Running Running Pace Calculator Learn Your Pace, Distance, or Time By Wendy Bumgardner facebook twitter Wendy Bumgardner is a freelance writer covering walking and other health and fitness topics and has competed in more than 1,000 walking events. Learn about our editorial process Wendy Bumgardner Reviewed by Reviewed by John Honerkamp on October 24, 2019 twitter linkedin instagram John Honerkamp is an RRCA and USATF certified running coach, celebrity marathon pacer, and recognized leader in the New York City running community. Learn about our Review Board John Honerkamp Updated on January 10, 2020 Print Verywell Using a pace calculator can help you determine how long it will take you to walk or run a certain distance. Comparing this number over time can help you track your performance and see if your fitness efforts are paying off. You may also need to know your pace when registering for an event or race such as a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or marathon. You can use our pace and distance calculator or do the math yourself. Pace Calculator Your pace is expressed in minutes per mile or minutes per kilometer. This is the time it would take you to walk or run 1 mile or 1 kilometer. Race organizers use your pace to assign you to a start corral with others who will be racing at a similar pace. Note that many running races have a time limit equal to a 16-minutes-per-mile pace. To calculate your pace, you will need to know the distance you have walked or run and the time it took you to do so. Pace = Time / Distance A pace may not be a round number of minutes, in which case you will need to convert fractions of a minute to seconds. Multiply the fraction of a minute by 60. For example, 0.5 minutes = 30 seconds. Speed Calculator Speed is the flip side of pace. It is the calculation of distance over time, expressed in miles per hour or kilometers per hour. To calculate your speed, you will need to know the distance you walked or ran and the time it took you to do so. Speed = Distance / Time Or, if you have your pace, you can convert it to speed. Simply divide 60 by your pace. Speed = 60 / Pace When you aren't using whole hours in the calculation, convert the number to minutes, then multiply the result by 60 minutes per hour to get miles per hour or kilometers per hour. Below are some sample speed calculations: Running 6 miles in 1 hour: 6 / 1 = 6 miles per hour (mph)Walking 6 miles in 2 hours: 6 / 2 = 3 mphRunning a half marathon (13.1 miles) in 1.5 hours (90 minutes): 13.1 / 90 = .1455 x 60 = 8.73 mph Run Pace Chart for Common Distances Pace(min./mile) Speed(MPH) 5KFinish 10KFinish Half-MarathonFinish MarathonFinish 6 10.0 0:19 0:37 1:19 2:37 7 8.6 0:22 0:43 1:32 3:03 8 7.5 0:25 0:50 1:45 3:30 9 6.7 0:28 0:56 1:58 3:56 10 6.0 0:31 1:02 2:11 4:22 11 5.5 0:34 1:08 2:24 4:48 12 5.0 0:37 1:14 2:37 5:14 13 4.6 0:40 1:21 2:50 5:41 14 4.3 0:43 1:27 3:03 6:07 15 4.0 0:47 1:33 3:17 6:33 16 3.8 0:50 1:39 3:30 6:59 17 3.5 0:53 1:45 3:43 7:25 18 3.3 0:56 1:52 3:56 7:52 19 3.2 0:59 1:58 4:09 8:28 20 3.0 1:02 2:04 4:22 8:44 25 2.4 1:18 2:35 5:28 10:55 Exercise Intensity You can use speed or pace to gauge the intensity of your exercise. For example, walking intensity-levels may look like this: Light intensity: Speed less than 3 mph or pace greater than 20 minutes per mileModerate intensity: Speed between 3 and 4 mph or pace between 16 and 20 minutes per mileMedium intensity: Speed 4 to 5 mph or pace between 12 and 15 minutes per mileVigorous-intensity: Speed over 5 mph or pace over 12 minutes per mile A more individualized measure of intensity is the rated perceived exertion (RPE) scale. RPE uses a scale from 0 to 10, with lower numbers being less intense and higher numbers being very intense. For example, an RPE of 0 is akin to sitting in a chair, 1 is very light exercise, 2 is light, 3 is moderate, 4 is somewhat heavy, 5 is heavy, 7 is very heavy, and 10 is very, very heavy. A 10 is how you feel at the end of a stress test or very vigorous activity. When rating your exertion level, include feelings of shortness of breath and how tired you feel in your legs and overall. Most people aim to exercise at a level 3 or 4. Using Apps and Fitness Wearables A pace calculator can be a good check on what your GPS fitness app or GPS fitness speedometer is showing as your speed or pace. These can be inaccurate, and you don't want to think you are faster than you actually are. A common factor that contributes to inaccuracy is being in an area with buildings, trees, or hills that block the satellite signal that is used to measure your position. It's a good idea to check any device by measuring your walking or running speed over a known distance using a timer. Distance Calculator If you know your pace or your speed and how much time you will be walking or running, you can calculate how far you should go in that time. This can be useful if you have a set amount of time for a workout and want to see how far you could go. Sometimes you will need to convert distances, in which case it is useful to know that a kilometer is 0.62 miles and a mile is 1.61 kilometers. Distance = Time / PaceDistance = Speed x Time Finish Time Calculator Knowing how long it will take you to finish is important to know before you register for a race. Walkers and slow runners must be sure they can finish in under the course time cutoff. You may also want to compare your finish time with lists of winners to see if you might qualify for a trophy for your age group. To calculate your finish time, you will need to know your pace in minutes per mile or minutes per kilometer (or your speed in miles per hour or kilometers per hour) and the distance of the course. Finish Time = Distance x PaceFinish Time = Distance / Speed Be sure you are checking your pace in more than one way, as a GPS-based speed may be inaccurate. Doing a timed mile or a timed kilometer can be a better way to find an accurate pace. Otherwise, your finish time will also be inaccurate. Predicting Finish Time for Longer Races While you may be able to time yourself over a mile or kilometer and use that to predict your time for a 5K or 10K race, you probably won't be able to maintain the same speed over a half marathon or marathon. Ways to predict your finish time vary. One method suggested by Dr. John Robinson is to add 20 seconds to your mile each time you double your distance. For example, if you've run a half marathon (13.1 miles), find your average minutes per mile, add 20 seconds, and multiply by 26.2 miles. Marathon coach Hal Higdon suggests multiplying your 10 kilometer finish time by 5 to find your marathon finish time. How to Pick up Your Pace If you aren't happy with the results of the pace calculator, here are some strategies for increasing your walking speed: Improve your postureBend your armsStep from heel to toe with a strong push-off, or race-walkingTry a run/walk technique If you are a runner, you can learn to run faster by: Work on your stride turnover (how many steps per minute you take)Do interval trainingPlan weekly tempo runs (running at a sustained, steady effort pace)Start hill trainingRest and recover Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Whether you're looking to run faster, further, or just start to run in general, we have the best tips for you. Sign up and become a better runner today! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Cleveland Clinic. Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale. my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17450-rated-perceived-exertion-rpe-scale