Goal time · Half Marathon
A 1:30:00 half marathon works out to 6:52 per mile, or 4:16 per kilometer. Below are the mile splits for a slightly faster second half, the halfway time to aim for, and the training paces that go with this goal.
The numbers
This plan starts about 1% slower than goal pace and finishes about 1% faster, so the second half is slightly quicker than the first. The elapsed column is what your watch should read as you pass each marker.
| Mile | Pace for That Mile | Elapsed Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6:56 | 6:56 |
| 2 | 6:56 | 13:52 |
| 3 | 6:55 | 20:47 |
| 4 | 6:54 | 27:41 |
| 5 | 6:53 | 34:35 |
| 6 | 6:53 | 41:28 |
| Halfway (6.6) | 6:52 | 45:16 |
| 7 | 6:52 | 48:20 |
| 8 | 6:51 | 55:11 |
| 9 | 6:50 | 1:02:01 |
| 10 | 6:50 | 1:08:51 |
| 11 | 6:49 | 1:15:40 |
| 12 | 6:48 | 1:22:28 |
| 13 | 6:47 | 1:29:15 |
| Finish (13.1) | 6:47 | 1:30:00 |
Measured against the latest published results of 1,366 half marathons on RunSesh.
One edition per race, from RunSignup races with published results. Fields include walkers and charity entrants, so this describes these races, not every runner in the country.
These are the paces for a runner who can already race a 1:30:00 half marathon, worked out with Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas, the method behind the training tables in Daniels' Running Formula. If your most recent race is slower, train at the paces on the page for that time.
Most of your weekly miles, including the long run.
Steady longer runs at the pace this fitness would hold for a marathon.
A steady run of about 20 minutes, or longer repeats with short rests.
Repeats of 3 to 5 minutes, with easy jogs between.
McMillan Running calls negative splits its "preferred road-race strategy because it rewards patience and resists fading late, and the longer the race the bigger the payoff." A 1:30 plan built on that view tilts the second half slightly faster than the first. Use the halfway marker as your main checkpoint to gauge whether you've held back enough to make that faster return possible.
Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas treat a 3:07:35 marathon as the same performance as a 1:30 half marathon, so a recent full marathon gives you a meaningful cross-distance reference point.
The RRCA pace chart developed by Amby Burfoot is worth reading here, with its caution: "don't begin with a future goal time." Base your training paces on what you've already raced. The next slower goal is 1:40, a finish gap of 10 minutes, which can help you judge which target fits your current fitness.
USATF certifies courses along the Shortest Possible Route, so any straying from that line adds distance. In a field study published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, GPS sport watches averaged 21.18 km on the half against the official 21.0975 km, 83 meters extra, worth about 21 seconds at this pace, roughly 1.6 seconds per mile. A watch could therefore read slightly faster than 6:52 while you are exactly on goal.
Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas treat a 40:39 10K as an equivalent performance to a 1:30 half marathon. Knowing that mark gives you a concrete way to compare your current 10K fitness against what a 1:30 half marathon actually demands, rather than guessing from feel alone.
