Average Half Marathon Time: What's Good by Age and Sex

By Cristian Serb · Updated October 16, 2026

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The average half marathon finisher runs about 1:59:30 for men and 2:14:20 for women, based on 107.9 million race results. Under 2:15 is solid, under 2:00 is good, under 1:45 is quick, and under 1:30 for men or 1:40 for women is club level. Your age changes what those numbers are worth, and this guide shows how.

The half marathon is the most popular long race, and 13.1 miles is far enough that pacing, fueling and training all show up in the result. That makes the finish time a fair test of fitness, and it makes "is my time good?" a reasonable question. The plain averages come first, then the age-graded standards that let a 55-year-old and a 25-year-old compare fairly.

Contents: Average · Good in plain terms · By age · Pace table · Predict yours · Training time · Run it faster · FAQ

What Is the Average Half Marathon Time?

The largest dataset comes from RunRepeat's State of Running study, which analyzed 107.9 million race results from more than 70,000 events between 1986 and 2018 (Andersen, 2019). The average half marathon pace was 5:40 per kilometer for men and 6:22 per kilometer for women. Over the 21.0975 km of the distance, that is a finish of about 1:59:30 for men and 2:14:20 for women.

Two things about that average are worth knowing. First, it describes people who entered and finished a race, so it already excludes everyone who never signed up. Second, the half marathon attracted the fastest average pace of the four distances in the study. Runners were quicker per kilometer here than at 5K, 10K or the marathon, which the authors put down to the distance drawing experienced runners rather than first-timers.

Age matters too. In an analysis of 138,616 finishers of the GöteborgsVarvet, the world's largest half marathon, the fastest times came from men aged 35 to 39 and from women under 40 (Knechtle & Nikolaidis, 2018). After that, times slow steadily with age, so the overall average is a different benchmark for a 30-year-old than for a 65-year-old.

What Is a Good Half Marathon Time?

For a rule of thumb, the half marathon lines up with the 5K benchmarks runners already use. The conversion below uses Riegel's endurance formula, the standard method for predicting one race time from another (Riegel, 1981), which multiplies a 5K time by about 4.60 to give the half.

These marks sit a little slower than a straight conversion of the 5K bands in what is a good 5K time, because most people are less trained for 13.1 miles than for 3.1. If you have a recent 5K or 10K, our running pace calculator predicts your equivalent half.

What Is a Good Half Marathon Time by Age?

Age grading is how the sport compares runners fairly. It expresses your time as a percentage of the world-best standard for your exact age and sex, using tables compiled by Alan Jones and Rex Harvey and approved by World Masters Athletics and USA Track & Field. The 2025 road standard for an adult in their prime is 57:31 for men and 1:02:52 for women at the half marathon, which is within reach of the world records.

The table below is derived from the 2025 road standards for the half marathon. Each column is the time that earns that age grade at that age.

Read a row across to see what the percentages are worth. A 2:22 half marathon at 60 is the same caliber of run as a 1:55 at 20 for a man. A raw-time chart would call the older runner 27 minutes slower; age grading calls them equal. Note how the standards for men stay flat through the twenties and only start to move in the mid-thirties, which matches what the GöteborgsVarvet data showed.

The bands are standard across the sport:

To work out your own grade, divide the 50 percent time for your age and sex by your own time and multiply by 50. A 40-year-old woman who runs 2:00:00 scores 7,858 seconds divided by 7,200, times 50, which is 55 percent. A 40-year-old man with the same time scores 50 percent. By 60 the same two hours is worth 59 percent for a man and 68 percent for a woman. The same math at shorter distances is in average mile time, and the next distance up is covered in average marathon time.

Half Marathon Pace Chart per Mile and per km

Race plans are built on pace, and most watches show it per mile or per kilometer. This table gives the exact even pace for the common goal times, over 13.1094 miles or 21.0975 km.

The paces are for a perfectly even race. In practice, the runners who hit their goal usually run the first half a few seconds per mile slower than target and the second half a few seconds faster, because the course measures long on your watch and the last three miles are where a fast start comes due.

How to Predict Your Half Marathon Time from a 5K or 10K

Peter Riegel's formula says time at a new distance equals your known time multiplied by the ratio of the distances raised to the power 1.06 (Riegel, 1981). The exponent captures how pace slows as the race gets longer. For the half marathon that works out to:

• From a 5K: multiply by 4.60
• From a 10K: multiply by 2.21

From a 10K: 45:00 predicts 1:39:17, 50:00 predicts 1:50:19, 55:00 predicts 2:01:21 and 60:00 predicts 2:12:23.

The prediction assumes you are trained for the distance you are predicting. Riegel derived the formula from record performances, where the athlete is fully prepared at every distance. A runner with a 25 minute 5K and no run longer than six miles will not hold 1:55 pace for 13.1, so treat the number as what your fitness is worth once the endurance is in place. The 10K prediction is the more reliable of the two, because it is closer in distance and effort to the half.

How Long Does It Take to Train for a Half Marathon?

