Running pace:
minutes divided by kilometres

How to calculate running pace

Running pace is the time you take for one kilometre. Divide your total minutes by the distance in kilometres: a 5 km run in 27.5 minutes gives 27.5 ÷ 5 = 5.50 minutes per kilometre.

The Calcylator running pace tool asks for two numbers, the distance in km and the time in minutes, and returns the pace in min/km rounded to two decimals. Both inputs must be above zero.

The decimal minutes trap

The result is a decimal number of minutes, but your watch and race signs show minutes and seconds. Minutes have 60 seconds, not 100, so the digits after the point must be multiplied by 60.

The pace 5.50 is 5 minutes plus 0.50 × 60 = 30 seconds, so 5:30. The pace 5.20 is 5 minutes plus 0.20 × 60 = 12 seconds, so 5:12. Reading 5.20 as 5:20 would make you think you are 8 seconds slower per kilometre than you are.

1. 1Take the whole number as the minutes.
2. 2Multiply the decimal part by 60 to get the seconds.
3. 3Write it as minutes:seconds, for example 5:12.
4. 4To go the other way, divide the seconds by 60 and add them to the minutes.

Pace chart: finish times for 5K, 10K and half marathon

To get a target pace from a goal, reverse the formula: a sub-60-minute 10 km needs 60 ÷ 10 = 6.00 min/km, which is 6:00 per kilometre. Multiply pace by distance to predict any finish time, as the table does.

Real races rarely run at perfectly even pace, so treat these as planning figures.

Pace per kilometre to pace per mile

A mile is exactly 1.609344 km. To convert min/km to min/mile, multiply by 1.609344. A 5.00 min/km pace becomes 5 × 1.609344 = 8.05 min per mile, about 8:03.

A quick check: pace per mile is always about 1.6 times the pace per km, so a number near 5 in km becomes a number near 8 in miles. If you get something near 3, you divided when you should have multiplied.

Runners also use pace to plan a long run. If you aim for a half marathon at 6.00 min/km, the 21.0975 km distance takes 126.6 minutes, or about 2 hours 7 minutes. Splitting that into even kilometres on a watch is far easier than guessing how you feel at kilometre 15.

Common pace mistakes

• Reading the decimal as seconds, so 5.50 becomes 5:50 instead of 5:30.
• Typing the time as 27:30 instead of 27.5 minutes. Convert seconds to a decimal first.
• Entering miles in the distance box. The input is in kilometres.
• Comparing a treadmill pace to an outdoor pace without allowing for slope and wind.
• Using the pace from a short fast effort to predict a long race.
• Rounding the decimal pace too early. 5.45 and 5.5 differ by 3 seconds per kilometre, which adds up to 15 seconds over 5 km.