Average half marathon time (and what's a good one)

The average half marathon time is about 2 hours 15 minutes. More precisely, the middle finisher in RunRepeat's race-results dataset, built from 35 million results across more than 28,000 races over 20 years (published 2017, updated 2024), crosses the line in 2:14:59. For men it's 1:59:48. For women, 2:24:03.

That's the number. The rest of this post is what it means, why "average" is a strange target, and what a good half marathon time looks like for you. If you're here because you're training for one while also lifting, a running plan app that covers the gym too will set your paces from your own fitness rather than the crowd's.

Average finishing time for a half marathon

Here's the headline data, with the pace each time works out to:

Source: RunRepeat. Paces are our arithmetic from those times.

One honest footnote: RunRepeat labels these as 50th-percentile times. That's the median, the runner in the exact middle of the field, rather than a mathematical mean. For race times it's the more useful number anyway, because a handful of very slow walkers can drag a mean around. When people search for the "half marathon average time", the median is what they actually want to know: where the middle of the pack is.

If you'd rather aim at a specific number than the middle of the pack, a half marathon program built around a goal time is the way to get there. And if you haven't started training at all, start with how to train for a half marathon explained before worrying about the clock.

Average half marathon time for women

The typical women's finish in the RunRepeat data is 2:24:03, around 11 minutes per mile.

Two things worth knowing:

• ›Sub-2 is a big deal. RunRepeat notes that a 2-hour half marathon makes a woman faster than more than 80% of women in their data. If you're a woman who runs 1:59, you're well into the front of the field, whatever your group chat says.
• ›The gap isn't the story. The men's and women's medians differ by about 24 minutes, but the people in each field differ by far more than that. Your own starting fitness, training history and how many weeks you put in dwarf any group average.

So if you're searching "average half marathon time female" to figure out whether your 2:30 is respectable: it's within a few minutes of the women's median, on a course most people will never attempt.

Average half marathon time for men

The men's median is 1:59:48, which is roughly 9:08 per mile. In other words, the famous sub-2 barrier sits almost exactly on the middle of the men's field. A man who breaks 2 hours is roughly in the faster half. A man who runs 2:05 is roughly in the slower half. Neither is a moral failing.

Why the average has drifted slower

Average race times have been getting slower for years. RunRepeat's study of US race results (published 2017, updated 2024), which analyzed close to 25 million finish times from 1996 to 2016 across the 5K, 10K, half and full marathon, found a statistically significant slowing trend across distances, including the half.

That's not because people got worse at running. It's because more people started running. Races that used to be dominated by club runners are now full of first-timers, charity runners, people running with friends, and people who decided in January that this was the year. A slower average is a sign of a healthier sport.

It's also a reminder that comparing yourself to the average is comparing yourself to a crowd that changes every year.

What's a good half marathon time?

"Good" depends on who you are and what you've done. A rough way to think about it:

These bands are a coaching-practice guide, not a dataset. The dataset numbers are the medians above.

More useful than any table: compare your time to your last time. A first half marathon of 2:20 followed by 2:08 a year later is a better story than a 1:55 from someone who ran 1:50 three years ago.

Factors that matter more than your age group

• ›Training age. Years of consistent running beat everything else on this list.
• ›Weekly volume. How much easy running you've been doing for the last few months.
• ›The course. Hills, heat, wind and crowded starts can add minutes before fitness enters the conversation.
• ›Pacing. Most bad half marathons are lost in the first 3 miles by going out too fast.
• ›Whether you've been consistent lately. A great runner coming off three missed months isn't a great runner this weekend.

How to find your realistic goal time

The average is a curiosity. Your goal should come from your current fitness:

1. ›Use a recent race. A 5K or 10K from the last couple of months is the best predictor you have. Race-time calculators can turn it into a half marathon estimate. Treat the result as optimistic if you haven't done much long running.
2. ›Check it against your long runs. If your easy long-run pace is far slower than your predicted race pace, you probably need more aerobic base before that goal is realistic.
3. ›Pick a pace you can actually hold. Our running pace guide covers how to turn a goal time into training paces you'll actually hit.

How to get faster at the half marathon

The training itself lives in the hub guide, but the short version of what moves a half marathon time:

• ›More easy running, consistently. Not harder. More, and for longer.
• ›A long run that grows gradually. Up to 10 to 12 miles. And eat properly before it: what to eat before long run matters more than most people think, because a bonked long run is a wasted long run.
• ›One quality session a week. Tempo or intervals. One.
• ›Structure across the weeks. Base, then build, then taper. That's a guide to periodization in a sentence.
• ›Planned easier weeks. Every third or fourth week, back off. Here's what a deload week looks like in practice.
• ›Keep 1–2 strength sessions a week. Lifting supports your running, and dropping it entirely for 12 weeks is how runners end up fragile by race day. Keep the sessions short, keep the loads reasonable, and keep heavy legs away from your long run.

If you're starting from nothing, couch to half marathon 12 weeks is technically doable for some people, but you'll be racing to finish, not racing the clock. Give yourself longer if you can.

Race day: don't waste the fitness

Plenty of people are fit enough for a faster time than they run. The usual culprits:

• ›Going out too fast. The first 5K should feel easy. If it feels like work, you're going to pay for it.
• ›Under-fueling. How many gels for a half marathon depends on how long you'll be out there. Whatever you choose, practice it on long runs first.
• ›Ignoring the course. Know where the hills are. Adjust effort, not pace.

And afterwards, post half marathon recovery is mostly easy movement, food and sleep for a few days before going back to hard sessions or heavy lifting. If anything hurts beyond normal soreness, see a professional.

How exrsz handles this

exrsz builds your half marathon plan from your goal, race date, schedule, level and equipment, with your runs and lifts in one plan. It adapts each week to how your training actually went, so your target paces follow your real fitness rather than a crowd average.

FAQ

What is the average half marathon time?

About 2 hours 15 minutes. RunRepeat's dataset of 35 million race results puts the middle finisher at 2:14:59 across all runners.

What is the average half marathon time for women?

The women's median in RunRepeat's data is 2:24:03, around 11 minutes per mile. A sub-2-hour half puts a woman ahead of more than 80% of women in that dataset.

What is the average half marathon time for men?

The men's median is 1:59:48, about 9:08 per mile, which puts the sub-2-hour barrier almost exactly at the middle of the men's field.

Is a 2-hour half marathon good?

Yes. It's roughly the middle of the men's field and well ahead of most women in RunRepeat's data. For a first half marathon, finishing at all is the achievement.

How long does it take to walk a half marathon?

It depends on walking pace, but at a brisk 15 minutes per mile it works out to a little over 3 hours 15 minutes. Check your race's cutoff time before entering.