Endurometry
A cutoff is a clock the race named in its manual — often gun time, sometimes chip, plus named km gates that can be tighter than a straight line. This site does not load Boston or Berlin. Default: 42.195 km, 6:00:00, 6:30/km, 60 s delay → finish 4:35:16, buffer +85 min (tip 84.7), slowest even pace 8:32/km with zero delay.
Last updated October 5, 2026
Signing up for a six-hour marathon is not the same as being allowed to pass 30 km at 5:00. The cutoff calculator answers one arithmetic question: if you hold an even pace from the start mat, plus the seconds to reach that mat, do you still finish inside the finish limit you typed? It does not copy any organiser’s gate table. Whether 6:30/km is a realistic marathon from a recent 10K is a different model: the race time predictor.
Gun clock, chip clock, delay box
Gun time starts when the starter fires. Chip time starts when you cross the mat. This page always adds the delay box to your column. Chip-time cutoffs: set delay to 0. Gun-time cutoffs: enter expected gun-to-mat seconds (wave starts of several minutes are common). The race manual names the clock; the calculator cannot guess. Methodology: cutoffs.
Same numbers as the default form
Marathon 42.195 km, cutoff 6:00:00 (21,600 s), planned 6:30/km (390 s/km), delay 60 s. Moving time 390 × 42.195 = 16,456 s. Estimated finish 60 + 16,456 → 4:35:16. Buffer 5,084 s → row +85 min, tip 84.7 min (whole-minute row, one-decimal tip). Slowest even pace with zero delay = 21,600 ÷ 42.195 = 8:32/km. With 60 s of gun delay you must be a little faster than that sweep pace: (21,600 − 60) ÷ 42.195 ≈ 8:30/km.
| Sketch mark | Your even + delay | Linear cutoff (not a gate) |
|---|---|---|
| 10.5 km (25%) | 1:09:34 | 1:30:00 |
| 21.1 km (50%) | 2:18:08 | 3:00:00 |
| 31.6 km (75%) | 3:26:42 | 4:30:00 |
| 42.2 km (100%) | 4:35:16 | 6:00:00 |
Distances in the table show one decimal, so 42.195 appears as 42.2. A race that closes 30 km at 5:00:00 will not match the 4:30:00 sketch. Use the manual; this table is a straight line from 0 to the finish limit.
On track is not past every gate
Green “On track” means even 6:30 plus one minute of corral still fits a six-hour finish. Walking, toilets, a late wave and a positive split can eat +85 min. Intermediate gates are often stricter and at named kilometres. Missing a real gate usually means leaving the course. Print even splits on a pace band so you are comparing markers with a plan, not a GPS average. Night-before: race-day checklist.
What the page will not do
No Boston, Berlin or Tokyo gate list. No hills, weather or aid queues. Walking marathons are allowed (paces down to 30:00/km); walking-race gates still are not in the table. Cutoff must sit between 20 min and 16 h. Goal fitness: estimate marathon finish time.
Related Tools
Race Cutoff Time Calculator
Compare a planned even pace plus start-line delay with the course time limit, and see a linear checkpoint sketch — not the official race table.
Race Time Predictor
Predict your finish time at any distance using the Riegel power law and the Daniels–Gilbert VO2max model.
Printable Pace Wristband
Generate a single-column pace wristband sized to your wrist — no cutting, just wrap it once. Pick even / negative / positive split and 1/2/5/10 km (or mi) intervals, then print at 100%.
Related guides
Race Day Checklist
A timeline for race morning plus the short kit list that actually earns its place on the start line: bib, pace band, gels, anti-chafe and socks.
Estimate a marathon finish time
A practical workflow: scale a recent 10K or half with Daniels, add time if you have not trained the distance, then turn the finish into even-split pace.
How the numbers are calculated
Frequently Asked Questions
Gun or chip?
Gun from the starter; chip from the mat. Always add delay to your projections. Chip cutoffs: delay 0. Gun cutoffs: corral seconds. The manual names the clock.
Are the four rows official checkpoints?
No. They are 25 / 50 / 75 / 100% of distance and of the finish cutoff. Named km gates replace this sketch.
Why is min pace 8:32 when I have 60 s delay?
Sweep is cutoff ÷ distance with zero delay. Gun time still counts those 60 s, so you need ~8:30/km even to consume the whole limit.
Why +85 min and 84.7 min?
The buffer row rounds to a whole minute; the tip keeps one decimal. Same 5,084 s.
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