What’s a good marathon time? It’s a common question, so we’ve enlisted the help of Runna coach and pro marathon runner Steph Davis to try and answer it…
The reality is there’s no such thing as a ‘good marathon time’. That’s because the time it takes you to run a marathon’s 42.2km (26.2 miles) will vary from person to person and between age-groups and genders.
It’s also dependent on your goals, fitness level, how much time you have to train, your fuelling throughout the run, the course profile and the weather conditions.
So hey, there are lots of different factors at play here, so where should you begin when trying to work out your marathon time?
Why a ‘good’ marathon time may mean different things for different people
A marathon requires dedication to training and a practised fuelling routine, as well as the physical and emotional demands of race day itself.
A marathon might not be a ‘race’ for everyone. Are you looking to experience one, complete the challenge and then be done? Are you supporting a charity?
Or is this your second, third or fourth marathon, where you’re hoping for a faster time?
Our goals will determine how competitive we want to be, but it’s not all about the time.
At Runna, we advise focusing in on your purpose for the marathon, as this’ll help drive and motivate you through the training and the 42.2km you have to cover on race day.
The time you run for the marathon will also depend on the course elevation. A flatter course will naturally produce faster times compared to a hillier route.
The weather will impact your time, too. If you’re heading to a warmer climate or the weather forecast has taken a turn for the worst, then expect to run slower.
Taking all this into consideration, we’ve put together some stats to see where you sit compared to a professional and ‘average’ runner.
What is a 'good' marathon time?
The fastest male marathon runner in history is Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, who broke Eliud Kipchoge’s record of 2:01:09 (at the Berlin marathon in 2022) by running 2:00:35 in Chicago on 8 October 2023. That’s an average pace of 2:58 per kilometre!
Berlin is one of the fastest courses in the world, so it is no surprise that the female world record was set there. Ethiopian Tigist Assefa ran 2:11:53 in September 2023, which is an average pace of 3:07 per kilometre.
Of course, those sorts of times are likely out of reach for us age-groupers, so let’s dive into what good marathon times look like in mass participation events.
The most popular marathon in the UK is the London Marathon, with over 40,000 people taking part each year, so let’s use it as an example here.
The course is not as fast as the likes of Berlin, but some very quick times are run here nonetheless, including our very own Paula Radcliffe (women’s world record holder from 2003-2022 with a time of 2:15:25).
In 2022, Kenyan Amos Kipruto was the fastest elite male with a time of 2:04:39, while Ethiopian Yalemzerf Yehualaw was the fastest elite female in 2:17.26. However, if we compare the winning times to the average elite runner, these were significantly faster.
In the age-group event, the average finish time for a man was 4:21.09 and for a woman was 4:57.26.
As we can see from these averages, the difference between the fastest man and the average man is two hours and 16 minutes.
Can you see why defining a good marathon time is so complex?
Below, we’ve collated the winning times in each age group so you can see what makes a good marathon time for men, women and people of all ages.
Best men’s London Marathon 2022 times by age group
- 18-39: Thomas Frith (GBR), 2:18:35
- 40-44: Gary Laybourne (GBR), 2:21:07
- 45-49: Stuart Haynes (GBR), 2:24:57
- 50-54: Tom Van ongeval (BEL), 2:25:38
- 55-59: Gianluca Maiorano (ITA), 2:36:44
- 60-64: Brian Murphy (CAN), 2:44:16
- 65-69: Dave Walters (USA), 2:56:45
- 70-74: Gene Dykes (USA), 3:19:50
- 75-79: Victor Petrovic (CAN), 3:48:53
- 80 : Bevis Gillett (GBR), 4:39:17
Best women’s London Marathon 2022 times by age group
- 18-39: Hannah Alderson (GBR), 2:35:56
- 40-44: Helen Gaunt (GBR), 2:39:10
- 45-49: Mai Fujisawa (JPN), 2:41:40
- 50-54: Jacqueline Rockliffe (GBR), 2:54:08
- 55-59: Krishna Stanton (AUS), 2:48:06
- 60-64: Mary Slocum (IRL), 3:13:26
- 65-69: Joan Benoit-Samuelson (USA), 3:20:20
- 70-74: Yuko Gordon (GBR), 3:31:54
- 75-79: Sue Nicholls (GBR), 4:34:31
- 80 : Eileen Hieron (GBR), 5:48:04
Average marathon times
Now that we’ve looked at good times, let’s take a look at average marathon times, again using the 2022 London Marathon as an example.
