11 minute mile half marathon time: 2:24:12, splits and training

An 11 minute mile half marathon time is 2:24:12. That's 11:00 per mile, or 6:50 per kilometer, held for 21.0975 km. If you want to see 2:23-something on the clock, run 10:55s instead, because nobody runs the exact measured distance and rounding is not on your side.

11-minute miles get treated like the "just finishing" pace. They aren't. Hold them for 13.1 miles and you finish nine seconds off the median women's half marathon in a dataset of millions of race results. This post covers the half marathon time at an 11 minute mile, full splits, run-walk ratios that still land on 2:24, where it ranks, the sessions that build it, and a week that keeps your lifting. Do it by hand or use a running coach in your pocket that keeps your easy days easy and your leg day out of the way.

What is the 11 minute mile half marathon time?

The math: a half marathon is 21.0975 km, which is 13.109 miles (one mile is 1.609344 km). 13.109 × 660 seconds is 8,652 seconds, or 2:24:12. In kilometers, 11:00 per mile is 410 seconds per km, which rounds to 6:50.

You can run any other target through a free pace calculator the same way. The conversion tables and goal paces for every common distance are in how to improve running pace explained, and these numbers match it.

Half marathon time at 11 minute mile pace, and the neighbors

Every five seconds per mile is worth about a minute over the half. That's useful in both directions: a slightly slow day doesn't wreck the result, and a slightly greedy first 5K costs more than it saves.

11 minute mile half marathon splits

Even pace at 11:00 per mile:

The per-mile version is the gift here. Every mile marker is a round number of minutes times eleven. Mile 10 at 1:50:00. No arithmetic required at mile 10, which is good, because you won't be capable of any.

Where a 2:24 half ranks

RunRepeat's percentile calculator, built from millions of race results, gives median half marathon times of 2:14:59 overall, 1:59:48 for men and 2:24:03 for women.

So 2:24:12 is nine seconds behind the women's median. Run 10:59s instead of 11:00s and you're on the faster side of the middle woman in that data. On the same page's percentile tables, 2:24:12 falls between the 60th-percentile time (2:21:42) and the 70th (2:29:48) for all runners, and between the 70th (2:16:31) and 80th (2:25:57) for men.

Translation: an 11-minute-mile half is a real, mid-pack result. Medians are the middle of people who trained and turned up, not the middle of the general population.

Run-walk and still hit 2:24

Run-walk isn't a confession. It's pacing with a plan. In a randomized trial of 42 non-elite runners racing a marathon, Hottenrott and colleagues (2016) found run-walk and running-only groups finished in similar times, and the run-walk group reported less muscle pain and fatigue afterward. That was a marathon, not a half, but the logic carries.

The catch: the running segments have to be quicker than 11:00 per mile to pay for the walking. Assuming a brisk walk at about 16:00 per mile:

A slower walk pushes the running pace up. A faster one brings it down. Rules that make it work:

• ›Walk from the first interval, not once you're already tired.
• ›Walk like you're late for a train. A 20:00-per-mile stroll breaks the math.
• ›Rehearse it. Same ratio on your long runs as on race day.

What fitness an 11-minute-mile half usually takes

Coaching practice, not a promise. Runners who hold 11:00s for 13.1 miles usually have:

• ›A long run of 10 to 12 miles done comfortably in the last month of the build. Time on feet matters more than pace: at easy pace, a 10-miler might take you close to two hours.
• ›Three or four runs a week, mostly easy and conversational.
• ›A 5K comfortably quicker than 11:00 per mile. If 11:00s feel like a tempo effort over 3 miles, the half will feel long. If they feel steady, you're on track.

The best single test: 2 × 3 miles at 10:55 to 11:00, with 3 minutes easy between, about four weeks out. Controlled and chatty-ish by the end? 2:24 is there.

Key workouts for a 2:24 half marathon

One quality session a week is enough for most people at this level, two if you run four or more days. The half rewards steady, sustained running more than flat-out speed.

The long run

The session that decides the race. Build it by about a mile every week or two, with a cutback week every third or fourth week, until you reach 10 to 12 miles. Keep it easy. Slower than race pace is the point, not a failure.

Goal-pace blocks

Start with 3 × 1 mile at 10:55 to 11:00 with 2 to 3 minutes easy between. Build to 3 × 2 miles, then 2 × 3 miles. The pace doesn't get faster across the block; the time spent at it gets longer.

Steady tempo

15 to 25 minutes at "comfortably hard", a little quicker than goal pace, RPE 7 or so. Speaking in short phrases, not sentences. It raises the ceiling so 11:00 feels like cruising rather than holding on.

