Pace Calculator

What is pace?

Pace is how much time a trip takes for each unit of distance, for instance 9 minutes per mile or 5 minutes per kilometre. Speed is the same relationship turned upside down: distance covered per unit of time, such as 6.7 miles per hour. A faster runner has a smaller pace number but a bigger speed number.

Runners and walkers usually think in pace, because it maps neatly onto splits and race goals, while cyclists, drivers and anyone using a treadmill display tend to think in speed. The calculator reports both so you can switch between the two.

How to use the pace calculator

Pick one of the three options under Calculate, and the form shows the two inputs it needs:

• Pace: enter a distance (miles, km, yards, feet or meters) and a duration in hours, minutes and seconds. You get the average pace and the average speed.
• Distance: enter a speed (miles/h, km/h, yd/h, ft/s or m/s) and a duration. You get the distance covered.
• Duration: enter a distance and a speed. You get the time needed.

The answers follow the unit you selected. For distances in miles, yards or feet the pace is given per mile first, then per kilometre, with speed in mph and feet per second. For kilometres and meters the order is reversed: pace per km, then per mile, with speed in km/h and meters per second.

A few details worth knowing. Hours can include a decimal (1.5 is an hour and a half), but minutes and seconds are cut to whole numbers, so 30.7 minutes is read as 30. A pace under one minute per mile is written in seconds, a pace of an hour or more is written as hours:minutes:seconds, and anything faster than one second per mile is rejected as unrealistic. For the Duration option, a distance in feet or meters is answered in seconds with the hours in brackets, while the other units are answered in hours.

Pace, speed, distance and time formulas

All four quantities are tied together by one relationship, so any one follows from the other two:

pace = time ÷ distance

speed = distance ÷ time = 1 ÷ pace

distance = speed × time

time = distance ÷ speed

Switching units uses exact definitions: 1 mile is 1.609344 km, 1 yard is 0.9144 m and 1 foot is 0.3048 m. So a pace per kilometre is the pace per mile divided by 1.609344, and a speed in km/h is the speed in mph multiplied by 1.609344.

Worked examples

Pace from distance and time. You run 10 km in 52 minutes 30 seconds, which is 3,150 seconds. Dividing by 10 gives 315 seconds per kilometre, or 5:15 per km. Multiplying by 1.609344 gives 507 seconds, or 8:27 per mile. Speed is 10 ÷ (3,150 ÷ 3,600) = 11.43 km/h, or 3.17 m/s.

A marathon-length effort. 26.2 miles in 3 hours 45 minutes 10 seconds is 13,510 seconds. Divided by 26.2 that is 515.6 seconds, so 8:36 per mile, or 5:20 per km. Speed is 6.98 mph.

Distance from speed and time. Cycling at 12.5 km/h for 1 hour 20 minutes 30 seconds (4,830 seconds, or 1.3417 hours) covers 12.5 × 1.3417 = 16.77 km.

Time from distance and speed. A half marathon of 13.1 miles at 6.1 mph takes 13.1 ÷ 6.1 = 2.15 hours, which is about 2 hours 9 minutes.

Pace reference table

Finishing times for standard race distances at a steady pace, computed from the exact pace per mile (the half marathon is 21.0975 km and the marathon 42.195 km):

Using pace in training

Pace is only an average. Hills, wind, heat and fatigue all push the figure around, so a flat-road pace is a poor guide to a hilly course. Even pacing, with the second half of a race run at the same pace or slightly faster, is a common way to avoid fading late. For easy runs many coaches prefer effort cues, such as being able to hold a conversation, over a fixed pace.

To compare vehicles, bikes or any trip with stops, use the average speed calculator, and for converting between speed units see the speed converter. The target heart rate calculator pairs well with pace when you train by effort. See also the disclaimer for general fitness guidance.