Welcome to our Marathon Pace calculator.
This calculator gives you your target pace and even time splits for a marathon race based on your target race time.
The results are shown in both miles and kilometers.
To achieve your target race time, your average speed needs to be the same as the target pace given by the calculator or faster.
Scroll to the bottom of the calculator to download your results as a PDF.
Marathon Pace Calculator
What Should My Marathon Pace Be?
Your marathon pace should reflect your finish time goal for the race.
For more info on how to decide your pacing and time goals, check out our definitive guide to marathon pacing.
How to Calculate Marathon Pace?
Marathon pace is calculated by dividing your target marathon time by the marathon distance (26.22 miles or 42.20 kilometers).
If you want to calculate it yourself, you need to make sure all of the units are properly converted. For example, a target time of 5 hours and 15 minutes needs to be converted to minutes before being calculated.
Luckily, the calculator does these conversions for you.
What Are Split Times? Split Times In Running Explained
A split is a timed section of your run. A split time is typically given for each kilometer or mile of your run. Split times allow runners to break up their run into smaller sections so they can better monitor their speed and progress throughout the run.
Nowadays, most GPS running watches give you the option to log split times for every kilometer or mile.
Some runners aim for even splits, whereby the same amount of time is taken to complete each section of the run. This means that the speed of the runner remains relatively consistent throughout the race.
Other runners aim for negative splits, whereby sections in the second half of the run are completed in less time, meaning that the second half of the race is run faster than the first half of the race. The aim of this is to better maintain a manageable pace, stop burn-out, and give an extra boost of energy and speed towards the end of the race.
You can read our detailed guide on negative splits here.
