Guide / Running
Running pace chart
Pace per kilometer from 3:00 to 8:00 in 15-second steps, with the pace per mile beside it. Each row gives the finish time for 5K, 10K, a half marathon and a marathon.
Pace chart: per km and per mile
Every full minute| Pace /km | Pace /mi | 5K | 10K | Half | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 4:50 | 15:00 | 30:00 | 1:03:18 | 2:06:35 |
| 3:15 | 5:14 | 16:15 | 32:30 | 1:08:34 | 2:17:08 |
| 3:30 | 5:38 | 17:30 | 35:00 | 1:13:50 | 2:27:41 |
| 3:45 | 6:02 | 18:45 | 37:30 | 1:19:07 | 2:38:14 |
| 4:00 | 6:26 | 20:00 | 40:00 | 1:24:23 | 2:48:47 |
| 4:15 | 6:50 | 21:15 | 42:30 | 1:29:40 | 2:59:20 |
| 4:30 | 7:15 | 22:30 | 45:00 | 1:34:56 | 3:09:53 |
| 4:45 | 7:39 | 23:45 | 47:30 | 1:40:13 | 3:20:26 |
| 5:00 | 8:03 | 25:00 | 50:00 | 1:45:29 | 3:30:59 |
| 5:15 | 8:27 | 26:15 | 52:30 | 1:50:46 | 3:41:31 |
| 5:30 | 8:51 | 27:30 | 55:00 | 1:56:02 | 3:52:04 |
| 5:45 | 9:15 | 28:45 | 57:30 | 2:01:19 | 4:02:37 |
| 6:00 | 9:39 | 30:00 | 1:00:00 | 2:06:35 | 4:13:10 |
| 6:15 | 10:04 | 31:15 | 1:02:30 | 2:11:52 | 4:23:43 |
| 6:30 | 10:28 | 32:30 | 1:05:00 | 2:17:08 | 4:34:16 |
| 6:45 | 10:52 | 33:45 | 1:07:30 | 2:22:24 | 4:44:49 |
| 7:00 | 11:16 | 35:00 | 1:10:00 | 2:27:41 | 4:55:22 |
| 7:15 | 11:40 | 36:15 | 1:12:30 | 2:32:57 | 5:05:55 |
| 7:30 | 12:04 | 37:30 | 1:15:00 | 2:38:14 | 5:16:28 |
| 7:45 | 12:28 | 38:45 | 1:17:30 | 2:43:30 | 5:27:01 |
| 8:00 | 12:52 | 40:00 | 1:20:00 | 2:48:47 | 5:37:34 |
Generated with the site's shared pace engine, the same code the pace, marathon and race-time calculators run. Half marathon = 21.0975 km, marathon = 42.195 km, 1 mile = 1.609344 km. Times round to the closest second. An exact half second goes up, so a 5:00/km marathon (12,658.5 s) shows as 3:30:59.
Reading the chart
Start from either side. If you know the pace you can hold, read across to the finish time it gives at each distance. If you have a goal time, find it in its column and read back to the pace you need.
A goal that falls between two rows needs the faster of the two paces. Say you want a 10K under 50 minutes. The 5:00/km row gives exactly 50:00, so any pace quicker than that gets you under.
The chart assumes even pace from start to finish. It also assumes the course is exactly the stated length. In a real race, crowds and corners usually add a little distance to the line you actually run.
How to calculate running pace
Pace is time divided by distance. Turn the time into seconds, divide by the distance, then turn the answer back into minutes and seconds. The result is how long each kilometer or mile takes on average.
Example 1: 10 km in 45:00
45 minutes is 2,700 seconds. Divide by 10 km and you get 270 seconds per km. That is 4 minutes and 30 seconds, so the pace is 4:30/km. In miles it comes to 7:15/mi, and both figures match the 4:30 row of the chart.
Example 2: a half marathon in 1:50:00
1 hour 50 minutes is 6,600 seconds. A half marathon is 21.0975 km, and 6,600 ÷ 21.0975 is 312.83 seconds. Rounded to the nearest second, that is 313 seconds, or 5:13/km. Switch the calculator to miles and it reads 8:23/mi.
The same relationship runs backward to give a finish time. Multiply pace in seconds by distance. A marathon at 5:40/km is 340 × 42.195, which is 14,346.3 seconds. That rounds to 3:59:06.
