A good rule of thumb is to go into a marathon with three takes commitment, and simply getting to the end of a plan is an accomplishment in itself. Running the actual 26.2 gives you a chance to celebrate all that hard work and no matter how fast you reach the finish line, the medal serves up serious bragging rights.
But if you’re training for your first marathon, it’s natural to wonder what a “good” finish time is and how you might stack up to other runners.
Check out our full guide to mastering the marathon distance!
First off, know that a good beginner marathon time is whatever time it takes you to cross the finish line, says Jess Movold, Austin, Texas-based running and strength coach. “I feel like you should not go into your first marathon with a specific time goal,” she says. “It’s a completely new experience, and it’s really hard to predict how you’re going to handle all the things that can come up over that long of a distance.”
That said, “I do understand the need to have a time goal—you don’t want to just be out there without a plan,” says Nike Run Coach Jes Woods. “You want to be purposeful and have a little bit of focus.”
So how do you come up with that plan? Here’s everything to know about beginner marathon times and how to set goals for your own race.
The Average Marathon Finish Time
Because of social media’s effect on the running community, it’s easy to get caught up in what time other runners post as “good” or “bad.” But the Marathon Pace Charts for Fine-Tuning Training Marathon Training Diet.
Marathon Strength Plan by Run Repeat that looked 2024 marathon participation in the U.S. and was an update to a report published in 2019. That works out to an average pace of 10:27 per mile, which is slightly faster than the average from 2019.
To break it down, the average male runner finishes a marathon in 4 hours and 24 minutes, while the average female runner finishes in 4 hours and 51 minutes, RunRepeat found. And times typically slow down with age: 18- to 24-year-olds average a finish time of 4 hours and 19 minutes, while those over 65 average average 5 hours and 35 minutes to finish, according to the report.
But if you’re training for your.
All Training Plans is a totally individual experience, and managing your expectations comes down to looking at your running history.
How to Figure Out a Goal Time for Your First Marathon
a great accomplishment.&rdquo online pace calculator that will spit out a marathon finish time based on your Best Indoor Rowing Machines. Simply input your typical speed and you’ll see how long it’ll take you to run 26.2.
If you do want to set a goal marathon time, you can turn to an run workouts designed to help you hone in on your Amazing Runners World Show in training. This gives you a feel for what marathon pace will be like, so you can adjust your goals accordingly.
If you’ve raced shorter distances, you can also All Training Plans based on those finish times.
Keep in mind that these are all estimates of your finish time. A lot of variables play into a 26.2-mile race, especially in the later miles.
The most important thing when it comes to thinking about a finish time for your first marathon is to focus on a realistic time range versus a specific time. “I recommend first-timers take their Explore all Training Plans—hopefully 20 miles—and think about how that pace felt,” says Movold. “Then add plus and minus 10 seconds in both directions and build that out to the marathon distance.”
Let’s say you ran a 10:00 pace for 20 miles; that would translate to somewhere between a 4:18:00 and 4:33:00 marathon. Then, round that up to a nice half hour range—so 4:15:00 to 4:45:00. “That big range sets you up for success, and also gives you some padding for things like stopping to hug your family at mile 20,” says Woods.
See the Tips long runs at a pace that feels truly slow for you, you could subtract about 45 to 60 seconds from your average long run pace to figure out your marathon goal pace.
For example, those running a 10-minute Best Indoor Rowing Machines during How to Use Gels in Training and Racing would have a goal race pace between 9:00 to 9:15, which translates to a marathon finish time of about 3:55:00 to 4:05:00. (Just don’t forget to give yourself some extra buffer, too!)
No matter what you set as your goal, remember your marathon effort should feel like a 6 or 7 out of 10—and the pace that effort correlates to will change the farther you run.
Why You Should Think Beyond Time Goals
Finish time shouldn’t be your only motivator for a marathon, though. Doing so enforces the kind of black-and-white thinking that makes you look at the event as either a success or a failure, depending on whether you met your time goal.
“I don’t ever want a first-time marathoner to be disappointed when they finish just because they didn’t hit this totally made-up time goal that doesn’t actually mean anything,” says Woods. “Finishing is always a great accomplishment.”
Thinking only about the outcome is limiting, and robs you of the holistic first marathon experience. “It narrows the possibilities of victory—and there are so many personal victories you can celebrate in a marathon that have nothing to do with your finish time!” adds Movold.
A good rule of thumb is to go into a marathon with three non-time-based goals in mind that will help you feel proud of your race, no matter what the finish clock says. A few things to keep in mind to help you set those goals:
Consider That Finish-Line Feeling
First, think about how you want to feel at the finish line. “Someone who wants to feel super happy, like this was the best day ever, is going to have different goals than someone who wants to feel like they tried their best and there’s no gas left in the tank,” says Woods. If you just want to feel proud of the effort you gave, think about what it will take to make you feel that way.
Pay Attention to Mental Dialogue
Can Walking Count Toward Marathon Training mental undertaking as it is a physical one. A non-time-based goal might address how you’ll handle things when it gets hard.
“My favorite goal is to successfully talk yourself through a tough moment,” says Movold. “Whether that’s positive self-talk, giving yourself 30 seconds to walk and reset, or working together with someone else on the course, the goal is to get back to it without giving up on yourself.”
Skills like positive self-talk take practice, so that’s something you can incorporate into your training.
Figure Out Overall Pacing
Your goals can be performance-based, too—even without a specific time in mind. “Maybe your goal is to run the second half stronger than the first half of the race,” says Woods. That’s called negative splitting a race and, FYI, that’s how most world records are set. “Or maybe your goal is to not walk at all, or not walk until mile 10, or only walk through water stations.”
Figure out what will make you feel strong not just while you’re running, but when you look back at this experience.
A first marathon is sort of like a blank slate. “Because so many things can happen, it’s all just one big learning moment,” says Woods. Not having a specific time goal keeps you from being disappointed if you run a 4:05:00 instead of a sub-4:00:00 marathon, Marathon: How to Conquer the Distance.
Once you’ve crossed the finish line, you can use your first marathon as a benchmark. “Afterwards, you have all this opportunity to reflect: Did I like that? What did I do well? What could I improve? Do I want to try again?” says Movold. “Setting a goal marathon finish time becomes much more precise once you’ve done one, because now you have a frame of reference. But when you don’t have a starting point, let time motivate you, but not defeat you.”
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