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Marathon pace chart: pace per km and per mile, with 10K, halfway, 30K and 40K splits for every goal time

Updated 28 September 2026·7 min read

• marathon
• race pacing
• splits
• calculator

A marathon is 42.195 km (26.2188 miles). The chart turns every goal time from 2:30 to 6:00 into the pace you need per kilometre and per mile, and the clock you should see at 10 km, halfway, 30 km, 20 miles and 40 km if you run it evenly. The three numbers that matter most on the day are halfway, 30 km and 20 miles, because that is where an even-split plan either holds or starts to collect its debt. Prefer a negative split? Drag the curve in the planner under the chart for your own split table, and send it to your Apple Watch.

Jump to a goal time: 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00

Build your own split plan

The chart is an even split. Here you choose the shape: pick the goal time and the number of splits (or one per kilometre or mile), then drag either end of the line. The total always stays on your goal time.

Even-split times; the final 2.195 km at the same pace. Rounded to the second.

How to use the chart

• Pick the goal from a recent race. A trained runner's marathon is roughly a recent half marathon time × 2.1; if your long runs top out around 25 km, use × 2.2 and be glad when you beat it.
• Read across: a 4:00 marathon is 5:41/km, which puts 10 km at 56:53, halfway at 2:00:00, 30 km at 2:50:38 and 40 km at 3:47:31.
• Check halfway and 30 km. More than a minute ahead of the chart at halfway is the classic way to lose ten at 35 km. Level at 30 km with legs left is exactly where you want to be.

Even, negative or positive split?

The chart is an even split, which is also the cheapest way to cover the distance physically. Most marathon personal bests are run as a slight negative split (the second half a few seconds per kilometre faster), and most blow-ups as a large positive one that started well ahead of this chart. The planner above takes the same goal time and gives you split targets that start a touch slower and finish faster; negative vs positive split explains when each shape wins, and the marathon pacing guide covers the wall, fuelling and what to do when the plan slips.

Running the plan on Apple Watch

Apple's Workout app can alert you around one target pace. Vanoor runs the whole plan: build it in the planner above and tap Send to Vanoor (or draw the same curve in the app), then sync. On the wrist you see the target band for the split you are in, whether you're inside it, and how many seconds you are ahead of or behind plan. With the Off-pace alert on, you get a tap when you drift. Add fuel cues at the kilometres you want, and there is no arithmetic to do at 35 km.

Marathon pace — quick answers

Every figure in the chart and the answers above is computed from the race distance (42.195 km) and the goal time, then rounded to the second. Nothing here is copied from another chart. The generator is marathon_chart_html() in this site's build script.