Running pace·4:21 /km
4:21
/km · 13.79 km/h

4:21 per km — marathon in 3:03:33, 13.79 km/h

Running 4:21 per kilometre is 13.79 km/h. Hold it and the half comes in at 1:31:46, the marathon at 3:03:33.

Finish times

These assume you hold the pace from gun to tape. Most runners drift slower in the second half, so leave a margin when setting a target.

5K
21:45
10K
43:30
Half
1:31:46
Marathon
3:03:33
Speed
13.79 km/h
Metres per second
3.831 m/s
Pace per mile
7:00
One lap (400 m)
1:44

What this pace breaks

The cut-offs are tighter than they look: a sub-4 marathon needs 5:41 per kilometre, and one second slower puts you over four hours.

sub-20 min 5K · nosub-25 min 5K · yessub-30 min 5K · yessub-50 min 10K · yessub-60 min 10K · yessub-100 min Half · yessub-2h Half · yessub-3h Marathon · nosub-3:30h Marathon · yessub-4h Marathon · yessub-5h Marathon · yes

Nearby paces

Pace per kmHalfMarathon
4:161:30:013:00:02
4:171:30:223:00:44
4:181:30:433:01:26
4:191:31:043:02:09
4:201:31:253:02:51
4:211:31:463:03:33
4:221:32:083:04:15
4:231:32:293:04:57
4:241:32:503:05:39
4:251:33:113:06:22
4:261:33:323:07:04

The half and the full are not round numbers

A marathon is 42.195 km and a half is 21.0975 km. Rounding to 42 km costs you about a minute at a 5:00 pace — small, but enough to miss a target.

How to read this

  • Pace is the time for one kilometre, so a smaller number means faster.
  • To get speed, divide 3600 by the pace in seconds: 300 s gives 12 km/h.
  • A finish time is simply the pace multiplied by the distance.
  • Mile pace is kilometre pace times 1.609344.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What marathon time does 4:21 per km give?

3:03:33. The half comes in at 1:31:46, the 10K at 43:30 and the 5K at 21:45.

Q. How fast is 4:21 per km in km/h?

13.79 km/h, or 3.831 metres per second.

Q. What is that per mile?

7:00, because a mile is 1.609344 km.

Q. And one lap of the track?

1:44 for 400 m.