Pace chart · Marathon
4:15 marathon pace chart (6:03/km, 9:44/mile)
To finish in 4:15, hold 6:03 per kilometre (9.9 km/h) from the start line to the finish. On even pace you pass halfway in 2:07:30. Below: every split, a negative-split option, what the goal implies over other distances, and the paces to train at.
- Pace per km
- 6:03
- Pace per mile
- 9:44
- Speed
- 9.9km/h
- Halfway
- 2:07:30
Pace band
4:15
- 5 km30:13
- 10 km1:00:26
- 15 km1:30:39
- 20 km2:00:52
- Halfway2:07:30
- 25 km2:31:05
- 30 km3:01:18
- 35 km3:31:31
- 40 km4:01:44
- Finish4:15:00
Even pace · elapsed time
Splits
Every checkpoint, two ways to run it
The even column holds 6:03/km all the way. The negative-split column runs the first half 1% slower (6:06/km) and the second half 1% faster (5:59/km): 2:08:47 at halfway, then 2:06:13 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 | 30:13 | 30:31 |
| 10 km | 1:00:26 | 1:01:02 |
| 15 km | 1:30:39 | 1:31:33 |
| 20 km | 2:00:52 | 2:02:05 |
| 21.1 kmHalfway | 2:07:30 | 2:08:47 |
| 25 km | 2:31:05 | 2:32:07 |
| 30 km | 3:01:18 | 3:02:02 |
| 35 km | 3:31:31 | 3:31:57 |
| 40 km | 4:01:44 | 4:01:52 |
| 42.2 kmFinish | 4:15:00 | 4:15:00 |
Kilometre by kilometre
Elapsed time at each marker. First figure: even pace. Second: negative split.
1 km
6:03
6:06
2 km
12:05
12:12
3 km
18:08
18:19
4 km
24:10
24:25
5 km
30:13
30:31
6 km
36:16
36:37
7 km
42:18
42:44
8 km
48:21
48:50
9 km
54:23
54:56
10 km
1:00:26
1:01:02
11 km
1:06:29
1:07:09
12 km
1:12:31
1:13:15
13 km
1:18:34
1:19:21
14 km
1:24:36
1:25:27
15 km
1:30:39
1:31:33
16 km
1:36:42
1:37:40
17 km
1:42:44
1:43:46
18 km
1:48:47
1:49:52
19 km
1:54:49
1:55:58
20 km
2:00:52
2:02:05
21 km
2:06:55
2:08:11
22 km
2:12:57
2:14:10
23 km
2:19:00
2:20:09
24 km
2:25:02
2:26:08
25 km
2:31:05
2:32:07
26 km
2:37:08
2:38:06
27 km
2:43:10
2:44:05
28 km
2:49:13
2:50:04
29 km
2:55:15
2:56:03
30 km
3:01:18
3:02:02
31 km
3:07:21
3:08:01
32 km
3:13:23
3:14:00
33 km
3:19:26
3:19:59
34 km
3:25:28
3:25:58
35 km
3:31:31
3:31:57
36 km
3:37:34
3:37:56
37 km
3:43:36
3:43:55
38 km
3:49:39
3:49:54
39 km
3:55:41
3:55:53
40 km
4:01:44
4:01:52
41 km
4:07:47
4:07:51
42 km
4:13:49
4:13:50
42.2 km
4:15:00
4:15:00
Equivalent times
What 4:15 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 half marathon is well slower than 2:02:18, the goal is ambitious for this season.
| Race | Time | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| 5K | 26:35 | 5:19/km |
| 10K | 55:26 | 5:33/km |
| Half marathon | 2:02:18 | 5:48/km |
| MarathonGoal | 4:15:00 | 6:03/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 4:15 goal asks for in training
Jack Daniels sums up a performance in one number, VDOT. This goal works out at VDOT 35.2, 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
7:43–6:28/km
Most of the week. You can hold a conversation.
Marathon
6:03/km
Steady blocks inside long runs.
Threshold
5:39/km
Comfortably hard: 20 minutes in one go, or 5 × 6' with short rests.
Interval
5:12/km
Reps of 3 to 5 minutes, close to VO2max.
Repetition
4:54/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 × 5 km at 6:03/km inside a 25 km long run
The session that tells you whether 4:15 is realistic. Run it five to three weeks before race day, with the gels and drinks you plan to use. If the third block feels controlled, the goal holds. If you have to fight for the pace from the second one, adjust the goal now rather than at kilometre 30.
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 × 5 km at 6:03/km inside a 25 km long run
25 km · about 2:42
- 4 kmEasy warm-up7:06/km
- 5 kmGoal pace6:03/km
- 1 kmEasy7:06/km
- 5 kmGoal pace6:03/km
- 1 kmEasy7:06/km
- 5 kmGoal pace6:03/km
- 4 kmEasy cool-down7:06/km
Is it realistic?
Who a 4:15 goal fits
Recent half marathon
2:02:18
or faster (Riegel)
Recent 10K
55:26
or faster (Riegel)
Peak weeks
40–60km
Runs per week
4–5
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.
A free plan for this goal
Week by week, every session written out with its paces, ready to load into OpenAthlete and send to your watch.
See the 4:15 planQuestions
6:03 per kilometre, which is 9:44 per mile or 9.9 km/h. Held evenly, it brings you home in 4:15. 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 2:02:18 for the half marathon, or 55:26 for the 10K, by Riegel's formula. Treat these as minimums: they assume marathon-specific training, with long runs past 30 km. Runners who race shorter distances well but skip the long runs usually finish the marathon several minutes slower.
Either works as long as the gap stays small. Even pace puts you through halfway in 2:07:30. The negative-split version passes in 2:08:47 and runs the second half in 2:06:13. Starting faster than the chart rarely pays: the seconds banked early come back, with interest, at the end.
Put 4:15 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.
Free forever. No credit card.