If you judge a marathon by age grading, it counts as good from 60%, the level standard guidelines call local class. On the 2025 road tables, 60% is 3:36:55 for a 30-year-old woman and 3:20:58 for a 30-year-old man. It is 3:43:43 and 3:25:26 at age 40, 4:00:40 and 3:44:13 at 50, and 4:31:53 and 4:06:48 at 60. About 70% makes you a regional-class masters marathoner, and 80% is national class.
The average finisher runs much slower than those times. US marathon finishers in 2024 averaged 4:24 for men and 4:51 for women. The two numbers answer different questions, and this article covers both.
How a marathon age grade is calculated
The road age-grading tables give each event and sex category an open standard: 2:00:35 for men and 2:09:56 for women in the marathon. They also give an age factor for every year of age. The age grader works out:
age grade % = open standard ÷ (finish time × age factor) × 100
The site uses the CC0 road tables by Alan Jones, with single-age bests compiled by Tom Bernhard. They were approved on 10 January 2025 by the USATF Masters Long Distance Running Council (Age-Grade-Tables repository). They are USATF masters tables and are not labelled as a WMA 2025 edition.
The class labels come from the guidelines published with the WMA 2010 road standards (WMA 2010 explanatory note). Above 60% is local class, above 70% regional, above 80% national, above 90% world class, and 100% is roughly world-record level for that age.
Marathon time by age and gender chart: women
Computed with the Endurance Toolbox age grader using the 2025 USATF MLDR road age-grading tables. Each cell is the finish time that produces that age grade, rounded to the nearest second.
| Age | 50% | 60% (local) | 70% (regional) | 80% (national) | 90% (world) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 4:20:19 | 3:36:55 | 3:05:56 | 2:42:42 | 2:24:37 |
| 35 | 4:23:03 | 3:39:12 | 3:07:54 | 2:44:24 | 2:26:08 |
| 40 | 4:28:27 | 3:43:43 | 3:11:45 | 2:47:47 | 2:29:09 |
| 45 | 4:36:52 | 3:50:43 | 3:17:46 | 2:53:02 | 2:33:49 |
| 50 | 4:48:48 | 4:00:40 | 3:26:17 | 3:00:30 | 2:40:27 |
| 55 | 5:05:11 | 4:14:19 | 3:37:59 | 3:10:45 | 2:49:33 |
| 60 | 5:26:16 | 4:31:53 | 3:53:03 | 3:23:55 | 3:01:15 |
| 65 | 5:50:36 | 4:52:10 | 4:10:26 | 3:39:08 | 3:14:47 |
| 70 | 6:18:52 | 5:15:43 | 4:30:37 | 3:56:48 | 3:30:29 |
| 75 | 6:53:09 | 5:44:17 | 4:55:06 | 4:18:13 | 3:49:31 |
| 80 | 7:47:38 | 6:29:42 | 5:34:02 | 4:52:16 | 4:19:48 |
Marathon time by age and gender chart: men
| Age | 50% | 60% (local) | 70% (regional) | 80% (national) | 90% (world) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 4:01:10 | 3:20:58 | 2:52:16 | 2:30:44 | 2:13:59 |
| 35 | 4:01:10 | 3:20:58 | 2:52:16 | 2:30:44 | 2:13:59 |
| 40 | 4:06:31 | 3:25:26 | 2:56:05 | 2:34:04 | 2:16:57 |
| 45 | 4:17:18 | 3:34:25 | 3:03:47 | 2:40:49 | 2:22:57 |
| 50 | 4:29:04 | 3:44:13 | 3:12:12 | 2:48:10 | 2:29:29 |
| 55 | 4:41:58 | 3:54:58 | 3:21:24 | 2:56:14 | 2:36:39 |
| 60 | 4:56:10 | 4:06:48 | 3:31:33 | 3:05:06 | 2:44:32 |
| 65 | 5:11:52 | 4:19:53 | 3:42:46 | 3:14:55 | 2:53:16 |
| 70 | 5:29:20 | 4:34:26 | 3:55:14 | 3:25:50 | 3:02:58 |
| 75 | 5:51:43 | 4:53:05 | 4:11:13 | 3:39:49 | 3:15:24 |
| 80 | 6:27:47 | 5:23:10 | 4:37:00 | 4:02:22 | 3:35:26 |
The site’s grader covers ages 30 to 99, so there are no rows for runners in their 20s. The men’s rows for 30 and 35 are identical because the men’s marathon factor stays at exactly 1.0000 through age 35.
Does age slow the marathon more than the 5K?
Many runners assume the marathon punishes age harder. Through midlife, the 2025 tables say the opposite. The table below shows how much slower each age’s standard is than the open standard (1 ÷ age factor − 1). The 5K columns use the same factors as the 5K age-grade chart.
| Age | Women 5K | Women marathon | Men 5K | Men marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | 5.3% | 3.3% | 5.5% | 2.2% |
| 50 | 16.4% | 11.1% | 14.0% | 11.6% |
| 60 | 31.2% | 25.5% | 23.8% | 22.8% |
| 70 | 50.4% | 45.8% | 36.0% | 36.6% |
| 80 | 77.3% | 80.0% | 61.5% | 60.8% |
Three things stand out:
- The marathon standard peaks later. The men’s marathon factor holds at 1.0 until 36. The men’s 5K factor starts falling from 30 (0.9999) and is 0.9824 by 35.
