Running Pace: Min/km, Min/mile and Speed
Pace runs backwards from speed — a lower number is faster. That inversion is why the conversion graph curves.
4 May 2026 · 5 min read · Fitness
Runners think in minutes per kilometre. Treadmills think in km/h. Race organisers publish both, and American races use minutes per mile.
Pace and speed are reciprocals
min/km = 60 ÷ (km/h) km/h = 60 ÷ (min/km) min/mile = min/km × 1.609344
A 5:00/km pace is 12 km/h. A 4:00/km pace is 15 km/h. Because the relationship is inverse, the pace converter plots a curve rather than a straight line — and shaving 30 seconds off a slow pace changes your speed far more than shaving 30 seconds off a fast one.
Pace conversion table
| min/km | min/mile | km/h | mph |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4:00 | 6:26 | 15.0 | 9.3 |
| 4:30 | 7:15 | 13.3 | 8.3 |
| 5:00 | 8:03 | 12.0 | 7.5 |
| 5:30 | 8:51 | 10.9 | 6.8 |
| 6:00 | 9:39 | 10.0 | 6.2 |
| 7:00 | 11:16 | 8.6 | 5.3 |
Race finish times
| Pace | 5K | 10K | Half | Marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4:00/km | 20:00 | 40:00 | 1:24:24 | 2:48:47 |
| 5:00/km | 25:00 | 50:00 | 1:45:30 | 3:30:59 |
| 6:00/km | 30:00 | 1:00:00 | 2:06:35 | 4:13:10 |
| 7:00/km | 35:00 | 1:10:00 | 2:27:41 | 4:55:22 |
The useful benchmark: 5:41/km is a four-hour marathon, and 7:07/km is a five-hour one.
Watch out for the decimal trap
A pace of 5:30/km is not 5.30 min/km — it is 5.5. Converting 5:30/km by multiplying 5.30 by 1.609 gives 8:31/mile instead of the correct 8:51. Always convert minutes-and-seconds to decimal minutes first: seconds ÷ 60.
Treadmill numbers
Most treadmills display km/h or mph and a pace that assumes a level belt. A 1% incline is commonly used to approximate outdoor air resistance, so a 12 km/h treadmill run at 1% is roughly equivalent to 12 km/h outdoors.
Related conversions
This article is for general information. Please verify figures against the relevant standard before using them in critical work. About accuracy