Dave Pomije
If you’re new to running or just curious, you may be wondering just how far in miles these distances and races that people from all over the world participate in.
So if you’re about to run a 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon or even an ultra marathon (the sound of that last one sounds crazy doesn’t it?), we’re going to break down each distance in miles and the races that are available in each distance.
Ready to see how far these races are? Here we go!
How Many Miles In A 5K?
A 5K is 3.1 miles. To be more exact–its 3.106 miles. A 5K is exactly 5 kilometers or 5,000 meters. To put that distance into perspective, a 5K is the equivalent of running around a standard outdoor track 12.5 times.
Now that you’ve verified that a 5K is 3.1 miles, maybe you feel like you could run or walk that distance? If you’re thinking about running your first 5K, check out or Couch to 5K Training Plan. It’s a plan that countless runners have followed and was developed in part by the National Health Service of the U.K.
The 5K Training Plan breaks down week by week and day by day each workout that progresses from walking to jogging and gets you to that finish line. There are also paid apps available to help you train for a 5K but there’s plenty of free info as well like our plan.
How Long Will It Take You To Run A 5K?
If you’re new to running or just plan to walk a 5K, you may be curious just how long that 5K race will take to finish.
There is a simple way to predict your finish time for a 5K just by using your smartphone. You can download a free app like Strava which can record your movement speed via the GPS function on your phone.
Plan to walk, run or walk/run at least a mile. When you begin you workout, hit “record” on the app and begin your workout at the level of effort you think you can sustain during the 5K race.
When you hit the mile marker, your app will tell you your pace per mile. If you think you can sustain this pace over the next 2.1 miles, you’ve got your 5K finish time estimate.
Use our 5K pace calculator to help you estimate your 5K finish time.
Using the pace calculator, you can see how your finish time will vary as you adjust your pace.
Here are a few examples:
- At 9:00 minutes per mile, your 5K finish time would be 27:58.
- At 10:00 minutes per mile, your 5K finish time would be 31:04.
- At 11:00 minutes per mile, your 5K finish time would be 34:11.
Average 5K Finish Times By Age Group and Sex
Data compiled and analyzed by Runrepeat, shows the average 5K finish time for women worldwide is 40 minutes. The average 5K finish time for men worldwide is 34 minutes.
Average 5K Finish Times By Age Group and Sex
| Age Group | Women | Men |
| 0 to 20 | 40:00 | 32:30 |
| 20 to 29 | 39:45 | 33:45 |
| 30 to 39 | 40:50 | 34:50 |
| 40 to 49 | 42:30 | 35:00 |
| 50 to 59 | 45:25 | 36:40 |
| 60 to 69 | 49:10 | 40:50 |
| 70+ | 53:20 | 45:00 |
Data from Runrepeat.com
How Far Is A 10K Race?
A 10K is 6.2 miles. 10K is short for 10,000 kilometers. A 10K race is double the distance of a 5K.
To give you some perspective, a 10K race is the equivalent of running around a 400 meter track 25 times. Most modern outdoor tracks are 400 meters or a quarter mile.
There are thousands of 10K races throughout the U.S. each year. Many 5K races and half marathons also offer a 10K distance as well.
Running or walking a 10K can be more challenging to complete than a 5K due in part to it being double the distance. One of the keys to moving up to a 10K from a 5K is adding additional miles to your training each week and factoring in your pace as well.
For a 10K race, you’ll want to train at a pace you can sustain over a long distance–preferably the full 6.2 miles. It’s very common for runners who’ve completed a 5K to move up to a 10K so begin with the knowledge it is very doable for the average person to achieve!
Our 10K Pace Calculator can help you determine how long it might take you to finish a 10K based on your projected pace per mile or kilometer. You can adjust your times to get a feel for how you might do.
Here are some finish times based on typical running paces:
- At 8:00 minutes per mile your 10K finish time would be 49:42.
- At 9:00 minutes per mile your 10K finish time would be 55:56.
- At 10:00 minutes per mile your 10K finish time would be 1:02:08.
- At 11:00 minutes per mile your 10K finish time would be 1:08:22.
- At 12:00 minutes per mile your 10K finish time would be 1:14:34.
How Far Is A Half Marathon?
A half marathon is 13.1 miles. A half marathon is 21 kilometers. Like the name reveals, a half marathon race is half the distance of a full marathon which is 26.2 miles or 42 kilometers.
A half marathon is about 52 laps around a standard 400 meter outdoor track.
How Long Does It Take To Run A Half Marathon?
Elite men can finish a half marathon in 60 minutes while elite women might finish a half marathon in just 65 minutes.
For the average runner, completing a half marathon will normally take between an hour and a half to 2 hours.
A good finish time for a half marathon will depend on your age and conditioning. If you’re thinking about running a half marathon, check out our Beginner’s Half Marathon Training Plan. It’s an 18 week plan for ramping up your miles each week and working your way towards your goal.
Our Running Pace Calculator breaks down finish times for the half marathon distance. If you’re wondering how long it will take you to finish a half marathon, our calculator determines that by your pace per mile.
Here are some half marathon finish times based on pace per mile:
- At 7:00 minutes per mile your half marathon finish time would be 1:31:46.
- At 8:00 minutes per mile your half marathon finish time would be 1:44:53.
- At 9:00 minutes per mile your half marathon finish time would be 1:57:59.
- At 10:00 minutes per mile your half marathon finish time would be 2:11:06.
- At 11:00 minutes per mile your half marathon finish time would be 2:24:13.
- At 12:00 minutes per mile your half marathon finish time would be 2:37:19.
- At 13:00 minutes per mile your half marathon finish time would be 2:50:26.
How Far Is A Marathon?
A marathon is 26.2 miles or 42.195 kilometers. To complete a marathon on a standard 400 meter (quarter mile) track, you would have to run approximately 105.5 laps.
The standard race distance for the marathon of 26.2 miles was first established in the 1908 London Olympic games.
Prior to that the distance was based on the ancient Greek tale of a messenger named Pheidippedes who ran 40 kilometers between Marathon and Athens to deliver the news of a Greek battle victory.
How Long Does It Take To Run A Marathon?
According to data compiled by Runrepeat.com, the overall average marathon completion time was 4:32:29. The average marathon time for men was 4:52:18 while the average marathon time for women was 4:48:45.
Since people all over the world of all ages and fitness levels run marathons, it’s easy to understand that marathon finish times vary widely. Elite marathoners regularly post finish times under 2 and a half hours while many marathoners walk/run marathons and are happy with a finish time under 6 hours.
If you’re training for a marathon or just curious, you can use our Marathon Pace Calculator to get an idea of how long it might take you to finish a marathon based on an estimated pace per mile.
Here are the average marathon finish times broken down by age as compiled by researches at RunnerClick using data available from 2014 to 2017.
- Ages 0-19 – 4:18:59
- Ages 20-29 – 4:28:33
- Ages 30-39 – 4:23:16
- Ages 40-49 – 4:23:14
- Ages 50-59 – 4:31:27
- Ages 60-69 – 4:51:36
- Ages 70-79 – 5:24:35
- Ages 80-89 – 6:12:38
- Ages 90-99 – 5:24:25
How Far Is A 50K?
A 50K is 31.1 miles. A 50K is 4.9 miles longer than the 26.2 marathon race distance.
50K races fall into the category of ultra marathons–which are greater in distance than the standard 26.2 mile marathon.
50K, ultramarathon races are usually trail races which are very different from road marathons and requires different training and pacing expectations due to the fact that trail marathons vary widely from course to course containing hills, rocky terrain, single track trails and other environmental challenges and variations.
