This half marathon pace chart covers every finish time from 1:10 to 3:30 in five-minute steps. Find your goal in the first column and read across for the pace per mile and per kilometer, then the even-pace clock time at 5K, 10K, 15K and 10 miles.
The half marathon is 21.0975 kilometers, about 13.1 miles, exactly half a marathon. So every row is also a marathon pace: a 1:45:00 half is the same pace as a 3:30:00 marathon, which makes the chart useful for checking marathon goal pace in a tune-up race.
Small changes in pace matter over 13.1 miles. Breaking two hours needs 9:09 per mile or faster; a 1:55:00 finish needs about 8:46 per mile. Those 23 seconds a mile add up to five minutes at the finish.
Use the 5K and 10K splits to check your start, when it is easy to run too fast on fresh legs and race-day nerves. The 10-mile split is the late-race check: if you are still on your row there, you have about 5K left to hold on or speed up.
For a goal between rows, use the half marathon pace calculator, which gives the exact pace and a split for every mile or kilometer. All times assume an even pace; treat each split as a checkpoint to stay close to rather than a number to hit to the second, and check it against the course markers rather than a GPS watch, which usually reads a little long over a race.