Pace is how long each kilometre or mile takes you (minutes per km or per mile). Speed is how far you’d go in an hour (km/h or mph). They’re the same measurement turned upside down, so each is 60 divided by the other: speed in km/h = 60 ÷ pace in min/km, and pace in min/km = 60 ÷ speed in km/h. A 6:00 per km pace is exactly 10 km/h, and a 10:00 mile is exactly 6 mph.
Runners use pace because races are set distances and splits are times. Treadmills, cyclists and drivers use speed. Below are the formulas, two charts, race and treadmill targets, and the reason your GPS pace twitches so much more than a speed readout would.
What’s the difference between pace and speed? #
| Speed | Pace | |
|---|---|---|
| Units | km/h, mph | min/km, min/mile |
| A bigger number means | Faster | Slower |
| Common in | Treadmills, cycling, driving, sprints | Running, race planning |
| Answers | “How fast was that downhill?” | “Will I finish the 5K in 25 minutes?” |
Pace runs backwards: a lower pace number means you’re faster, while a higher speed number means you’re faster. Mixing the two up on a training plan is a common beginner mistake.
How do you convert pace to speed? #
Work in decimal minutes first: 5:30 is 5.5 minutes, 7:45 is 7.75.
| To get | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| km/h from pace per km | 60 ÷ minutes per km | 60 ÷ 5.5 = 10.9 km/h |
| Pace per km from km/h | 60 ÷ km/h | 60 ÷ 12 = 5:00 per km |
| mph from pace per mile | 60 ÷ minutes per mile | 60 ÷ 8 = 7.5 mph |
| Pace per mile from mph | 60 ÷ mph | 60 ÷ 7 = 8.57, so 8:34 per mile |
| Pace per mile from pace per km | minutes per km × 1.609 | 5:00 × 1.609 = 8:03 per mile |
| Pace per km from pace per mile | minutes per mile ÷ 1.609 | 9:00 ÷ 1.609 = 5:36 per km |
To turn a decimal result back into minutes and seconds, multiply the decimal part by 60: 8.57 minutes is 8 minutes and 0.57 × 60 = 34 seconds.
Running pace chart by speed (km/h) #
| km/h | mph | Pace per km | Pace per mile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 3.7 | 10:00 | 16:06 |
| 8 | 5.0 | 7:30 | 12:04 |
| 9 | 5.6 | 6:40 | 10:44 |
| 10 | 6.2 | 6:00 | 9:39 |
| 11 | 6.8 | 5:27 | 8:47 |
| 12 | 7.5 | 5:00 | 8:03 |
| 13 | 8.1 | 4:37 | 7:26 |
| 14 | 8.7 | 4:17 | 6:54 |
| 15 | 9.3 | 4:00 | 6:26 |
| 16 | 9.9 | 3:45 | 6:02 |
| 18 | 11.2 | 3:20 | 5:22 |
| 20 | 12.4 | 3:00 | 4:50 |
The 6 km/h row is a brisk walk, useful if you walk-run or hike.
Running pace chart by minutes per mile #
| Pace per mile | mph | Pace per km | km/h |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 12.0 | 3:06 | 19.3 |
| 6:00 | 10.0 | 3:44 | 16.1 |
| 7:00 | 8.6 | 4:21 | 13.8 |
| 8:00 | 7.5 | 4:58 | 12.1 |
| 9:00 | 6.7 | 5:36 | 10.7 |
| 10:00 | 6.0 | 6:13 | 9.7 |
| 11:00 | 5.5 | 6:50 | 8.8 |
| 12:00 | 5.0 | 7:27 | 8.0 |
| 13:00 | 4.6 | 8:05 | 7.4 |
| 15:00 | 4.0 | 9:19 | 6.4 |
Race targets in pace and speed #
| Goal | Pace per km | Pace per mile | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5K in 25:00 | 5:00 | 8:03 | 12.0 km/h (7.5 mph) |
| 10K in 50:00 | 5:00 | 8:03 | 12.0 km/h (7.5 mph) |
| Half marathon in 2:00 | 5:41 | 9:09 | 10.5 km/h (6.6 mph) |
| Marathon in 4:00 | 5:41 | 9:09 | 10.5 km/h (6.6 mph) |
The half and full marathon share a pace because the marathon is twice as long and the goal time doubles.
