What’s the Average Marathon Finish Time by Age Group?

If you spend a lot of time on social media, it’s easy to think that the average marathoner is crossing the finish line at lightning speed. “We see a lot of influencers [and] we think they’re all sub-three-hour runners,” says New York Road Runners coach Steve Mura. “But the average TCS New York City marathoner finishes in 4:32:25.”Having this context, he says, is really important. “I think it’s awesome to see where you stack [up],” he says.However, no matter where you fall, don’t perceive your status in the lineup as a positive or negative thing, just simply as information. Not only can knowing average finish times for a particular marathon or for your age group give you a reality check more broadly, but it could also give you a better sense of how fast you can finish, and help you plan fueling and even crowd support accordingly, Mura says.With that in mind, here’s average marathon finish time data, broken out by age group and gender, according to a few different sources. Plus, keep reading for Mura’s tips on how to set your time goal for the marathon—and to get faster, if you’re vying for a future PR.The Average Marathon Finish TimeAccording to Running USA’s Industry Insights report from 2023: Male: 4:17:00 Female: 4:43:00The Average Marathon Finish Time, Broken Down by Age Group from Running USAMale age division: 18–24: 3:5925–34: 4:1235–44: 4:1145–54: 4:1755–64: 4:3665–74: 5:1275+: 6:11Female age division: 18–24: 4:2125–34: 4:3735–44: 4:4245–54: 4:5055–64: 5:0965–74: 5:4075+: 6:51Consider this data from Coros users, who have logged roughly a marathon distance over the past year:20–29: 3:47:1030–39: 3:51:4040–49: 4:02:2950–59: 4:17:3560–69: 4:39:4070+: 5:42:08Strava provided the average finish times pooled across nine marathons from March 2025 through May 2026:Boomer: 4:40:12Gen X: 4:18:00Millennial: 4:08:24Gen Z: 4:13:48The Average Marathon Finish Time for Each World Marathon MajorAccording to the Abbott World Marathon Majors, the average finish time for a Six-Star finisher is 4:03:34.Here are some other stats to consider from the Majors:Average time for Six-Star finishers broken down by race:Berlin Marathon: 4:00:22 Boston Marathon: 4:03:44 Chicago Marathon: 3:59:26 London Marathon: 4:05:23 New York City Marathon: 4:04:47 Tokyo Marathon: 4:08:28Average time for Seven-Star finishers at the Sydney Marathon: 4:20:48Average time for Eight-Star finishers at the Cape Town Marathon: 4:22:59Garmin provided the following data from its annual marathons: Durham Marathon 2026Average time overall: 4:17:3518 and Under: 2:58:3719–24: 2:31:0825–29: 2:31:5230–39: 2:43:2440–49: 3:01:0050–59: 3:12:2160–69: 3:39:3970+: 4:48:24Tucson Marathon 2025Average time overall: 4:31:2518 and Under: 4:16:2319–24: 2:28:4125–29: 2:54:5330–39: 2:38:0840–49: 2:46:4250–59: 3:07:1760–69: 3:33:0070+: 4:30:15The Fastest Marathon TimesSabastian Sawe ran the 2025 London Marathon in a world-record time of 1:59:30, averaging about a 4:33.5 pace.Ruth Chepngetich ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon in a world record of 2:09:56, averaging about a 4:57.4 pace. (Chepngetich is currently serving a three-year ban after testing positive for banned substances, but her record still stands.)As for American records, Conner Mantz holds the men’s with a time of 2:04:43 from the 2025 Chicago Marathon. And Emily Sisson holds the U.S. record for women with a finish time of 2:18:29 from the 2022 Chicago Marathon.The Fastest Marathon Finish Time, Broken Down by Age Group from StravaBoomer: 2:27:00Gen X: 2:01:12Millennial: 2:03:36Gen Z: 2:04:48How to Set Your Time Goal for the MarathonAll of this said, these are simply averages and it’s important to factor in your own abilities when figuring out your marathon goal time. Mura suggests taking a recent half marathon time (ideally a race from the past six months or so), doubling it, and adding about 15 minutes.If you don’t have a recent half marathon time, Mura typically has beginner runners decide their time goal later on in training, maybe two months out from race day. And he usually gives a range, so they can adjust for the course and start out conservatively.This allows new marathoners to have a better sense of average paces in key workouts, like marathon pace during the long run. “The goal here is not to force the body to match an ambitious pace, but rather to find the fastest pace the runner can sustain aerobically, fuel appropriately, and still manage for the full marathon,” Mura explains.For example, someone might clock a 10:45 to 11:15 pace for long runs, and can hold a 10:10 to 10:20 during a marathon pace long run. With that info, Mura would set their finish time goal to 4:31 to 4:46.“What I really look at is throughout the training, can the runner hold that goal pace they want for a long run,” Mura says.For all runners, Mura typically recommends having three different time goals for the marathon. “There’s always an ABC goal,” he says. A is ambitious, B is realistic, and C is a solid effort but something happened outside of your control (e.g., subpar weather).Once you have your time goal(s) in mind, it’s important to be adaptable.With marathon pace long runs, Mura will look to see if the runner was able to hit that pace and still feel like they could control their breathing and get their fuel and hydration down. If not, it might be worth reconsidering the goal. (There are also workouts coaches recommend to help you gauge your current abilities as your race gets closer.)One other thing to keep in mind when setting goals: “I think we’re just very set on round numbers and breaking four, breaking five, breaking three, whatever the breaking is,” Mura says. “We shy away from 4:01:52, which is a really good marathon time, especially if your time before that was 4:03.”MORE TIPS ON SETTING MARATHON PACEHow to Get Faster in the MarathonNow, if you want to get faster, Mura says you may want to start by looking at your overall volume and adding to it, if possible. “When people are looking to really shave off time, it’s usually a mileage thing,” he says. “You see a big difference in someone who is doing a consistent 30 miles a week versus a consistent 60 miles a week,” even if most of those miles are easy.That tracks with findings from the Apple Heart and Movement Study: The top 10 percent (participants with the fastest finishing times) ran roughly 16 miles more per week than the middle 10 percent leading up to marathon day.Similarly, a study published in the journal Sports Medicine in 2024, involving more than 119,000 runners, found the average weekly volume of all runners was 28 miles per week, while the fastest marathoners clocked 62-plus miles per week.The next level, Mura says, is adding speed, which could be adding just one additional speed-related session in your week (if you’re already doing one, that means bumping it up to two!). One note of caution: Stick to either adding mileage or speed, Mura says. “We always say never add two stimulators at one time,” he says.The other factor, he says, is patience. “A lot of people think that PRs happen kind of quickly, but it really takes several months to build up the mileage,” he says. That means that rather than a 16-week marathon build, you may need 20 or more weeks to build up your base mileage so you’re able to hit volume and speed goals.GET YOUR TRAINING PLAN HERE