Sub-3:30 Marathon Pace

3:30 is one of the most searched marathon goals, and one of the most attempted. The required pace works out close to a figure that is easy to hold in your head, which is part of why it attracts so many runners: you can check your watch at any marker and do the arithmetic without stopping to think.

The catch with a memorable pace is that it invites you to run it from the first kilometre, including the kilometre where you are still weaving through a crowded start. The checkpoint table below is generated for even splits, so if your 5 km reading is ahead of the figure it shows, you started fast rather than well. A start that is twenty seconds quick is not a disaster; a first 10 km that is two minutes quick usually is, and the fade table shows why.

Runners moving up from the half marathon often arrive at this goal by doubling a half time and adding a fixed number of minutes. That rule of thumb is close but consistently optimistic. The equivalent-times table on this page uses Riegel's formula instead, and the gap between the two approaches is the reason it is here. Read the caveats on /methodology before you plan around either.

Checkpoint times for a 3:30:00 marathon

The 3:30 checkpoints land on convenient round numbers, which is a mixed blessing. They are easy to check and equally easy to chase. Read them, do not race them.

What a fade costs

A 3:30 attempt that comes apart usually does so somewhere after 30 km. The size of that failure, rather than the fact of it, is what this table quantifies.

Every kilometre split for a 3:30:00 marathon

All 43 rows, ending on the final 195 metres so the last elapsed time is exactly 3:30:00 rather than close to it.

Every mile split for a 3:30:00 marathon

Many marathons mark both units. A mile marker arriving between two kilometre markers gives you an extra chance to check the plan without waiting for the next kilometre.

Equivalent race times

What a 3:30:00marathon implies at shorter distances, using Riegel's formula t2 = t1 x (d2 / d1) ^ 1.06. Projecting downwards like this is the more trustworthy direction, because marathon fitness generally implies you could run the shorter time. The methodology page sets out where the model stops being reliable.

Adjust the goal

If this is not quite your target, the neighbouring goals show what a step in either direction costs per kilometre, and the pace calculator will take any time you type in.

Frequently asked questions

Last reviewed 2026-08-05. Formulas, constants and sources: methodology. Changes to any calculation are logged in the changelog.