Pace chart · Half marathon
2:30 half marathon pace chart (7:07/km, 11:27/mile)
To finish in 2:30, hold 7:07 per kilometre (8.4 km/h) from the start line to the finish. On even pace you pass halfway in 1:15:00. Below: every split, a negative-split option, what the goal implies over other distances, and the paces to train at.
- Pace per km
- 7:07
- Pace per mile
- 11:27
- Speed
- 8.4km/h
- Halfway
- 1:15:00
Pace band
2:30
- 5 km35:33
- 10 km1:11:06
- Halfway1:15:00
- 15 km1:46:39
- 20 km2:22:12
- Finish2:30:00
Even pace · elapsed time
Splits
Every checkpoint, two ways to run it
The even column holds 7:07/km all the way. The negative-split column runs the first half 1% slower (7:11/km) and the second half 1% faster (7:02/km): 1:15:45 at halfway, then 1:14:15 for the way home. The gap is small on purpose. One per cent costs nothing early, keeps some glycogen for the last kilometres, and stops you from banking time you will pay back with interest.
| Distance | Even pace | Negative split |
|---|---|---|
| 5 km | 35:33 | 35:54 |
| 10 km | 1:11:06 | 1:11:49 |
| 10.5 kmHalfway | 1:15:00 | 1:15:45 |
| 15 km | 1:46:39 | 1:47:05 |
| 20 km | 2:22:12 | 2:22:16 |
| 21.1 kmFinish | 2:30:00 | 2:30:00 |
Kilometre by kilometre
Elapsed time at each marker. First figure: even pace. Second: negative split.
1 km
7:07
7:11
2 km
14:13
14:22
3 km
21:20
21:33
4 km
28:26
28:43
5 km
35:33
35:54
6 km
42:40
43:05
7 km
49:46
50:16
8 km
56:53
57:27
9 km
1:03:59
1:04:38
10 km
1:11:06
1:11:49
11 km
1:18:12
1:18:56
12 km
1:25:19
1:25:58
13 km
1:32:26
1:33:00
14 km
1:39:32
1:40:03
15 km
1:46:39
1:47:05
16 km
1:53:45
1:54:07
17 km
2:00:52
2:01:10
18 km
2:07:59
2:08:12
19 km
2:15:05
2:15:14
20 km
2:22:12
2:22:16
21 km
2:29:18
2:29:19
21.1 km
2:30:00
2:30:00
Equivalent times
What 2:30 is worth over other distances
Peter Riegel's formula (T2 = T1 × (D2 / D1)^1.06) turns one race time into another. Read it the other way round: if your latest 10K is well slower than 1:07:59, the goal is ambitious for this season.
| Race | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 5K | 32:36 | 6:31/km |
| 10K | 1:07:59 | 6:48/km |
| Half marathonGoal | 2:30:00 | 7:07/km |
| Marathon | 5:12:44 | 7:25/km |
The marathon side of these figures assumes marathon-specific training: long runs past 30 km and enough weekly volume. Without it, most runners finish slower than Riegel predicts. Run your own time through the race predictor
Training paces
The paces a 2:30 goal asks for in training
Jack Daniels sums up a performance in one number, VDOT. This goal works out at VDOT 27.9, and his tables derive five intensities from it. They are the paces of the runner you are training to become: if your races are slower today, train at today's paces and move them as you improve.
Easy
9:12–7:45/km
Most of the week. You can hold a conversation.
Marathon
7:16/km
Steady blocks inside long runs.
Threshold
6:47/km
Comfortably hard: 20 minutes in one go, or 5 × 6' with short rests.
Interval
6:15/km
Reps of 3 to 5 minutes, close to VO2max.
Repetition
5:54/km
Short and fast, 200 to 400 m, full recovery.
Source: Jack Daniels, Daniels' Running Formula (Human Kinetics). The OpenAthlete app uses the same formulas to give you training paces from your best efforts.
Key session
3 × 3 km at 7:07/km, 1 km easy between
The session that tells you whether 2:30 is realistic. Run it four to two weeks before race day. If the third rep feels like you could run a fourth, the goal holds. If you are hanging on from the second, a slightly slower goal will give you a better race.
Free account. Build the session once in the workout editor with these paces as targets, and it syncs to your watch: it beeps when you drift off pace.
3 × 3 km at 7:07/km, 1 km easy between
16 km · about 2:03
- 3 kmEasy warm-up8:28/km
- 3 kmGoal pace7:07/km
- 1 kmEasy8:28/km
- 3 kmGoal pace7:07/km
- 1 kmEasy8:28/km
- 3 kmGoal pace7:07/km
- 2 kmEasy cool-down8:28/km
Is it realistic?
Who a 2:30 goal fits
Recent 10K
1:07:59
or faster (Riegel)
Recent 5K
32:36
or faster (Riegel)
Peak weeks
25–35km
Runs per week
3–4
The volume and frequency are a coaching rule of thumb, drawn from how training plans for this kind of goal are usually built, not a statistic and not a requirement. A runner with years of running behind them reaches the same time on less; someone new to the distance often needs the top of the range.
No plan for this exact time yet
The free plans cover other goals. Take the closest one and swap in the paces from this page: in OpenAthlete, targets are editable session by session.
Browse the training plansNearby goals
Questions
7:07 per kilometre, which is 11:27 per mile or 8.4 km/h. Held evenly, it brings you home in 2:30. Courses are measured on the shortest line, so your watch will probably read a few hundred metres more: aim a couple of seconds per kilometre faster than the chart.
About 1:07:59 for the 10K, or 32:36 for the 5K, by Riegel's formula. Over the half marathon the prediction is usually close, as long as your weekly volume lets you hold a hard effort for twice as long.
Either works as long as the gap stays small. Even pace puts you through halfway in 1:15:00. The negative-split version passes in 1:15:45 and runs the second half in 1:14:15. Starting faster than the chart rarely pays: the seconds banked early come back, with interest, at the end.
Put 2:30 on your watch, not on a wristband.
Plan the long runs and goal-pace blocks in OpenAthlete: Garmin, COROS and Suunto get every session with its targets. Free and open source.
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