Running pace calculator
Pick a distance, give it a time or a pace, and get the other one — in both units, with the splits you would need to hit along the way.
| Mark | Split | Elapsed |
|---|
| Distance | Time at this pace |
|---|
How to use this
Two jobs, one form. If you have a finish time and want to know what pace it was, leave Work out on pace. If you have a pace in mind and want to know what it adds up to over a distance, switch it to finish time and type the pace per kilometre. The distance can be a standard race or any number of kilometres.
The split table is even: every kilometre the same. Treadmill runners and track sessions can take it literally; on the road it is the shape to aim for, not a promise about the hill at 7 km.
Minutes per kilometre and kilometres per hour
Runners think in pace, treadmills think in speed. Six minutes per kilometre is exactly 10 km/h; five minutes is 12 km/h; four is 15 km/h. The speed line in the result is the number to dial into the belt, rounded the way treadmills round — to a tenth.
What this does not tell you
Holding the same pace over a longer distance is arithmetic, not physiology. The table of other distances is there so you can see what your 10K pace would mean over a half — it is not what you would run. Everyone slows as the distance grows, and by a predictable amount; the race time predictor handles that properly.
Nor does a pace tell you how hard it should feel. The same 5:30/km is a long easy run for one runner and a threshold session for another. The useful numbers are your own easy, threshold and interval paces, and those come from a recent race — the parkrun time calculator works them out from one 5K.
Where these numbers come from
There is no model here, only arithmetic, so there is nothing to argue with. Pace is time over distance; the mile is 1.609344 km; a split is the pace times the distance to the next mark. The unit conversions are the same ones the Outrunr app uses for every pace it shows, pinned to the app's own test fixtures so the two cannot drift.
Common questions
Is pace per km or per mile?
Both are shown, always. Enter your pace per kilometre and the result lists the per-mile figure beside it, with the split table in whichever unit you pick. Australia races in kilometres, but most of the training-plan literature is written in miles, so having both on one screen saves the mental arithmetic.
What is a good running pace?
There isn't one. A 6:00/km that is an easy jog for one runner is a hard tempo for another. The useful question is what pace each kind of run should be for you — easy, threshold, interval — and that comes from a recent race time, not from a table of averages. The parkrun time calculator gives you those three paces from one 5K.
Should my splits be even?
For most runners, close to even is the fastest way to race anything from 5K up, with the second half a touch quicker if anything. A positive split — fast first half, slow second — is the default mistake, and it is nearly always a pacing error rather than a fitness one. The split table here is even; treat it as the ceiling for your first kilometre, not the floor.
Does this predict what I could run at another distance?
No. Holding one pace over a different distance is not a prediction, it is arithmetic. A real prediction accounts for the fact that you slow down as the distance grows. That is what the race time predictor does.
Why does the marathon split table skip kilometres?
Forty-two rows is a wall of numbers nobody reads mid-race. Past 10K the table shows every 5 km plus the finish, which is what most pace bands print and what the course markers show.
Is anything stored?
No. The calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere and nothing is saved.
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A pace is a number. A plan is what gets you to it.
Outrunr turns one honest race time into every training pace you need, builds the weeks around them, and calls your pace in your ear so you never have to look at a watch.