What is running pace?
Running pace tells you how long it takes you to cover a given distance. It is usually written in minutes per kilometre (min/km) or minutes per mile (min/mile). It is the measure runners use most: to set goals, to follow a training session, and to plan how long a race will take.
Speed describes the same movement the other way round: instead of how long you take to cover a distance, it tells you how much distance you cover in a given time, usually in kilometres per hour (km/h).
Running at a pace of 4:30 min/km, for example, is the same as a speed of about 13.33 km/h. Two ways of expressing one performance.
In practice, running watches, training sessions and races tend to use pace, while treadmills generally work in speed. This converter turns one measure into the other.
See the world records on PaceLab
How pace and speed relate
Pace and speed are inversely related measures: as speed goes up, the pace figure goes down. That happens because the faster you run, the less time each kilometre takes. A pace of 5:00 min/km, for example, is 12.00 km/h; speed up to 4:00 min/km and the speed rises to 15.00 km/h.
The relationship between pace and speed is not linear: taking 30 seconds off a kilometre does not always mean the same gain in speed. Going from 6:00 to 5:30 min/km lifts speed from 10.00 to 10.91 km/h, while going from 3:30 to 3:00 min/km takes it from 17.14 to 20.00 km/h. The faster you already are, the larger the increase in speed needed to cut the same interval from your pace.
How the conversion works
To convert pace to speed, first express the pace in decimal minutes and divide 60 by the result. At 4:30 min/km, 30 seconds is 0.5 minutes: 60 ÷ 4.5 = 13.33 km/h. To go the other way, divide 60 by the speed. The calculator also applies the exact 1.609344 conversion factor between kilometres and miles.
Race times use the same relationship between distance and pace. At 4:30 min/km, a 42.195 km marathon takes approximately 3:09:53, assuming the pace is maintained from start to finish.
Common questions
- What is the difference between pace and speed?
- Pace tells you how long you take to cover a distance, usually in min/km or min/mile. Speed tells you how much distance you cover in a given time, usually in km/h or mph. Both describe the same movement in different ways.
- Why does a lower pace mean running faster?
- Because pace is the time needed to cover one unit of distance — a kilometre or a mile. If you go from 5:00 to 4:30 min/km, you are taking 30 seconds less to complete each kilometre, and so running faster. It works the same way in min/mile, where 8:00 is faster than 8:30.
- Can I use the converter to work out a treadmill speed?
- Yes. If your session is written in min/km, you can convert the pace to km/h and use the result as a reference for setting the treadmill. On a treadmill marked in miles, convert min/mile to mph the same way.