Half Marathon Pace Chart – How to Plan Your Optimal Running Pace

Achieving a half marathon pace goal is like saving for a vacation.

If you don’t have a plan, you ain’t gonna be sippin’ margaritas by the pool in paradise anytime soon.

Just like money doesn’t come out of nowhere…neither does a good half marathon pace.

And that’s exactly why you need to use a half marathon pace chart: to make a solid plan for crushing your half marathon goal!

You might be wondering:

“But how do I make a plan? Don’t I just train for 12 weeks, and then run the half marathon?”

The answer is: nope. You need more preparation than that.

And that’s exactly what we’re going to talk about – how to use a half marathon pace chart to make a SOLID plan.

What Is a Half Marathon Pace Chart?

A half marathon pace chart shows you what average pace you’d need to run to finish a half marathon in a certain time.

It’s a fairly simple chart, but a powerful one.

You can look by pace, or by finish time.

Why Use a Half Marathon Pace Chart?

Many runners have half marathon completion time goals.

For example, maybe you want to complete your first half marathon in under 3 hours. Or maybe you’ve run a few half marathons already, and want to break the 2 hour mark.

No matter what your time goal is, you first need to know the average pace for that time goal.

And that’s where a half marathon pace chart comes in handy!

Half Marathon Pace Chart

Here’s the half marathon pace chart (in miles).

Pin this on Pinterest or save it for future reference, it’s a really helpful tool to have around!

Want this pace chart in kilometers? Scroll to the bottom of the page.

Keep reading to find out how to use it to pick your optimal half marathon pace!

Planning For Your Optimal Half Marathon Pace

Let’s go back to the vacation savings analogy for a minute.

You want to go on vacation. Great!

But what can you realistically afford?

A month-long getaway to Fiji? Or a week escape to Florida?

While both dreams are possible, it may take more time to save up for the Fiji trip. So you have to take time into account when deciding which one to go with.

The same thing goes for half marathon planning.

If you currently run a 35 minute 5K, you likely are not going to be physically able to run a 2 hour half marathon in just one training cycle (~12 weeks).

You have to be realistic about your current fitness level first. Then take time into account to pick an attainable half marathon goal.

Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up for failure (and possibly injuries too).

So how do you pick an attainable goal?

Let’s delve into that more now.

Step 1: Assess Current Fitness Level

The best way to assess your current running fitness level is to run a 5K.

It doesn’t have to be an official race or anything. Just go out for a run and make sure the distance is accurate, and you are ready to run at about 80% effort.

Your current estimated half marathon pace would be about 45 seconds-1 minute slower than your 5K pace (note: that’s a general statement…if your 5K pace is under 8 minutes, your half pace will be less than 45 seconds slower, and if your 5K pace is over 10:30, your half pace will be over 1 minute slower).

Step 2: Figure Out How Much Time You Have to Train

Do you have 10 weeks, or 6 months? What is your ideal training time frame?

Most runners do 12 week half marathon training cycles. So if you aren’t sure what time frame to pick, go with that.

However, read Step 3 before setting the time frame in stone…

Step 3: Decide on a (Realistic) Goal

Now it’s time to combine your knowledge of your current fitness level with the amount of time you have to train, to decide on a goal!

The goal can definitely be a ‘stretch’ goal, but don’t make it so far away from your current fitness level that it’s unattainable in this training cycle.

If you DO want to set a ‘big’ goal, that’s great! But then chunk that big goal up into smaller milestones. Then set the first milestone as this training cycle’s goal.

For example, say if you’ve never run a half marathon before, can’t currently run more than 5 miles, and your 5K pace is 35 minutes.

But your BIG goal is to run a sub-2-hour half marathon. That’s an amazing goal!

But realistically, it won’t happen in one 12-week training cycle.

So you may want to chunk up your goals like this:

• Milestone 1: Finish 1st half marathon (no time expectations)
• Milestone 2: Run 2nd half marathon, with a time improvement from the 1st (you can pick a specific time or pace improvement after seeing what half marathon #1’s time/pace is)
• Milestone 3: Run 3rd half marathon between 2-2:30 (again, exact time range depends on 1st/2nd half marathon time)
• Milestone 4/Big Goal: Run 4th half marathon under 2 hours!

Don’t take that milestone progression example as ‘final’…you could have 10 milestones if you want! It’s totally up to you.

But as you can see, the steps required to reach the Big Goal would take at least four 12-week training cycles. Your body has to work up to that level of fitness, and that’s normal!

Running is like, 1/3 planning, 1/3 persistence, and 1/3 training 🙂

Step 4: Make a Plan

This step is where the half marathon pace chart comes in handy!

If your goals & milestones are based on total half marathon completion time, then look up the finish times and find out what your goal pace is.

If your goals & milestones are based on average pace, then look up the goal pace to figure out what your half marathon completion time would be.

Then, make a plan (or hire a running coach to make a plan) to get from Point A (current you) to Point B (future goal-crushing you)!

Need a Half Marathon Training Plan?

Snag your free half marathon training plan and get started working towards your goal today!

You Can Do It!

Running a half marathon is an INCREDIBLE accomplishment!

It really doesn’t matter what your pace is, what matters is that you enjoy the process, and have fun 🙂

Have any questions about picking an optimal half marathon pace for your next race? Want to hire a running coach to help you achieve your goals? Let me know! Email me (Bethany) at contact@howtorunguide.com – I’d love to hear from you!

Oh, also – a Half Marathon Pace Chart (in Kilometers)

Here’s a half marathon pace chart in kilometers, for my metric system friends 🙂