Pace Lab

World-record pace across every event — from the 100 m to the marathon. See how speed falls as the distance grows.

EventWorld recordPace /kmSetStandingSpeed
100 m9.581:36 /km200917 yr
37.6 km/h
200 m19.191:36 /km200917 yr
37.5 km/h
400 m43.031:48 /km201610 yr
33.5 km/h
800 m1:40.912:06 /km201214 yr
28.5 km/h
1500 m3:26.002:17 /km199828 yr
26.2 km/h
5000 m12:35.362:31 /km20206 yr
23.8 km/h
10,000 m26:11.002:37 /km20206 yr
22.9 km/h
Half Marathon57:202:43 /km20260 yr
22.1 km/h
Marathon1:59:302:50 /km20260 yr
21.2 km/h

Pace and speed are derived from each event's current world record. A sprint is far faster per kilometre than a marathon — the bars make the drop-off easy to see.

Speed decay vs the 100 m

Each event's world-record speed as a percentage of the 100 m. The gap between the sexes is widest in the sprints and narrows over distance — so women's curve falls away more gently toward the marathon.