Pace Calculator (Required Pace per Mile)
Enter a target finish time and distance to get the exact pace per mile and per kilometer, plus average speed. Includes 5K, 10K, half, and marathon presets. Runs in your browser.
Required pace
- Pace per mile
- 8:01 /mi
- Pace per kilometer
- 4:59 /km
- Average speed
- 7.49 mph · 12.05 km/h
About this tool
If you have a goal finish time for a race, the number you actually run by is your pace — the time per mile or per kilometer you must hold. This calculator divides your target finish time by the distance to give that pace exactly, in both miles and kilometers, along with the equivalent average speed. Presets for the standard race distances (5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon) make it a one-tap lookup. The math is simple and exact: pace equals total time divided by distance, with unit conversion using the international mile of 1.609344 km. Use it to set a goal pace for race day, to program splits into a watch, or to sanity-check whether a target time is realistic for your current fitness. It is a planning tool, not training advice; build up to a goal pace gradually. Everything is computed in your browser.
How to use it
- Enter your goal finish time in hours, minutes, and seconds.
- Enter the race distance, or tap a preset (5K, 10K, Half, Marathon).
- Read the required pace per mile and per kilometer.
- Use the average speed to cross-check against a treadmill or bike display.
Frequently asked questions
- How is pace per mile calculated?
- Pace = total time ÷ distance. For a 1:45:00 half marathon (6300 seconds over 13.1 miles), that is about 481 seconds per mile, or 8:01 per mile. The tool does the division and formats it as minutes:seconds.
- How do miles and kilometers relate here?
- One mile is exactly 1.609344 kilometers. The calculator converts your distance accordingly, so a 4:00/km pace shows as roughly 6:26/mile. Both are derived from the same finish time.
- What is the difference between pace and speed?
- They are inverses. Pace is time per distance (minutes per mile) and is how runners think; speed is distance per time (miles per hour) and is how treadmills and bike computers display. The tool shows both so you can match either device.
- Are the race distances exact?
- Yes. A 5K is 3.10686 miles, 10K is 6.21371 miles, a half marathon is 13.1 miles, and a marathon is 26.2 miles (the official metric distances are 21.0975 km and 42.195 km). The presets use these standard values.
- Can I use this for negative or even splits?
- This gives the single average pace you need to hold. For a negative-split strategy you would run slightly slower than this early and faster late, averaging out to this pace. It is the target average, not a prescription for each mile.
- Is anything uploaded?
- No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser with no network request.