The most widely used beginner plan, Hal Higdon's Novice 1, runs 12 weeks and assumes you can already run 3 miles three or four times a week. It builds the long run from 3 to 10 miles before the jump to 13.1 on race day, with four running days a week. If you are starting from scratch, add 8 to 12 weeks of easy running to reach that starting line first. Runners who already cover 20 miles a week and want a time rather than a finish typically plan 10 to 16 weeks, so there is room for a block of faster work on top of the long runs.

What predicts the result is less the number of weeks than what is in them. In a study of 84 recreational men at the Half Marathon Basel, who finished in an average of 1:43:54, the speed of their training runs was the training variable most strongly linked to race time, together with body mass index (Rüst et al., 2011). Easy mileage builds the base, but if every run is the same comfortable pace, the race will be too. The structure that works is laid out in how to build endurance for running.

How to Run a Faster Half Marathon

The half marathon sits at a useful place physiologically. It is long enough that you cannot run it at your VO2 max, but short enough that a well-trained runner races it close to lactate threshold, the fastest pace you can hold before fatigue accelerates. So two things decide your time: how big the engine is, and how close to its ceiling you can cruise.

• Raise the ceiling with VO2 max intervals, once a week. Efforts of three to four minutes at a hard, controlled pace with similar recovery. The Norwegian 4x4, four 4-minute efforts at 90 to 95 percent of maximum heart rate, raised VO2 max 7.2 percent in eight weeks in a controlled trial (Helgerud et al., 2007). A higher VO2 max makes every race pace a smaller fraction of your maximum. You can estimate yours with our VO2 max calculator.
• Move the threshold with tempo runs. Twenty to forty minutes at a comfortably hard pace, roughly what you could hold for an hour, teach your body to clear lactate at speed. The half marathon is run just below this pace, so it is the most race-specific session you can do. See tempo run.
• Add race-pace intervals. Longer repeats of 1 to 2 miles at goal half marathon pace, with short jogs between, let you rehearse the pace without the full fatigue of a race. The formats are in interval training for running.
• Keep the long run and keep the rest easy. Analyses of elite endurance training find about 80 percent of sessions at low intensity (Seiler, 2010). The long run is the session that makes 13.1 miles feel normal, and easy days are what let the hard ones work.

If you train by heart rate, the PEAKVO2 app runs these interval sessions on Apple Watch with a target heart rate for each phase, so the hard efforts land in the right zone and the recoveries stay honest. For the sequence of sessions over a training block, see how to run faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the average half marathon time?

Across 107.9 million race results from 1986 to 2018, the average pace was 5:40 per kilometer for men and 6:22 for women, which is a finish of about 1:59:30 and 2:14:20. The figure describes race finishers, so it already excludes most non-runners.

What is a good half marathon time?

Under 2:15 is solid, under 2:00 is good, under 1:45 is quick, and under 1:30 for men or 1:40 for women is club level. On age grade, 60 percent or better is local class at any age.

What is a good half marathon time by age?

At a 60 percent age grade: 1:35:52 for a man of 20, 1:39:28 at 40 and 1:58:37 at 60. For women, 1:45:37 at 20, 1:49:08 at 40 and 2:15:45 at 60.

Is a 2 hour half marathon good?

Yes. It is right at the average for men and about 14 minutes faster than the average for women, and it needs 9:09 per mile or 5:41 per kilometer. For a 40-year-old it is about a 50 percent age grade for a man and 55 percent for a woman.

How do I predict my half marathon time from a 5K or 10K?

Multiply your 5K time by 4.60 or your 10K time by 2.21. A 25 minute 5K predicts about 1:55 and a 50 minute 10K about 1:50, provided you have trained the distance.

How long does it take to train for a half marathon?

A standard beginner plan takes 12 weeks from a base of 3 miles three or four times a week. From zero, allow 8 to 12 weeks to reach that base first. Experienced runners chasing a time usually plan 10 to 16 weeks.

References

1. Andersen JJ. The State of Running 2019. RunRepeat, in collaboration with the IAAF. 107.9 million race results from more than 70,000 events, 1986 to 2018. RunRepeat
2. Knechtle B, Nikolaidis PT. Sex- and age-related differences in half-marathon performance and competitiveness in the world's largest half-marathon, the GöteborgsVarvet. Res Sports Med. 2018;26(1):75-85. PubMed
3. Jones A, Harvey R. Age-graded tables for road running performances, 2025 edition. Approved by World Masters Athletics and USA Track & Field Masters Long Distance Running. Age-Grade-Tables repository
4. Riegel PS. Athletic records and human endurance. Am Sci. 1981;69(3):285-290. PubMed
5. Higdon H. Novice 1 Half Marathon Training Program. Hal Higdon
6. Rüst CA, Knechtle B, Knechtle P, Barandun U, Lepers R, Rosemann T. Predictor variables for a half marathon race time in recreational male runners. Open Access J Sports Med. 2011;2:113-119. PubMed
7. Helgerud J, Høydal K, Wang E, et al. Aerobic high-intensity intervals improve VO2max more than moderate training. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2007;39(4):665-671. PubMed
8. Seiler S. What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2010;5(3):276-291. PubMed