What is a good marathon time? Averages by age and goal

What is a good marathon time? Any time is a good first marathon time, which is true and also annoying. So here's the number: in RunRepeat's percentile calculator, built from 35 million results across more than 28,000 races over 20 years (published 2017, updated March 2024), the middle marathon finisher crosses the line in 4:26:33. For men it's 4:14:29. For women, 4:42:09.

Faster than that is faster than half the field. Sub-4 is a classic target. Boston qualifying times are the serious-amateur benchmark. And your best benchmark of all is your own last race. If you're chasing a time while still lifting, an app like Runna that also programs strength sets your paces from your fitness, not the crowd's.

What is a good marathon time? The data

Here's the middle of the field from RunRepeat's dataset, with the pace each time works out to:

Source: RunRepeat, 50th-percentile times. Paces are our arithmetic.

A note on the word "average". These are medians: the runner in the exact middle of the field. That's the more useful number for race times, because a few very long walking finishes drag a mean around. It's also worth knowing that different RunRepeat pages report different marathon averages, because they use different datasets and years. The figures above are from the one page linked here, and nowhere else.

If you'd rather aim at a number than at the middle of the pack, a marathon plan with strength built around a goal time is the way to get there. And if you haven't started training yet, start with more on how to train to run a marathon before worrying about the clock.

Marathon times by percentile

The same page breaks the field into percentiles. Here's where the faster and slower ends sit:

Source: RunRepeat percentile tables.

Two things jump out:

• ›Sub-4 is a genuinely good time. In RunRepeat's tables it puts a woman inside the fastest fifth of women, and a man well into the faster half of men.
• ›Sub-3:30 is rare air for recreational runners. It's roughly the fastest tenth of everyone.

What's a good marathon time by age?

RunRepeat's page doesn't split marathon times by age, so we won't invent an age table. The cleanest age-based benchmark is the one serious amateurs actually chase: Boston Marathon qualifying standards.

For the 2027 Boston Marathon, the Boston Athletic Association's standards, based on your age on race day (April 19, 2027), are:

The B.A.A. also lists a non-binary standard. And hitting the standard doesn't mean you get in: for 2027, the B.A.A. says the qualifier cut-off for acceptance was 5 minutes, 17 seconds under the standard (B.A.A.). Standards change, so check the current year before you plan a season around one.

The point for everyone else: the standards get slower with age, and so do most runners. A 4:30 at 60 and a 4:30 at 30 are not the same performance. Compare yourself to people your age, or better, to yourself.

Good marathon times by goal

Here's a rough way to think about it. These bands are coaching practice, not a dataset. The dataset is the table above.

And the paces, for reference: sub-4 is 9:09 per mile (5:41 per km), 3:30 is 8:01 per mile (4:59 per km), and 3:00 is 6:52 per mile (4:16 per km).

Your first marathon: what's a good time?

Finishing. Seriously.

For a first marathon, the best goal is to finish feeling as good as possible, running by effort, with a smile somewhere in the photos. You have no marathon data on yourself yet, and race-time calculators are optimistic for first-timers who haven't done much long running. Beginner runner marathon training is mostly about getting to the start line healthy and finishing, with the time as a bonus.

How much time you have also matters. How long to train for a marathon depends on where you start, and a rushed build is a bad base for a time goal. If your race is far off, training for a marathon in 6 months gives you room for a proper base before the build. If it's soon, training for a marathon in 12 weeks comes down to this: it works if you're already running regularly, and it's a finishing build, not a PR build, if you're not.

How to set a realistic marathon goal

Your goal should come from evidence, not a stranger's Instagram:

1. ›Use a recent half marathon. It's the best predictor you have. Race-time calculators can convert it, but expect the marathon prediction to be optimistic unless your long runs reached 18 to 20 miles.
2. ›Check it against your long runs. If your easy long-run pace is far slower than your predicted marathon pace, the goal probably needs more aerobic base behind it.
3. ›Practice it. Goal pace training inside your long runs, late in the build, is where you find out if the number is real. If those miles feel controlled, keep the goal. If they feel like a race, adjust it.

What makes marathon times faster

The things that actually move a marathon time, roughly in order:

• ›Consistent easy volume over months.
• ›A long run that grows gradually to around 18 to 20 miles.
• ›Some marathon-pace work inside long runs late in the build.
• ›Fueling you've practiced. Carbs before and during. The position stand from the ACSM, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Dietitians of Canada gives 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate per hour for 1 to 2.5 hours of exercise, and up to 90 g per hour beyond about 2.5 to 3 hours (Thomas, Erdman and Burke, 2016). Race morning is your long-run breakfast, and how long to eat before a run matters more than people expect.
• ›Pacing. Most bad marathons are lost in the first 10 miles.
• ›Strength training, done sensibly. Keep one or two sessions a week, heavy-ish and low volume, away from the long run.

Race week matters less than people think. A shakeout run is a short, very easy jog the day before or the morning of, to loosen up. It won't make you faster. Skipping a hard session in race week will stop you getting slower.

What is a good half marathon time?

Plenty of people searching "what is a good marathon time" are actually asking about the half. Same page, same dataset (RunRepeat): the median half marathon finish is 2:14:59 for all runners, 1:59:48 for men and 2:24:03 for women. RunRepeat's half marathon table puts the fastest 10% under 1:47:10.

So what's a good time for a half marathon? Sub-2 is right around the middle of the men's field and well ahead of the women's median. Sub-1:47 is roughly the fastest tenth of everyone. And a first half is a good half if you finished it.

How exrsz handles this

exrsz builds a periodized marathon plan from your goal, race date, schedule, level and equipment, with running and lifting in one plan. It adapts each week to how training actually went, so your target paces follow your real fitness instead of a number you picked in January.

FAQ

What is a good marathon time?

The median finish in RunRepeat's dataset of 35 million race results is 4:26:33, so anything faster puts you in the faster half. Sub-4 is a widely respected goal, and for a first marathon, finishing is the goal (RunRepeat).

What is the average marathon time for men and women?

In RunRepeat's percentile data, the median is 4:14:29 for men and 4:42:09 for women (RunRepeat). These are 50th-percentile times, not means.

Is a 4-hour marathon good?

Yes. In RunRepeat's data, sub-4 puts a woman inside the fastest 20% of women and a man well into the faster half of men (RunRepeat).

What is a good half marathon time?

The median half marathon finish in RunRepeat's data is 2:14:59, with 1:59:48 for men and 2:24:03 for women, so sub-2 is a strong result for most runners (RunRepeat).

What is a good marathon time by age?

Boston qualifying standards are the most common age-based benchmark. For 2027, they range from 2:55 for men and 3:25 for women aged 18 to 34, to 4:50 and 5:20 for runners 80 and over (B.A.A.).