A 5:00:00 marathon works out to 11:27 per mile, or 7:07 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
5:00:00 Marathon Pace at a Glance
11:27Average pace per mile
7:07Average pace per kilometer
2:30:54First half
2:29:06Second half
Mile Splits for a 5:00 Marathon
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
11:34
11:34
2
11:34
23:08
3
11:33
34:41
4
11:33
46:14
5
11:32
57:46
6
11:31
1:09:17
7
11:31
1:20:48
8
11:30
1:32:18
9
11:29
1:43:47
10
11:29
1:55:16
11
11:28
2:06:44
12
11:28
2:18:12
13
11:27
2:29:39
Halfway (13.1)
11:27
2:30:54
14
11:26
2:41:05
15
11:26
2:52:31
16
11:25
3:03:56
17
11:24
3:15:20
18
11:24
3:26:44
19
11:23
3:38:07
20
11:23
3:49:30
21
11:22
4:00:52
22
11:21
4:12:13
23
11:21
4:23:33
24
11:20
4:34:53
25
11:19
4:46:13
26
11:19
4:57:32
Finish (26.2)
11:18
5:00:00
Is a 5:00 Marathon Good? How It Compares with Real Marathons
Measured against the latest published results of 214 marathons on RunSesh.
26%Faster than the median finisher at 56 of 214 races
10%Fast enough for the overall top three at 20 of 208 races
1%Fast enough to win outright at 3 of 214 races
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.
Training Paces for a 5:00 Marathon
These are the paces for a runner who can already race a 5:00:00 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. This goal sits below the fitness range those tables cover, so treat these paces as a rough guide.
Easy
13:10per mile · 8:11 per km
Most of your weekly miles, including the long run.
Tempo
10:40per mile · 6:38 per km
A steady run of about 20 minutes, or longer repeats with short rests.
Interval
9:50per mile · 6:07 per km
Repeats of 3 to 5 minutes, with easy jogs between.
Sub 5 Marathon Pace: Pacing the Back Half
Santos-Lozano et al. (2014), analyzing 190,228 New York City Marathon finishes from 2006 to 2011 in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, found that runners at every level slowed as the race progressed, and that top finishers showed the least variation in speed across 5K segments. Building slightly more pace into the second half reflects that pattern. Treat the halfway marker as your anchor: if you arrive there feeling controlled, the plan is working.
Is a 5:00 Marathon Realistic for You?
Daniels and Gilbert's VDOT formulas treat a 1:06:11 10K as the same performance as a 5:00 marathon. If your most recent 10K result sits near that time, the goal aligns with current fitness rather than a future one.
The RRCA pace chart developed by Amby Burfoot is direct: "don't begin with a future goal time. To do so increases risk of injury and/or overtraining." Base your target paces on what you've actually raced.
5 Hour Marathon Pace Questions
Should I run faster than 11:27 per mile for a 5:00 marathon?
USATF certification measures courses along the Shortest Possible Route with a one-part-per-thousand Short Course Prevention Factor. Pobiruchin et al. (2017) found GPS sport watches averaged 42.33 km against the official 42.195 km, a gap of 135 meters. At this goal's pace that extra distance accounts for 58 seconds, about 2.2 seconds per mile, so a watch logging that much extra could show a faster average than 11:27 while you're exactly on goal.
What half marathon time do I need for a 5:00 marathon?
Daniels and Gilbert's formulas treat a 2:26:28 half marathon as equivalent to a 5:00 marathon. Holding that time in a half marathon tells you how close your current aerobic fitness is to what the full distance demands at this pace.
