A 4:30-hour marathon is a reasonable but exciting finish time for many recreational runners.
To run a 4:30 marathon time means you need to hold an average race pace of just under 10:18 minutes per mile or 6:24 minutes per kilometer for the duration of the race.
In this sub 4:30 marathon guide, we will discuss the 4:30 marathon pace, training tips for how to run a marathon under 4.5 hours, and elements of the best 4:30 hour marathon training plans you can use in your own quest to run a sub 4.5 hour marathon.

How Do I Pace Myself For A 4:30 Hour Marathon?
Here is how to run a sub 4:30 marathon pace chart in miles and kilometers:
Sub 4:30 Marathon Pace Chart in Miles
The splits for the 10:18 mile pace are as follows:
Mile | Split Time |
1 | 10:18 |
2 | 20:36 |
3 | 30:54 |
4 | 41:12 |
5 | 51:29 |
6 | 1:01:47 |
7 | 1:12:05 |
8 | 1:22:23 |
9 | 1:32:41 |
10 | 1:42:59 |
11 | 1:53:17 |
12 | 2:03:35 |
13 | 2:13:52 |
13.1 | 2:15:00 |
14 | 2:24:10 |
15 | 2:34:28 |
16 | 2:44:46 |
17 | 2:55:04 |
18 | 3:05:22 |
19 | 3:15:40 |
20 | 3:25:58 |
21 | 3:36:15 |
22 | 3:46:33 |
23 | 3:56:51 |
24 | 4:07:09 |
25 | 4:17:27 |
26 | 4:27:45 |
26.2 | 4:29:59 |

Sub 4:30 Marathon Pace Chart in Kilometers
Kilometer | Split Time | Kilometer | Split Time |
1 | 6:24 | 22 | 2:20:46 |
2 | 12:48 | 23 | 2:27:10 |
3 | 19:12 | 24 | 2:33:34 |
4 | 25:36 | 25 | 2:39:58 |
5 | 32:00 | 26 | 2:46:22 |
6 | 38:24 | 27 | 2:52:46 |
7 | 44:48 | 28 | 2:59:10 |
8 | 51:11 | 29 | 3:05:34 |
9 | 57:35 | 30 | 3:11:58 |
10 | 1:03:59 | 31 | 3:18:22 |
11 | 1:10:23 | 32 | 3:24:46 |
12 | 1:16:47 | 33 | 3:31:10 |
13 | 1:23:11 | 34 | 3:37:34 |
14 | 1:29:35 | 35 | 3:43:58 |
15 | 1:35:59 | 36 | 3:50:22 |
16 | 1:42:23 | 37 | 3:56:45 |
17 | 1:48:47 | 38 | 4:03:09 |
18 | 1:55:11 | 39 | 4:09:33 |
19 | 2:01:35 | 40 | 4:15:57 |
20 | 2:07:59 | 41 | 4:22:21 |
21 | 2:14:23 | 42 | 4:28:45 |
21.1 | 2:15:00 | 42.2 | 4:29:59 |

How Do You Run A Sub 4:30 Hour Marathon?
Here are some of the key workouts in our 4:30 hour marathon training plan:
- Easy Runs: Runs at an easy, conversation pace to aid recovery from hard workouts.
- Long Run: Long endurance workouts to improve physical and mental stamina. You should run at a comfortable, conversation pace, at an effort of 6 on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is the max effort.
- Threshold Interval Workouts and Tempo Runs: The lactate threshold occurs around 83-88% of your VO2 max or roughly the pace you could hold at max effort for an hour of running. For most runners, the threshold run pace is about 15-20 seconds per mile (9-12 seconds per kilometer) slower than your 10k race pace.
- Cross-Training: Non-running aerobic training sessions. Examples include cycling, swimming, rowing, elliptical, aqua jogging, and hiking.
- Rest Days: No structured exercise. Focus on rest and recovery (stretching, foam rolling, taking it easy).
- Strides: Accelerations where you reach your max sprinting speed by the end of each one.
- Speed work (interval training): These speed workouts get your body used to running fast and build anaerobic fitness, improving VO2 max and running speed. Some examples are fartlek workouts at goal race pace, 5K pace (parkrun race pace), or VO2 max intervals.
- Warm-up: Easy jog to warm up before speed work or a race pace effort.
- Cool down: At the end of a workout, slow your pace, downshifting to an easy jog to recover from your workout.

Can I Break A 4.5 Hour Marathon For My First Marathon?
According to Run Repeat’s investigation, the overall average marathon time worldwide among recreational runners (omitting elite runners) is 4:29:53, which means that the 4:30 marathon finish barrier is basically exactly the average marathon pace.1Marathon Statistics 2019 Worldwide (Research). (2019). Athletic Shoe Reviews; RunRepeat.com. https://runrepeat.com/research-marathon-performance-across-nations
However, just because crossing the finish line in 4 hours 30 minutes might be the average time for recreational runners doesn’t mean you have enough running experience or fitness level to hold a 10:18 minute mile pace for the marathon distance, even with training.
For example, if your personal best in the marathon is closer to 6 hours, or your personal best in the half marathon is over 2.5 hours, training to run a 5 hour marathon is a more reasonable starting goal.
A sub 4.5 hour marathon time goal is generally appropriate if your current fitness level is around 2 hours for a half marathon and your average weekly mileage is at least 20 miles per week.
The more running experience you have with the marathon distance, the more comfortable you will follow your training program and pace yourself on race day.

What Are The Best Tips For How To Break 4:30 Hours In The Marathon?
Here are a few additional training tips that can help you follow a 4:30 hour marathon training plan:
- Practice your fueling strategy on your long runs.
- Don’t neglect the importance of rest days, sleep, and everyday nutrition.
- Give yourself enough time to train. Choose a minimum of a 12-16-week training plan so that you have enough time to build up to the full marathon distance, particularly if you’ve only been doing half marathon training or shorter training runs.
- Marathon Handbook offers a whole library of free marathon training plans, including plans that will help you run a sub 4:30 hour marathon.
- Join the Marathon Handbook Facebook group for more training tips from fellow runners on how to run a sub 4:30 hour marathon.
Remember, a full marathon is always a great accomplishment. We hope you enjoy our 12 week plan to get you to the finish line ready to shatter your personal best!