Read Cumulative Split Times
Tell elapsed time from segment time, locate halfway and finish, and check a subtraction example.
Start with the distance column
A cumulative split tells you the total elapsed time from the start to a named marker. A segment time tells you how long the portion since the previous marker takes. The distance labels matter because a table can include regular intervals, an extra halfway row and a shorter finishing segment.
| Marker | Elapsed since start | Distance since previous shown row |
|---|---|---|
| 2 km | 0:10:00 | 2 km |
| 5 km · Halfway | 0:25:00 | 3 km |
| 8 km | 0:40:00 | 3 km |
| 10 km · Finish | 0:50:00 | 2 km |
Read a segment by subtraction
Between the 2 km and 5 km rows in this example, 25:00 − 10:00 = 15:00. That time covers 3 km. It is not the time for one kilometre and it is not the total time from the start.
Find halfway by distance
Halfway means half of the full distance. For a marathon it is 21.0975 km. For a half marathon it is 10.54875 km. With an even pace, the halfway time is half of the target duration. With an explicitly chosen two-half allocation, it follows the first-half share instead.
Keep one exact finish
A full marathon table with 1 km intervals has rows through 42 km and then a finish at 42.195 km. A 5 km interval has a 40 km row and then the same exact finish. Adding halfway must not remove, duplicate or round down that terminal distance.
Check a table before using it
- Read the total distance, target and unit labels.
- Confirm whether a column is cumulative time or segment time.
- Check any inserted halfway row and its neighbouring distances.
- Verify that the final distance and time equal the selected plan.