- Through the 40s and 50s, the marathon standard slows less. This gap is widest for women: at 50, the women’s marathon standard is 11% off the open time, against 16% for the 5K.
- The gap closes late. For men, the two distances run within about a point of each other from 60 to 80. For women, the marathon standard falls behind the 5K standard from age 79.
So a 50-year-old whose 5K grades 70% has not reached their ceiling in the marathon. If their marathon grades lower, the cause is more likely marathon-specific (endurance, fuelling, pacing) than age itself. Keep in mind that the tables reflect the best runners at each age, not typical ones.
Worked example 1: a 58-year-old woman runs 4:12:00
- Age factor (female, 58, marathon): 0.8186
- Age-adjusted time: 4:12:00 × 0.8186 = 3:26:17
- Age grade: 2:09:56 ÷ 3:26:17 × 100 = 63.0%
That is solidly local class. Her local-class line at 58 is 4:24:33, and the regional line (70%) is 3:46:45. Her 4:12 works out to about 5:58/km (9:37/mile). The 4:15 marathon pace chart is the nearest split sheet. The 3:45 chart shows what the regional mark would take.
Worked example 2: a 4:00 at 66 beats a 3:30 at 38
| Runner | Finish | Age factor | Age-adjusted time | Age grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man, 66 | 4:00:00 | 0.7651 | 3:03:37 | 65.7% |
| Man, 38 | 3:29:50 | 0.9934 | 3:28:27 | 57.9% |
The 38-year-old finishes half an hour ahead but grades almost eight points lower. For him, local class (60%) starts at 3:22:18. For the 66-year-old, regional class (70%) is 3:45:09. The 4:00 and 3:30 pace charts show the splits for each runner’s actual result.
Why your marathon age grade often trails your 5K grade
The Riegel predictor projects race times with T₂ = T₁ × (D₂ ÷ D₁)^1.06. We fed it a 5K run at exactly 70% for each age, then graded the predicted marathon. The table was computed with the Endurance Toolbox Riegel and age-grade logic with the default exponent of 1.06:
| Runner | 70% 5K | Riegel marathon | Marathon age grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woman, 45 | 21:52 | 3:29:44 | 66.0% |
| Woman, 65 | 27:50 | 4:26:57 | 65.7% |
| Man, 45 | 20:04 | 3:12:28 | 66.8% |
| Man, 65 | 23:42 | 3:47:19 | 68.6% |
Even on paper, a Riegel-converted marathon grades about 1.4 to 4.3 points below the 5K that produced it. Real recreational runners tend to fall further behind. In a survey of 2,303 recreational runners, the Riegel formula was well calibrated up to the half marathon, but it “dramatically underestimated marathon time,” giving times at least 10 minutes too fast for half of runners (Vickers & Vertosick, 2016). The same caution applies to the marathon column of a VDOT chart.
In practice:
- Set a marathon goal from a recent half marathon, not a 5K.
- If your marathon grade is several points below your 5K grade, that is common and not a sign of age-related decline.
- If you want a goal grade, pick it from the chart above and check that your training supports it.
Average marathon time by age
For typical finishers, RunRepeat’s State of US Marathons 2025 is the most current large dataset. It covers about 97% of US marathon results, with elite runners excluded, and was produced with World Athletics (Andersen, 2025). Average finish times in 2024 were:
| Group | 2024 average |
|---|---|
| All finishers | 4:34 |
| Men | 4:24 |
| Women | 4:51 |
| Age 18–24 | 4:19 |
| Age 25–34 | 4:27 |
| Age 35–44 | 4:29 |
| Age 45–54 | 4:38 |
| Age 55–64 | 4:58 |
| 65+ | 5:35 |
The report’s age-group averages combine men and women, so this article does not split them by sex. Graded at age 40, the 4:24 male average is 46.7% and the 4:51 female average is 46.1%. Both sit just under the 50% column. That is much closer to the standard than the average 5K finisher gets, likely because marathon fields are more self-selected for training.
The averages also slow far more gently with age than the standards do. From 35–44 to 55–64 the average rises by only 29 minutes. Recreational fields are not a fixed group: who enters a marathon changes with age as well as how fast people run.
Limitations
- Course and weather are not adjusted. A net-downhill course, a hot day, or strong wind can move a marathon grade several points either way. Use certified road courses for comparisons.
- The tables are built from the best performers. Factors come from single-age best performances. They show how the fastest runners slow down, not how you will, especially if you started running in midlife.
- Coverage. The site grades ages 30–99, male and female categories, and road 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon. It does not interpolate trail or ultra events.
- The bands are guidelines. The 60/70/80/90% labels date from 2010 and are not qualifying standards. Boston and other qualifying times use their own rules.
- Not medical advice. Marathon training places heavy load on the body, especially after 60 or with a heart, joint, or metabolic condition. Get clearance from a qualified professional before building toward a target in the chart.
How to check your own marathon
In the age grader, enter:
- Age on race day (30–99)
- Gender: Male or Female
- Race distance: Marathon
- Finish time: your official chip time as hh:mm:ss
You get the age-grade percentage, the 2025 age factor, your age-adjusted equivalent time, and the open standard. To set a target, run a recent half-marathon result through the Riegel predictor, grade the projected time, and expect the real result to come in slower. Then build splits for your chosen target in the pace charts.