Running pace calculator

How to calculate running pace

Running pace is the time it takes to cover one unit of distance, usually a kilometre or a mile:

Pace = time ÷ distance

A 10K in 50 minutes is 50 ÷ 10 = 5:00 per kilometre. The same run is 8:03 per mile, 12.0 km/h or 7.5 mph. The calculator works in all three directions:

• Find pace from a distance and a time
• Find time from a distance and a pace, for example a goal race time
• Find distance from a time and a pace, for example how far you will get in a 45-minute run

Every result is converted to min/km, min/mile, km/h and mph, with split times at the standard checkpoints. It is part of the free LeCoach running calculators.

Pace conversions

To convert between units:

• min/km to min/mile: multiply by 1.609. 5:00/km × 1.609 = 8:03/mile.
• min/mile to min/km: divide by 1.609. 8:00/mile ÷ 1.609 = 4:58/km.
• Pace to speed: 60 ÷ pace in minutes. 5:00/km = 60 ÷ 5 = 12 km/h.
• km/h to mph: divide by 1.609.

Common race paces

Read each row as goal times for the four distances: for example sub 20 minutes for 5K, sub 40 for 10K, sub 1:30 for the half and sub 3:00 for the marathon. Notice that a sub-3 marathon and a sub-1:30 half need the same pace, but the marathon asks you to hold it twice as long. Our race time predictor shows what is realistic over a longer distance from a race you have already run.

Using pace in training

Pace tells you how fast you went. It does not tell you how hard it was. The same 5:00/km can be easy on a cool, flat day and hard on a hot, hilly one. That is why good training uses pace together with effort or heart rate:

• Easy runs should feel conversational. If you are running your easy runs at close to race pace, slow down; most of your running should be easy.
• Threshold runs are "comfortably hard", a pace you could hold for about an hour in a race.
• Intervals run at around 5K pace or faster, with recovery between repeats.

The VDOT calculator gives you all five training paces from a recent race result.

Common mistakes

• Planning splits by average pace on a hilly course. Expect to run slower uphill and faster downhill. Pace by effort on hills and let the average take care of itself.
• Starting too fast. The most common way to miss a goal time. A start 5 to 10 seconds per kilometre slower than goal pace costs very little and protects the second half.
• Trusting GPS pace in cities and forests. GPS drifts near tall buildings and under trees. Use the lap splits at known distance markers in races.
• Forgetting the real race distance. Courses measured on the racing line are often 100 to 300 m longer on your watch. Aim a few seconds per kilometre faster than the exact goal pace.

When pace changes

• Heat: marathon times slow steadily once it gets warmer than about 10 to 15 °C, and faster when it is humid. Adjust goal pace on hot days instead of fighting it.
• Hills: a common rule of thumb is that each 1 % of uphill gradient costs about 8 to 10 seconds per kilometre (12 to 15 seconds per mile).
• Altitude: above 1,500 m, aerobic pace slows noticeably.
• Wind: a headwind costs more than a tailwind gives back.
• Trails: pace is not comparable with road at all. Use time and effort.

LeCoach builds running plans with paces from your own threshold pace in Intervals.icu, and suggests changes when your recovery data says a hard session should wait.