Is a 5:15 Marathon Good?
A 5:15 marathon is slower than the median finisher — and still ahead of everyone who never started, at 12:00 per mile.
5:15 finish ≈ top 79% of recreational marathoners (median 4:26:33).
- Finish time5:15
- Approx. percentiletop 79%
- Pace required12:00/mi
- Median (all finishers)4:26:33
Source: RunRepeat percentile dataset (35M results); recreational fields, elites excluded.
The 5:15 in context
Against 35 million recorded results, 5:15 lands near the top 79% of finishers — requiring 12:00/mile the whole way. Benchmarks around you: sub-3:00 is ~top 1–2%, sub-3:30 ~top 10%, sub-4:00 ~top 30%, and the median is 4:26:33. Course, weather and age-grading move any single result by minutes — percentile bands, not seconds, are the honest comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 5:15 marathon good?
A 5:15 finish is around the top 79% of recreational finishers (median: 4:26:33). Slower than the median finisher — and still ahead of everyone who never started.
What pace is a 5:15 marathon?
12:00 per mile (7:27/km) held for 26.2 miles.
How does it compare by sex?
Median finishes run 4:14:29 for men and 4:42:09 for women, so the same clock time sits at different within-sex percentiles.
Sources & methodology
Sources: RunRepeat percentile dataset.