

4:59 per kilometre, or 8:01 per mile. It is a common step between a sub-2 and a 1:30.

Is a half marathon 21 km?

21.0975 km, or 13.109 miles. The extra 97.5 metres is about half a minute for a two hour runner.

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