Why is a lower pace number faster?

Because pace is time per distance, not distance per time. Five minutes per kilometre is faster than six, where 12 km/h is faster than 10.

Health & Fitnessfitness

Running Pace Calculator

Running pace, speed and equivalent times at other distances. Pace is the inverse of speed, so a faster run has a smaller pace number, which is why the two are easy to confuse when comparing.

Also called: pace calculator, min per km calculator.

Pace per km

5:00 per km

5:00 per km per km, or 8:03 per mile per mile, at 12 km/h. Over 10 km that is 50:00. The longer equivalents assume you hold this pace exactly, which no one does over a marathon from 5 km pace.

Pace per mile

8:03 per mile

Speed in km/h

Speed in mph

7.46

Total time

50:00

At this pace, 5 km

25:00

At this pace, half marathon

1:45:29

At this pace, marathon

3:30:59

On even pacing

The longer equivalents assume you hold this pace exactly, which no one does over a marathon from 5 km pace.

How this is calculated

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Total time divided by distance gives pace. The equivalent times shown assume you hold this exact pace, which for longer distances is optimistic: pace at 5 km is not sustainable over a marathon for anyone. They are useful as a check on whether a target pace is plausible rather than as predictions, and the race time predictor applies a proper fade for that.

pace is time per unit distance, the inverse of speed, which is why a faster pace is a smaller number

t: Total time
d: Distance

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

10 km in 50 minutes

Distance: 10
In: Kilometres
Hours: 0
Minutes: 50
Seconds: 0

Pace per km5:00 per km

3000 seconds over 10 km

Open this example

a mile distance converts

Distance: 6.21
In: Miles
Hours: 0
Minutes: 50
Seconds: 0

Pace per km5:00 per km

boundary: 6.2137 miles is 10 km

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

A constant pace throughout.

What it deliberately does not model

Holding 5 km pace over a marathon is not possible, so the longer equivalents are arithmetic rather than prediction.
Hills, heat and wind change pace at constant effort.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Why is a lower pace number faster?: Because pace is time per distance, not distance per time. Five minutes per kilometre is faster than six, where 12 km/h is faster than 10.