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How do runners near my time pace the race?

Start here. A finish time tells you how long a race took. The splits show how it unfolded.

Make the comparison yours

Start with an example

Hours:minutes. We compare a 15-minute band around this finish time.

Refine by age, gender or earlier performance

An earlier time selects a 15-minute band of recorded bests from earlier years.

What the data shows

Among finishes in 3:52:30–4:07:30, 21.75–24.85 mi has the slowest median section pace: 9:50/mi.

This describes 422,703 achieved finishes in the displayed band. Your comparison threshold is 4:00; historical intentions are unknown.

All courses · all ages · all recorded categories · all earlier-time bands. 422,703 finishes across 179 race editions.

Explore the comparison

Pace through the full course

Pace (minutes:seconds per mile)

Median section pace25th percentile75th percentile

Points average the preceding section. The final section is 24.85–26.22 mi; lines do not locate pace changes within a section.

The shaded middle 50% describes variation among finishes. It is not a confidence interval or a recommended pace range.

View exact values and sample sizes
Course sectionMedian section pace25th percentile75th percentileMedian section pace: Observations25th percentile: Observations75th percentile: Observations
0–3.11 mi8:49/mi8:29/mi9:07/mi422,703422,703422,703
3.11–6.21 mi8:44/mi8:24/mi8:59/mi422,703422,703422,703
6.21–9.32 mi8:46/mi8:29/mi9:00/mi422,703422,703422,703
9.32–12.43 mi8:50/mi8:36/mi9:03/mi422,703422,703422,703
12.43–15.53 mi9:00/mi8:47/mi9:13/mi422,703422,703422,703
15.53–18.64 mi9:11/mi8:59/mi9:25/mi422,703422,703422,703
18.64–21.75 mi9:30/mi9:11/mi9:55/mi422,703422,703422,703
21.75–24.85 mi9:50/mi9:23/mi10:26/mi422,703422,703422,703
24.85–26.22 mi9:30/mi9:02/mi10:05/mi422,703422,703422,703

How to read this

The line shows the typical pace for each section. Higher means slower. The shaded area contains the middle half of the observed paces.

Keep in mind

These runners achieved similar finish times. Their pattern is a comparison, not a recommended pacing plan.

How we calculated this

Select finishes in the displayed 15-minute finish-time band, centered on the nearest 15-minute target preset. Show each section’s median pace and middle 50% of observed paces. These are achieved times, not declared goals, and the profile is not an optimal pacing plan.

Runner comparison groups contain at least 100 eligible observations. Broader comparisons are labeled; a finish can belong to a runner with several races. Elevation describes the supplied course profile.

We check the raw timings and apply reviewed source-quality rules before forming these groups. Editions with known invalid split grids, incomplete ingestion, unresolved source checks or a selected field are excluded. Missing age or recorded gender alone does not remove an otherwise eligible finish from the overall comparison.

Input data: Marathon results, weather and course data. Read the full methods in source units or browse the marathons, years and data fields.