How Long Does It Take to Run a Marathon?

Running a marathon is a colossal goal, and if you're wondering if you can achieve it—you can. With proper training, almost anyone can cross the finish line.

How long would it take you? Average marathon time varies depending on several factors, including your age, gender, and fitness level.

The length of a full marathon is 26.2 miles, a half marathon is 13.1 miles, and a 5K is 3.1 miles. Finishing times for full marathons range from a little over 2 hours for world-class, elite marathoners to 8 hours or more for other participants.

The average marathon time in 2023 for men was 4:14:29 and 4:42:09 for women, according to RunRepeat. Read on to learn more about how long it takes to run a marathon and the factors affecting average marathon time.

Factors Affecting Marathon Time

The length of a marathon may be daunting if you've never run one before since it could take several hours to complete your first 26.2-mile race. But don't let this overwhelm you. Yes, you can run a marathon, but you'll have to fully commit to a solid endurance training program.

Many factors can affect how long it will take you to finish the race, such as crowds on the course that either uplift or distract you or how you feel both physically and mentally on race day.

Marathon Training

Two main factors will prepare you for your marathon: How long and how hard you train each week. A training program that ensures you log enough weekly miles will affect your marathon time. Note that your training schedule may differ depending on whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or advanced runner. 

Nutrition and Hydration

While you're training for a marathon, you'll be burning more calories than you're used to, so you'll need to eat plenty of energy-dense whole foods to replace that spent energy. Before race day, many runners load up on bread, pasta, and other high-carbohydrate foods to ensure they have enough stamina to finish the race and perform at their best.

Staying hydrated leading up to the race, during, and after your marathon is essential to preventing dehydration. Some research has shown that dehydration can affect running performance and slow finish time.

Training for Weather

While you can't predict the weather on the day of your marathon, you can choose the season during which you will run. If the race is in the northern U.S. in November, training in the summer heat can make running in cooler months much more manageable and boost your finish time.

Marathon Course Conditions

Is the course flat, hilly, or a mix? It takes longer to run uphill than on flat surfaces, but you can train for this as you prepare for your marathon.

Will the race occur at a high elevation in the mountains of Colorado or at sea level in New York City? Knowing the course conditions in advance can inform how you train and affect how long it will take you to complete the race.

Marathon Pace

Of course, your marathon pace will also determine how long it takes you to complete a marathon. If you're already a distance runner, you likely have data on calculating your race pace.

If you're new to distance running, you'll want to log miles for a few weeks to get a sense of your current pace. Remember that your marathon pace will likely be slightly slower than your training pace.

Once you know your training pace, use this calculator to help determine your average marathon pace.

Estimate Your Marathon Time

It's helpful to estimate your marathon finishing time before running your first race to pace yourself better. You'll also want to give your family members and friends cheering for you an idea of when to expect you on the course.

Predicting race times, especially for marathons, can be challenging because there are many variables, such as weather and course conditions. Remember that an expected marathon time does not guarantee you'll run that time. In most cases, only experienced marathoners achieve their predicted time or are close to it.

To understand how long it will take to run a marathon in advance, you can use race time prediction charts or calculators that determine a finish time based on a recent race. For the most accurate prediction, you should use a race time from a run you complete about 4 to 6 weeks before your marathon.

Additionally, if you ran a marathon last year, analyze those results. If you're curious about where you might end up finishing (top 25%, age group winner, etc.) in a particular marathon, you can also look at online results from last year's race which will likely be similar this year. 

Try the race time prediction calculators below. If this is your first marathon, add 5% to 6% to the calculator prediction.

• MarathonGuide.com Race Results Prediction: Choose a distance and a time to calculate theoretical race results and check out your marathon prediction.
• Runner's World Race Time Predictor: This calculator uses a recent race time to determine a predicted marathon finish time.

Before you sign up for your first marathon, know that big city marathons and fast, flat courses tend to be much more competitive than small, local races. But the advantage of a large marathon is that there will be more racers at your same pace, especially at the back of the pack if you find yourself there.

Some marathons have time limits, such as 6 or 7 hours (although others have no limit). If you're a slower runner or walker, find out if there's a cutoff time when selecting a marathon.

A Word From Verywell on Marathons

If you are running your first marathon, focus on completing the race and finishing strong. It's quite a thrill and astounding accomplishment to reach the finish line. Slowly, with proper training, you can improve your finish time. Regardless of your time, finishing a marathon is an incredible achievement. Strive for the time you want, but also remember to be realistic.