Sub 1:45 half marathon pace: 4:59 per kilometre

• 1:45:00 4:59 /km
•   8:01 /mi

Splits

Splits assume an even pace — they show what an even race looks like, not a pacing strategy. Going out faster or slower than these numbers is a choice, and one that costs more than it usually gains.

Training paces

Training paces are derived from Daniels' Running Formula (4th edition (2021)) with the Daniels–Gilbert oxygen-cost equations. VDOT is back-calculated from a race result, not measured.

Equivalent VDOT: 42.6

One hour forty-five for a half marathon is 4:59 per kilometre, or 8:01 per mile. It is the target that sits right on the five-minute-per-kilometre line — a pace that feels sustainable for an hour and then stops feeling sustainable, which is why the last quarter of this race is where it is won or lost.

Where this target sits

Five minutes per kilometre for twenty-one kilometres is a genuinely aerobic effort: no sprinting, no heroics, just a pace that has to survive the distance. Most runners arrive at 1:45 either from a 5K around 21–22 minutes or from a marathon around 3:30, and the training that gets them the last two minutes is usually volume rather than speed.

The two derived numbers on this page say that in different ways. The equivalent VDOT is back-calculated from 1:45:00, and the training paces above are what to run day to day. At this band, the threshold pace is only a few seconds per kilometre faster than goal pace — so a runner who does all their training at goal pace is, without noticing, doing threshold work every session.

How the race should look

The splits table above gives the even-pace reference at every 5 km. A well-run 1:45 has a first half within about a minute of the second, and the 15–20 km section is where it should still feel controlled.

The three failure patterns at this target, in order:

• Banking time early. Running the first 5 km at 4:45/km feels comfortable and costs far more than it gains — the equivalent pace later is well over 5:10/km, and that is a different race.
• Starting too slowly and panicking at 10 km. A 4:59 pace that becomes 4:40 in the middle third usually ends in a very slow final 3 km. Even splits are not a style preference at this distance; they are the cheapest way to the time.
• Ignoring the last 5 km in training. A 1:45 half needs long runs of at least 90 minutes, and runners who only race 10Ks find the final 5 km of the half marathon surprisingly expensive.

Training for it

The intensities are in the table above; at 1:45 the emphasis is:

• Easy volume. The single largest lever. Most of the week should be slower than 5:30/km, and the weekly total matters more than any one session.
• Threshold work at around the pace you could hold for an hour — one or two sessions a week of 10–20 minutes at a time.
• Long runs of 90–120 minutes, which is what turns 10K fitness into half marathon fitness.
• Goal-pace sections inside a long run: for example 2 × 5 km at 4:59/km. This teaches the pace without making the long run a race.

Common questions

Target times and the pace they need

Next

• All target times for this distance
• Pace calculator
• VDOT calculator and training paces