As we’ve already mentioned above, the average finish time for a man was 4:21.09, while it was 4:57.26 for a woman.
A grand total of 23,725 non-elite men took part in the London Marathon in 2022 and you’d have needed to finish in 3:07:37 to be in the top 10% of finishers.
To be in the top 25% you’d need a time of 3:38:54 or better, while a time of 4:15:25 or less would see you into the top half of male finishers.
In total, 16,893 non-elite women completed the London Marathon in 2022. To be in the top 10% of finishers, you will have needed to complete the full 42.2km in less than 3:42:09.
To be in the top 25% of female finishers, you’d have needed to finish in less than 4:11:26.
And to be in the top 50% of female finishers, you’d need to have crossed the line in 4:52:23.
Moving away from the London Marathon, RunRepeat’s 2019 State of Running report outlines that the average marathon time for men is 4:22:13 and the average time for women is 4:52:18.
Those times are based on 70,000 events across the world from 1986 to 2018, with the times quoted above representing the latest data from the report.
What’s a good marathon time during an Ironman?
The fastest marathon run time recorded during a full-distance triathlon was set by Patrick Lange, who ran 2:30:27 at Challenge Roth in 2023. That’s an average pace of 3:33 per kilometre.
The fastest female time was run in 2011 at Ironman UK by Kristin Moeller in a time of 2:41.57, which is an average of 3:50 per kilometre.
It’s reported that the average run time across all age-groups and genders is four hours and 50 minutes.
One thing we know for sure, it is difficult to run your fastest marathon time after a 112-mile cycle!
- How Patrick Lange ran the fastest-ever Ironman World Champs marathon
- What make's triathlon's strongest runners so fast?
Similarly to regular marathons, the variations in courses between Ironman’s will cause marathon times to vary.
Often, Ironman run courses are not as accurately measured compared to your major marathon courses, and they often include a mix of road, path or sometimes sand along the way.
How much of a difference there is between your marathon and Ironman marathon time will also depend on how well you have trained to run off the bike and your fuelling throughout the race – key during such a long event!
At Runna, we would expect your Ironman run to be 25-45 minutes slower than your marathon time.
How can you estimate your marathon running time?
A popular way to estimate your marathon time is to use a performance calculator. These online calculators will either use the Riegel or Vickers-Vertosick formula.
The Riegel calculation considers the ‘fatigue factor’, which is centred around the idea that the longer the race distance, the more you’ll slow down.
Meanwhile, the Vickers-Vertosick Method factors in your average weekly mileage in addition to race times.
These formulas can be useful, but they’re not 100% reliable and don’t factor in external conditions.
Plus, if you enter your best-ever race performance into a calculator but you’re currently not in PB shape, then the result returned will be less accurate.
At Runna, we advise doing a race or two as part of your marathon training block to guide you towards your marathon time.
A 5k or 10k just before you start your training will determine your current fitness level and help shape your training plan.
We would repeat this 4-6 weeks later and hopefully see an improvement in your fitness level.
Planning a half-marathon event around 9-12 weeks before your marathon will give a further indication of how things are going.
We’d expect your marathon pace to be around 15-45secs slower per kilometre compared to your half-marathon pace.
However, as you can see from the above, there are lots of factors to consider that’ll affect your finishing time, so make sure you always keep them in mind.
Looking for some help with your run training? Sign up to Runna and you can access personalised training plans from the likes of pro marathon runner Steph Davis and pro triathlete Beth Potter.
Plus, sign up via this link or use code 220T in the app and you can get a two-week free trial.
