A pace calculator is useful for both beginners and experienced runners. Whether you are running for the first time or training for a race, knowing your pace can help you train better.
If you have a specific distance or race completion time and need to determine what your pace should be. For example, find out what speed you need to run 5 kilometers in 20 minutes or below 5:00 for a half marathon.
Determine your pace during training runs on the track. For example, understand how fast your pace was during a 46-minute 10-kilometer training run.
Determine the distance you need to run. For example, you can calculate your running distance by entering your running pace and training duration.
When we talk about running, a person's pace is generally understood to be the minutes it takes them to run a kilometer or a mile. For endurance events in particular, pace is a crucial factor. Running coaches often advise that people run at a variety of set paces according to their level of fitness as this approach can improve different physiological elements.
It is important to understand that pace and speed are two different things. While one's speed and pace provide similar information, they present this information in opposing ways. If you determine a person's speed, then you are calculating the distance that they can cover in, for example, an hour. In contrast, by determining a person's pace, you are calculating how long it will take them to cover a certain distance. Thus, speed and pace are represented using different units of measurement, with speed presented as unit of distance per unit of time, and pace described as unit of time per unit of distance. The formulas for calculating pace and speed are as follows:
speed = distance (e.g. kilometers) / time (e.g. hour)
pace = time (e.g. seconds) / distance (e.g. kilometers)
Imagine that you take precisely an hour to run 10 kilometers. Your running pace will be 360 seconds per kilometer (3600 sec/10 km = 360 sec/km), and your speed will be 10 kilometers per hour (10 km/1 h = 10 km/h).