The formula
Pace is the inverse of speed: not how many kilometres or miles per hour, but how many minutes it takes to cover one of them. Which gives:
pace = total time (in minutes) ÷ distance (in kilometres for min/km, in miles for min/mi)
Worked example
A half marathon is 21.0975 km, or 13.1 miles. Finish it in 1 hour 47 minutes — 107 minutes — and the maths is 107 ÷ 21.0975 = 5.072 min/km. Convert the decimal to seconds: 0.072 × 60 ≈ 4 seconds. Your pace was 5:04 min/km, which is 8:09 per mile.
Converting pace to speed
Speed in km/h is 60 divided by your pace in minutes per kilometre; speed in mph is 60 divided by your pace per mile. A 5:00 min/km pace is 60 ÷ 5 = 12 km/h, and an 8:00 min/mi pace is 60 ÷ 8 = 7.5 mph. The other way round: 12 km/h is 60 ÷ 12 = 5 minutes per kilometre. Treadmills are set in speed rather than pace, so you end up doing this conversion often.
Pace chart: finish times for common distances
Ready-made values across the range most runners train in. Each row shows your finish time if you hold that pace to the line.
| Pace · min/km | km/h | 5 km | 10 km | Half marathon | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:00 | 15.0 | 20:00 | 40:00 | 1:24:23 | 2:48:47 |
| 4:15 | 14.1 | 21:15 | 42:30 | 1:29:40 | 2:59:20 |
| 4:30 | 13.3 | 22:30 | 45:00 | 1:34:56 | 3:09:53 |
| 4:45 | 12.6 | 23:45 | 47:30 | 1:40:13 | 3:20:26 |
| 5:00 | 12.0 | 25:00 | 50:00 | 1:45:29 | 3:30:59 |
| 5:15 | 11.4 | 26:15 | 52:30 | 1:50:46 | 3:41:31 |
| 5:30 | 10.9 | 27:30 | 55:00 | 1:56:02 | 3:52:04 |
| 5:45 | 10.4 | 28:45 | 57:30 | 2:01:19 | 4:02:37 |
| 6:00 | 10.0 | 30:00 | 1:00:00 | 2:06:35 | 4:13:10 |
| 6:15 | 9.6 | 31:15 | 1:02:30 | 2:11:52 | 4:23:43 |
| 6:30 | 9.2 | 32:30 | 1:05:00 | 2:17:08 | 4:34:16 |
| 6:45 | 8.9 | 33:45 | 1:07:30 | 2:22:24 | 4:44:49 |
| 7:00 | 8.6 | 35:00 | 1:10:00 | 2:27:41 | 4:55:22 |
| 7:15 | 8.3 | 36:15 | 1:12:30 | 2:32:57 | 5:05:55 |
| 7:30 | 8.0 | 37:30 | 1:15:00 | 2:38:14 | 5:16:28 |
Why pace lies on hills
The same pace costs very different effort on the flat and uphill. A 5% climb slows most runners by 30–40 seconds per kilometre — roughly 50 to 65 seconds per mile — and the matching descent gives far less back: you never fully recover the time. That is why pace is worth reading against a route's elevation profile, not just a stopwatch.
Plan a route and see its elevation profile
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between pace and speed?
Speed measures distance covered per hour (km/h or mph); pace measures the time spent covering one kilometre or one mile (min/km, min/mi). They are inverses — divide 60 by one to get the other. Runners prefer pace because it plans a race directly: 5:00 min/km immediately tells you 10 km takes 50 minutes, and 8:00 min/mi tells you ten miles take 80.
What is a good pace for a beginner?
For someone a few months into running, a comfortable pace usually falls between 6:30 and 7:30 min/km — roughly 10:30 to 12:00 per mile. The number matters less than your breathing: if you can speak in full sentences while running, the pace is right. That conversational pace is the foundation of endurance and should cover most of your weekly volume.
How do I work out the pace for a target race time?
Divide your target time in minutes by the distance. A four-hour marathon is 240 ÷ 42.195 = 5.69 min/km, or 5:41 per kilometre — 9:09 per mile. In practice runners build in a 5–10 second buffer, because almost nobody holds a perfectly even pace for 42.2 km (26.2 miles).
What is a negative split?
It means running the second half of a race faster than the first. It spares glycogen and lowers the risk of blowing up in the closing kilometres. The gap is typically 5–15 seconds per kilometre, or 10–25 seconds per mile — starting a full minute slower is not the point.
Is treadmill pace the same as outdoor pace?
No. A treadmill removes air resistance and the belt does part of the work, so outdoor running feels harder at identical numbers. The accepted correction is a 1% incline, which roughly matches the effort of running on a track.
How does pace affect calories burned?
Energy cost is driven mainly by body mass and distance, not by pace: running 10 km (6.2 miles) fast or slow burns a broadly similar amount. Pace changes the intensity and how long it takes to spend those calories, not the final number.