Long run with a goal-pace finish

Two or three times in the last six weeks: run easy for most of it, then finish the last 2 miles at 10:55 to 11:00. It teaches goal pace on tired legs, which is the whole second half of a half.

An 11-minute-mile half marathon week

Three or four runs, two lifts, mid-build:

The rules behind it:

• ›Lower body goes Monday, two days before the quality run and five before the long run. Never heavy legs the day before either.
• ›The long run is a hard day, even at a slow pace. Don't stack a big lift after it.
• ›Lifting holds, it doesn't build. Two or three hard sets of a squat or hinge, some single-leg work and calves. Save PR attempts for after race day.

Fueling a 2:24 half

At this pace you'll be running for nearly two and a half hours, which is long enough that fueling matters. The joint position stand from the ACSM, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada gives 1 to 4 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight in the 1 to 4 hours before exercise, and 30 to 60 g per hour for exercise lasting 1 to 2.5 hours (Thomas, Erdman and Burke, 2016). A 2:24 half sits inside that second range.

In practice: practice your gels or drinks on long runs, take the first one around 30 to 45 minutes in, and use aid stations or walk breaks to eat and drink. Nothing new on race day. If you have medical conditions or specific dietary needs, a registered dietitian should set your numbers.

Taper for the half

Cut volume, keep a little intensity. A meta-analysis by Bosquet et al. (2007) found a two-week taper, with training volume reduced by 41–60% and intensity and frequency kept the same, was the most efficient strategy in the studies it pooled.

For an 11-minute-mile half: last long run about two weeks out, a short goal-pace session early in race week (3 × 1 km at 6:47 to 6:50 does it), and the last real lower-body session about a week to ten days out.

Race-day pacing at 11:00 per mile

• ›Miles 1–2: 11:05 to 11:10. Crowds and adrenaline make the first mile feel free. It isn't.
• ›Miles 3–10: settle at 10:55 to 11:00. Use the mile markers, not just your watch, because GPS drifts and course markers don't.
• ›Mile 10: check the clock. 1:50:00 is exactly 11:00 pace. If you're there or a little under, hold on.
• ›Last 5K: what's left. Paced honestly, this is where you pass people.

Your watch will probably show more than 13.1 miles at the finish. That's the extra distance from weaving, not a long course, and it's why your watch's average pace will look faster than your official one.

Where 11:00 per mile points next

11-minute miles are a stepping stone, not a ceiling. The same arithmetic, pace times distance, runs the whole ladder. Our guide to 8-minute-mile marathon pacing finishes in about 3:29:45, which shows how far it stretches.

Way further up, if you're asking what pace is a 1:30 half marathon, the answer is 6:52 per mile, which is also sub-3 marathon pace.

The next round number up from 2:24 is the sub-2. Our guide to sub-2-hour half marathon pace says 9:09 per mile, and closing that gap takes a season or two of consistent training, not a few weeks of wishing.

Thinking about doubling the distance instead? A guide to what pace is a 5 hour marathon says 11:27 per mile, only 27 seconds slower than your half pace, held for twice as long. That's the honest summary of the marathon.

How exrsz handles an 11-minute-mile half

exrsz builds a periodized half marathon plan from your goal, schedule, level and equipment, with running and lifting in one plan so leg day stays away from your long run and your quality session. It adapts each week to how you actually trained and reshuffles missed sessions so the build still lands on race day.

FAQ

What is the half marathon time at an 11 minute mile?

2:24:12. At 11:00 per mile (6:50 per km), you pass 10 miles in 1:50:00 and 13 miles in 2:23:00.

Is an 11 minute mile half marathon time good?

Yes. RunRepeat's median half marathon times are 2:14:59 overall, 1:59:48 for men and 2:24:03 for women, so 2:24:12 is nine seconds off the women's median (RunRepeat).

What pace do I need to break 2:25 in a half marathon?

Anything at 11:03 per mile or quicker. 11:00 per mile finishes in 2:24:12 and 10:55 in 2:23:07, which gives you room for crowds and extra distance.

Can I run-walk an 11 minute mile half marathon?

Yes. With a brisk 16:00-per-mile walk, a 4:1 run-walk ratio needs running segments of about 10:12 per mile. In Hottenrott and colleagues' 2016 marathon trial, run-walk and running-only groups finished in similar times.

How long does it take to train for a 2:24 half marathon?

If you already run a few times a week and can cover 5 to 6 miles, a 10 to 12 week build is common. From a newer base, allow longer and make the first half a finishing goal.