Marathon goal times.
The whole ladder — 40 goals, from 6:18 per mile to 13:44 per mile — each one opening into full splits, readiness checks, and training paces. Free, no signup.
Pick a marathon goal and the internet hands you a pace chart. This page hands you the whole ladder: 40 goals from sub-2:45 (6:18 per mile) to sub-6:00 (13:44 per mile), each opening into a full page of splits, readiness checks, and the training paces its fitness prescribes. Every number is computed from the Daniels–Gilbert formulas — the same engine the Why Not app runs after every workout — so the chart, the calculators, and the coaching can never disagree with each other.
Choosing the right rung is mostly a matter of resisting the wrong one. A marathon goal is an output, not an input: it should be derived from a race you have actually run, not from a number that would sound good said out loud. Run a recent 5K, 10K or half through the VDOT calculator, find the marathon time your current fitness already predicts, and pick the rung one honest step beyond it — the step a training block can close, not the one that needs a fantasy season. The ladder below has 40 rungs precisely so the honest one exists; there is no prestige tax on choosing it.
The VDOT column is the spine of the table. It is the single fitness score behind every pace on this site, and the ladder spans VDOT 22.7 to 59.3 — a scale on which a good training block typically moves a runner a point or two, which is a useful ruler for how many rungs one season can honestly climb.
One caveat travels with every row, and it is Daniels' own: an equivalent time assumes you train for the distance specifically. The ladder tells you what your fitness is worth at the marathon, from sub-2:45 to sub-6:00 — it does not hand you the long-run history. The goal pages are where that gap gets closed.
The ladder
| Goal | Pace /mi | Pace /km | VDOT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breaking 3:00 | |||
| Sub-2:45 | 6:18 | 3:55 | 59.3 |
| Sub-2:50 | 6:29 | 4:02 | 57.3 |
| Sub-2:55 | 6:40 | 4:09 | 55.3 |
| Sub-3:00 | 6:52 | 4:16 | 53.5 |
| Breaking 3:30 | |||
| Sub-3:05 | 7:03 | 4:23 | 51.8 |
| Sub-3:10 | 7:15 | 4:30 | 50.2 |
| Sub-3:15 | 7:26 | 4:37 | 48.7 |
| Sub-3:20 | 7:38 | 4:44 | 47.2 |
| Sub-3:25 | 7:49 | 4:52 | 45.9 |
| Sub-3:30 | 8:01 | 4:59 | 44.6 |
| Breaking 4:00 | |||
| Sub-3:35 | 8:12 | 5:06 | 43.3 |
| Sub-3:40 | 8:23 | 5:13 | 42.1 |
| Sub-3:45 | 8:35 | 5:20 | 41 |
| Sub-3:50 | 8:46 | 5:27 | 39.9 |
| Sub-3:55 | 8:58 | 5:34 | 38.9 |
| Sub-4:00 | 9:09 | 5:41 | 37.9 |
| Breaking 4:30 | |||
| Sub-4:05 | 9:21 | 5:48 | 37 |
| Sub-4:10 | 9:32 | 5:55 | 36.1 |
| Sub-4:15 | 9:44 | 6:03 | 35.2 |
| Sub-4:20 | 9:55 | 6:10 | 34.4 |
| Sub-4:25 | 10:06 | 6:17 | 33.6 |
| Sub-4:30 | 10:18 | 6:24 | 32.8 |
| Breaking 5:00 | |||
| Sub-4:35 | 10:29 | 6:31 | 32 |
| Sub-4:40 | 10:41 | 6:38 | 31.3 |
| Sub-4:45 | 10:52 | 6:45 | 30.6 |
| Sub-4:50 | 11:04 | 6:52 | 30 |
| Sub-4:55 | 11:15 | 6:59 | 29.3 |
| Sub-5:00 | 11:27 | 7:07 | 28.7 |
| Breaking 5:30 | |||
| Sub-5:05 | 11:38 | 7:14 | 28.1 |
| Sub-5:10 | 11:49 | 7:21 | 27.5 |
| Sub-5:15 | 12:01 | 7:28 | 27 |
| Sub-5:20 | 12:12 | 7:35 | 26.4 |
| Sub-5:25 | 12:24 | 7:42 | 25.9 |
| Sub-5:30 | 12:35 | 7:49 | 25.4 |
| Breaking 6:00 | |||
| Sub-5:35 | 12:47 | 7:56 | 24.9 |
| Sub-5:40 | 12:58 | 8:03 | 24.5 |
| Sub-5:45 | 13:10 | 8:11 | 24 |
| Sub-5:50 | 13:21 | 8:18 | 23.5 |
| Sub-5:55 | 13:32 | 8:25 | 23.1 |
| Sub-6:00 | 13:44 | 8:32 | 22.7 |
Every number on this page is computed from our own implementation of the Daniels–Gilbert formulas published in Daniels' Running Formula (Jack Daniels & Jimmy Gilbert) — the same library the Why Not app runs. Nothing is transcribed from the book's tables, and this site is not affiliated with or endorsed by the authors. Equivalent times assume you train appropriately for the target distance; that caveat is Daniels' own.
One engine under all 40 goals.
Pick any rung on this ladder and the app builds the plan that climbs to it — recalculating your paces after every run, holding you back when you are cooked, rebuilding the weeks that life breaks. A full year costs less than the cheapest month of human coaching.
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