Sub-5 Hour Marathon — Training Paces and Fitness Profile
Breaking 5 hours in the marathon is a genuine athletic achievement — 26.2 miles of sustained effort over nearly 5 hours. It requires consistent training, smart pacing, and the endurance to keep moving when the final 10K demands everything you have.
Quick answer: To break Sub-5:00:00 in the Marathon (RPI 28.7), your training paces are: easy 13:22/mi, threshold 10:16/mi, interval 8:52/mi. Equivalent fitness: Half Marathon 2:26:30, 10K 1:06:14.
Training paces for Sub-5:00:00 Marathon
RPI 28.7 · Goal: 4:59:59 · All paces in min/mile
Calculated from Daniels/Gilbert oxygen cost equations. Easy pace means "this pace or slower."
Equivalent race fitness
These are the predicted equivalent times at other distances for a runner with RPI 28.7 — assuming comparable training for each distance.
Half Marathon
2:26:30
11:11/mi
10K
1:06:14
10:40/mi
5K
31:49
10:14/mi
Training approach for Sub-5:00:00 Marathon
For sub-5 hour marathon, consistent easy running and long runs are the foundation. Long runs building to 18 miles at easy pace provide the endurance base. One threshold session per week (12–15 minutes at threshold pace) builds the metabolic capacity to sustain goal pace without crossing into the anaerobic zone that depletes you early. Running easy days genuinely easy — at easy pace or slower — is the most important discipline for runners targeting this standard.
Calculate your current training paces
The table above shows paces for Sub-5:00:00 Marathon fitness. Enter your current race time to see where you are now and how far from the goal you sit.
Training Pace Calculator
These paces are based on your race time — not your body
The Daniels/Gilbert formula predicts training zones from a single race result. StrideIQ goes further: it tracks how your body specifically responds to threshold and interval work — which sessions produce your biggest gains, how quickly you recover, and when your fitness is peaking. Population formulas start the conversation. Your individual response data finishes it.
Common questions
What training paces should I use to break 5 hours in the marathon?
For sub-5:00:00 (4:59:59): Easy 13:22/mi, Marathon 10:53/mi, Threshold 10:16/mi. RPI 28.7. Marathon training pace (10:53/mi) is what you practice in the final miles of long runs. Running everything else at easy pace (13:22/mi or slower) allows recovery and prevents the chronic fatigue that causes most marathon failures.
Is sub-5 a realistic goal for a first marathon?
Sub-5 is achievable for a first marathon by runners who have followed a consistent 16–20 week training plan with long runs building to 18–20 miles and some threshold work. The most common first-marathon error that pushes the finish time past 5 hours: starting too fast and walking in the final miles. Conservative pacing — starting at goal pace or slightly slower — is the most reliable strategy for a first marathon finish under 5 hours.
What half marathon does sub-5 marathon fitness predict?
Sub-5 marathon fitness (RPI 28.7) projects to approximately 2:26:30 half marathon potential. Racing a half marathon in the months before a marathon attempt gives a useful fitness benchmark — if you finish near this projection, you are in range for sub-5.
Other goal pace guides
Paces calculated using the Daniels/Gilbert oxygen cost equations (1979). All values derived from the same formula used by the StrideIQ training pace calculator. Goal times use the target-minus-one-second convention (e.g., sub-20 = 19:59 input).