What is a ‘good’ half marathon time? – Runner’s World (UK)

Of course, there’s no such thing as a ‘good’ time – every race is a personal achievement and every runner should have different goals on the start line, but you’ve been Googling ‘what is a “good” half marathon time’, so we’ve been looking at the averages.

Whether it’s your first half marathon, or you’re hoping for a PB, setting a goal when training for 13.1 miles can help keep you motivated. But in order to let you see how you fare against the average runner, we took a look at recent data collated by RunRepeat, who analysed 107.9 million race results, from over 70 thousand events in 209 countries between 1986 and 2018.

How long is a half marathon?

A half marathon in 13.1 miles.

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

Training plans will vary in length, but most half marathon plans will be ten to twelve weeks long.

What is the average half marathon time in the UK?

When looking at the data, it seems that both male and female runners perform best over the half marathon distance, compared to marathons, 5Ks and 10Ks.

The average half marathon finish time in the UK is 2:02:43.

What is the average half marathon time in the UK by gender?

For males, the average half marathon finish time is 1:55:26. For females, the average half marathon finish time is 2:11:57.

What is the average half marathon pace in the UK?

The average pace for a man is 5.57 minutes per kilometre, or 8.96 minutes per mile. For a female runner, the average half marathon pace is reportedly 6.40 minutes per kilometre, or 10.29 minute miles.

What about other countries?

According to the RunRepeat data, Russia tops the chart for the average half marathon time at 1 hour 45 minutes and 11 seconds, followed by Belgium (1 hour 48 minutes and 1 second) then Spain (1 hour 50 minutes and 20 seconds). The UK is in 20th place on the list. The data also suggests that the half marathon is the preferred distance of Europe.