All three examples give the same answer in the running pace calculator, because the guide and the calculator share one piece of code. Both carry the full decimal through the sum and round only the figure they display.
Converting between km and mile pace
A mile is 1.609344 km, so a mile takes 1.609344 times as long as a kilometer at the same effort. Multiply a per-km pace by 1.609344 to get per-mile pace. Divide to go back.
A rough mental shortcut is to add about 60% to the per-km figure. That works well enough at a glance, but it drifts by a few seconds. The second column of the chart has the exact conversions.
Training paces from easy to interval
The running pace calculator turns your pace into four training bands. It does this with one simple method: each band is a percentage range of the pace you calculated. The calculator states those ranges on its own page, and they are the only numbers used.
- Interval: 93% to 97% of your pace.
- Tempo: 103% to 108%.
- Marathon: 112% to 118%.
- Easy: 125% to 140%.
The percentages apply to time per kilometer, not to speed. So a bigger percentage means a slower pace. Easy pace at 140% of 5:00/km is 300 × 1.40 = 420 seconds, or 7:00/km.
The table below runs the same method on five input paces. Each row is exactly what the calculator shows for that input.
Training bands for five input paces
| Your pace /km | Interval | Tempo | Marathon | Easy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:00 | 3:43–3:53 | 4:07–4:19 | 4:29–4:43 | 5:00–5:36 |
| 4:30 | 4:11–4:22 | 4:38–4:52 | 5:02–5:19 | 5:38–6:18 |
| 5:00 | 4:39–4:51 | 5:09–5:24 | 5:36–5:54 | 6:15–7:00 |
| 5:30 | 5:07–5:20 | 5:40–5:56 | 6:10–6:29 | 6:53–7:42 |
| 6:00 | 5:35–5:49 | 6:11–6:29 | 6:43–7:05 | 7:30–8:24 |
Each band = your pace × the calculator's low and high percentage, rounded to the nearest second. These are rule-of-thumb ranges, as the calculator says, not a physiological model.
Which pace to put in
Because every band is a multiple of the pace you enter, the input decides everything. Enter a recent race pace, not a hoped-for one. A goal pace you have not yet run will set every band too fast.
The calculator's own advice is that a hard recent effort between 5K and half marathon works best. Shorter efforts lean on raw speed. Enter a pace you actually raced a marathon at, and the marathon band lands 12% to 18% slower than that race. That gap is the sign of an input from the wrong distance.
If you only have a result at one distance, the race time predictor can estimate the others. Treat that as a starting point too. A predicted time is not the same as one you have run.
What the chart leaves out
A pace chart is arithmetic. It has no idea about hills, heat, wind or how you slept. A hilly course or a hot day can cost real time at the same effort, and the chart won't show it.
Treat the numbers as targets to test in training. If a pace feels far harder than the chart suggests it should, the chart is the part to doubt. For a marathon, the marathon pace calculator lays out every checkpoint and offers an optional negative split.
Everything here is general information on pace arithmetic and the percentage bands the running pace calculator uses. It is not coaching or medical advice. Paces and bands are planning figures, not a prescription. If you have a medical condition, or pain while running, speak to a qualified professional before training hard.
Common questions
How do I convert pace per km to pace per mile?
Multiply the pace in seconds by 1.609344, the number of kilometers in a mile. A 5:00/km pace is 300 seconds, and 300 × 1.609344 is about 483 seconds, or 8:03/mi. To go the other way, divide by 1.609344: 8:00/mi works out to 4:58/km.
Which pace gets a half marathon under 2 hours?
5:41/km or faster, which is 9:09/mi. Two hours is 7,200 seconds, and 7,200 ÷ 21.0975 km is about 341 seconds per km. Held evenly, 5:41/km finishes in 1:59:54, while 5:42/km just misses at 2:00:15.
How do I read a pace that falls between two rows?
Each 15-second step in pace per km adds 1:15 to a 5K, 2:30 to a 10K, about 5:16 to a half marathon and about 10:33 to a marathon. Scale that for the gap you need. For an exact figure, enter the pace into the running pace calculator.
Why does the half marathon at 6:00/km match the marathon at 3:00/km?
Because the marathon is exactly twice the half. Half the pace over twice the distance gives the same time, so both rows show 2:06:35. The same pairing holds anywhere in the chart where one pace is double the other.