Is a 2:39 marathon sub elite

It depends.

Are you in the binary category?

Female sub sub elite

Better than 99% of people who run marathons

Any performance that is not elite is subelite.

AKA hobby jogger

Grandmas marathon apparently thinks so since they filled their 200 ‘elite’ slots with times like this and now have are having to pass on 2:09 guys.

2:39 is sub elite if you're female.

You did not give an exact time so I will round.

2:39 or 159 minutes / 2:01 or 121 minutes = 1.314 or 31.4%

43 x 1.314 ~ 56.5 400m or 2:12.7 800m or 4:30.7 1500m

If I am forced to use round numbers (for men):

Sub-2:05 = Medal Contenders / Podiums at the Majors

Sub-2:10 = World Class

Sub-2:20 = National Class Runner (USA)

Sub-2:30 = Sub-Elite

Sub-2:40 = Very good amateur / Excellent Masters Runner

Sub-2:50 = Good amateur / Very good Masters Runner

Sub-3:00 = Solid runner but nothing to write home about

p.s. I can't run any of these times anymore, but I have had friends most of these categories and I think they would agree with my assessment.

I would bump sub-elite to sub-2:40 or sub-2:45, knowing that it's a big range & that 2:20s are different than low-2:40s. But once you get there, you're out of races to qualify for minus the Olympic Trials. A lot of sub-2:30 & sub-2:40 runners train the same. Seems like talent is a limiting factor when trying to make that jump.

Sub-2:10 = Medal Contenders

Sub-2:15 = World Class

Sub-2:30 = National Class

Sub-2:45 = Sub-Elite/Very Good amateur

Sub-3:00 to Sub-4:00 = Good Amateur/BQ athlete dependent on age

Would never say a sub-3 is nothing to write home about. It's a huge mark for a lot of people. You have to log some good miles to get there. The reality in the US is that sub-2:10 guys have a shot at a medal or good finish at a major. You can do it at Boston/NYC with those times. Sub-2:15 gets you invited. If you're running sub-2:30, you're winning your local marathon. Anyone under 2:45 is finishing in the top-10, maybe even top 3 or top 5, at their local marathon.

Okay it seems i am now confirmed as a sub elite marathon runner, there must be a lot of people who want to hear words of wisdom on how i did it. I will now take any questions from the letsrun community.

2:09 is sub-elite

2:15 is sub-elite

2:39 is sub-elite

Oprah's 4:xx is sub-elite

6:12 is sub-elite

You sound familiar. 🤔 Are you also a barefoot runner?

It's only subelite if you are a women.

If you're a man in your twenties it's a decent marathon time.

Almost a min per mile slower than the female world record is pretty far from elite. That said, I only have 1 friend that has run faster. It’s a really fast time for the general population, including local runners.

Yes that was me also. 😁

It has been a good couple of weeks, 10k and 42k PBs. I may retire 😌