Marathon Summary
Here are the highlights of the statistics compiled by meteor.run for marathon distance events:
- The time required, on average, for a woman to win a marathon is 02:50:05.
- The time required, on average, for a man to win a marathon is 02:26:00.
- The average woman completes a marathon in a time of 04:33:49.
- The average man completes a marathon in a time of 04:08:16.
- The top performing age groups in the marathon are female 30-39 and male 20-29.
- On average 39.2% of marathon participants are women.
- The most popular age groups in the marathon are female 30-39 and male 40-49.
- 15.7% of runners that complete a marathon will return to run that same event the following year.
Statistics and Charts
Below are the statistics calculated for the aggregate of all marathon in the Meteor.run system. The figures are based on results from the past three editions of these events. Each card below includes an interactive chart, a brief summary explaining the statistic and a table showing the data. Thus providing a more detailed look into a specific aspect of marathon.
Top Times per Age Group
This graph shows the time needed to place at the top of each age-group.
Women in the age group 30-39 typically post the fastest times and women in the age group 1-14 post the slowest times. The fastest male age group is 20-29 and the slowest is 1-14.
Top Times by Age Group - Female
| Female Age-Group |
Time in hh:mm:ss |
|---|---|
| 1-14 | 09:58:58 |
| 15-19 | 04:09:32 |
| 20-29 | 02:57:17 |
| 30-39 | 02:55:18 |
| 40-49 | 03:06:56 |
| 50-59 | 03:28:42 |
| 60-69 | 03:58:15 |
| 70-100 | 05:49:43 |
Top Times by Age Group - Male
| Male Age-Group |
Time in hh:mm:ss |
|---|---|
| 1-14 | 11:01:30 |
| 15-19 | 03:26:08 |
| 20-29 | 02:29:54 |
| 30-39 | 02:30:11 |
| 40-49 | 02:42:01 |
| 50-59 | 02:56:09 |
| 60-69 | 03:22:40 |
| 70-100 | 04:06:43 |
Values are based on the average over the past three editions of this event. The average value is the aggregate of the values of all events in this distance. The values and averages are subject to change as the latest editions and new events are added to the database.
Participants by Age Group
This pie-chart shows the percentage of particpants by age group.
There are two charts, one for women and one for men. Hover or tap on the age group buttons displayed below the pie-chart to see the percentage of participant for that age-group. For women, the age group with the most participants in the marathon is 30-39. 31.5% of all female particpants are in this age group. For men it is 40-49. This accounts for 29.1% of all male particpants.
Percent of Female Participants by Age-Group
| Age-Group | % Female |
|---|---|
| 1-14 | 0.0% |
| 15-19 | 0.7% |
| 20-29 | 23.9% |
| 30-39 | 31.5% |
| 40-49 | 28.0% |
| 50-59 | 12.9% |
| 60-69 | 2.8% |
| 70-100 | 0.2% |
Percent of Male Participants by Age-Group
| Age-Group | % Male |
|---|---|
| 1-14 | 0.0% |
| 15-19 | 0.7% |
| 20-29 | 16.3% |
| 30-39 | 28.2% |
| 40-49 | 29.1% |
| 50-59 | 18.5% |
| 60-69 | 6.3% |
| 70-100 | 0.8% |
Values are based on the average over the past three editions of this event. The average value is the aggregate of the values of all events in this distance. The values and averages are subject to change as the latest editions and new events are added to the database.
Time Needed To Reach the Podium
The winning time for an average marathon is 02:26:00 for men and 02:50:05 for women.
Average in this case means that the times listed above will get you to the podium in 50% of all the marathons. Faster times would be needed to win the other 50% of the races.
Time Needed To Reach the Podium - Female
| Female Rank |
Time in hh:mm:ss |
|---|---|
| 1st | 02:50:05 |
| 2nd | 02:55:24 |
| 3rd | 02:59:22 |
Time Needed To Reach the Podium - Male
| Male Rank |
Time in hh:mm:ss |
|---|---|
| 1st | 02:26:00 |
| 2nd | 02:29:13 |
| 3rd | 02:32:47 |
Values are based on the average over the past three editions of this event. The average value is the aggregate of the values of all events in this distance. The values and averages are subject to change as the latest editions and new events are added to the database.
Top Time Per Decile
This chart shows which position one could expect to finish given ones ability.
Women that can complete a marathon in a time of 04:33:49 can expect to finish in the middle of the pack, that is in the 50th percentile. Whereas, if one could run the distance in 03:43:13, then one would expect to complete the event in the 10th percentile or 100th place out of 1000 runners.
Top Times per Decile - Female
| Female Decile |
Time in hh:mm:ss |
|---|---|
| 10% | 03:43:13 |
| 20% | 03:58:15 |
| 30% | 04:10:20 |
| 40% | 04:21:59 |
| 50% | 04:33:49 |
| 60% | 04:45:28 |
| 70% | 04:58:37 |
| 80% | 05:15:12 |
Top Times per Decile - Male
| Male Decile |
Time in hh:mm:ss |
|---|---|
| 10% | 03:17:04 |
| 20% | 03:33:06 |
| 30% | 03:45:27 |
| 40% | 03:56:34 |
| 50% | 04:08:16 |
| 60% | 04:20:57 |
| 70% | 04:35:21 |
| 80% | 04:52:40 |
Values are based on the average over the past three editions of this event. The average value is the aggregate of the values of all events in this distance. The values and averages are subject to change as the latest editions and new events are added to the database.
Ratio of Female to Male Participants
39.2% of all marathon participants are women.
Hover over or tap the female and male buttons below the pie-chart to see the figures.
Percent of Female Participants by Age-Group
| Gender | % of Participants |
|---|---|
| Female | 39.2% |
| Male | 60.8% |
Values are based on the average over the past three editions of this event. The average value is the aggregate of the values of all events in this distance. The values and averages are subject to change as the latest editions and new events are added to the database.
Ratio of Returning to New Participants
15.7% of all marathon participants will return to that same event the following year.
Hover over or tap the "New" and "Returning" buttons below the pie-chart to see the figures.
Returning to New Participants
| % of Participants |
|
|---|---|
| Returning | 15.7% |
| New | 84.3% |
Values are based on the average over the past three editions of this event. The average value is the aggregate of the values of all events in this distance. The values and averages are subject to change as the latest editions and new events are added to the database.
See the Stats in Action
Click on an event below to see how it compares to the average shown on this page.
The statistics shown here describe the "average" marathon. The distance of a marathon is 26 miles 385 yards or 42.195 kilometres. This event is the holly grail of distance running. The marathon was one of the original and most iconic events of the modern Olympics. The medal ceremony for the event is generally included as part of the Olympic's closing ceremony. A runner's worth is often measured in the number of marathon completed.
Women runners out number men in all the distances except for the marathon. On average men account for about two thirds of marathon participants. There are also fewer young runners and fewer older runners that take on this distance.
The information shown is compiled on an ongoing basis from all the races of a specific distance that are followed by meteor.run. These statistics are constantly evolving as new races are added to the website and as the new editions of the events are updated.