full marathon comparison may be less illustrative than, say, juxtaposing 5,000- and 10,000-meter performances on the track. Also, since road race times are significantly impacted by course profiles, a half vs. It’s but a tiny sample of super elite runners and in some cases, like Meb Keflezighi’s, athletes’ respective PRs are separated by several years, by which time they may have shifted the focus of their training or even changed physically. I’m aware that there’s only so much this chart can tell us. Below is a chart comparing the half marathon and full marathon PRs of the top five men and women American marathon runners of all time, as well as the difference in pace per mile. To help shed some light on the subject, we might as well start at the top. And at that point, you’re pretty much screwed.īut is there a rule of thumb when it comes to determining an appropriate marathon pace based on one’s performance in a recent half? Because what feels easy and relaxed at 5K can feel like hell by mile 15 if you were too aggressive early on. The same thing holds in both cases: if you’re going to run a marathon to the best of your ability, you’ll want some prior indication of what you can sustain, pace-wise, over a longer distance. This is true for first-timers, as well as seasoned veterans looking to run a fast 26.2 miles. One of the more pragmatic “uses” of running 13.1 miles is that it can be a way to gauge your potential in the full marathon. Making the slothful among your Instagram followers feel worthless is great and all, but there’s another reason to do a half marathon.

Download average half marathon pace