Treadmill settings #
Treadmills show speed, so convert your target pace before you press the buttons: 6.0 mph is a 10:00 mile, 7.0 mph is 8:34 per mile, and 12 km/h is 5:00 per km. GPS can’t measure a treadmill run at all, because you don’t move across the ground, so use the treadmill display or a footpod indoors.
Why does GPS pace jump around more than speed? #
Because pace is the reciprocal of speed, the same small error looks much bigger as pace, and it gets worse the slower you go.
Say you’re running a steady 10 km/h and the reading wobbles by half a km/h either way. As speed, 9.5 to 10.5 km/h is a wobble you’d barely notice. As pace, it’s 6:19 to 5:43 per km, a 36-second swing. At walking speeds the effect is bigger still.
The wobble comes from how little you move each second. At 10 km/h you cover about 2.8 metres per second, and a phone’s position can easily be a few metres out. Phones and watches take speed mostly from the Doppler shift of the satellite signals, which is steadier than comparing positions, but trees, buildings and a bouncing pocket still add noise. That’s why lap and average pace are far more useful than the live number; why GPS pace jumps: instant vs lap vs average goes into each.
Pace depends on GPS distance, too #
Your average pace is time divided by the distance the GPS measured, so a distance error goes straight into your pace. If the GPS reads your 5 km loop as 5.1 km (2% long), your pace looks about 2% faster than it was. If it reads a twisty trail 3% short, your pace looks 3% slower. Why your GPS running distance doesn’t match the route explains when each happens.
Should you train by pace or speed? #
| Activity | Better number | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Road running and races | Pace | Race distances are fixed, so pace maps straight onto finish times |
| Group runs | Pace | Groups describe themselves in pace (“the 5:30 group”) |
| Treadmill running | Speed | That’s what the machine shows |
| Sprints and strides | Speed | Top speed in a short burst is easier to read and compare |
| Mixed training with cycling or skating | Speed | One unit across activities |
| Steep hills and trails | Neither | Effort or heart rate says more than either number |
On a steep climb both numbers fall apart as an effort guide: pace can drop from 5:00 to 6:30 per km at the same effort. Switch to feel or heart rate until the top.
Can a GPS speedometer app track a run? #
For speed, yes. For distance, not well, and it’s worth being straight about that. Speedometer GPS shows live speed in km/h or mph, averaged over the last five one-second readings, so it holds steadier than most instant pace displays. It doesn’t show pace, laps or splits, and it has no auto-pause or voice alerts.
What it’s good for on a run:
- Holding a speed instead of a pace. To run 5:00 per km, hold 12 km/h; for a 9:00 mile, hold 6.7 mph.
- A ceiling for easy runs. The speed alarm steps in 5 km/h or 5 mph, so set it at 10 km/h (6:00 per km) and the phone buzzes and beeps if you drift faster.
- Top speed in strides or hill sprints, read from the max speed card afterwards.
- Average speed that ignores stops. It only counts time you’re moving, so a wait at a crossing doesn’t drag it down.
The limit: to stop a parked phone from inventing distance, the app ignores steps of less than 5 metres between its one-second fixes. Nearly all running is below about 18 km/h (11 mph), where you cover less than that each second, so the app’s trip distance under-counts badly on foot. Its live and average speed come from the GPS receiver’s own speed measurement, so they still work. For an estimate, multiply average speed by moving time. For real distance, pace and splits, use a running app or a GPS watch.
The app also only records while it’s open on screen, so an armband beats a pocket. For how phones and watches compare, see phone GPS vs running watch.
Frequently asked questions #
Is pace the same as speed? #
They measure the same thing from opposite ends. Pace is time per distance (minutes per km or mile) and speed is distance per time (km/h or mph). A 5:00 per km pace and 12 km/h describe exactly the same effort.
What is a 10-minute mile in mph and km/h? #
Exactly 6 mph, which is about 9.66 km/h or 6:13 per km. Divide 60 by the pace in minutes to get mph: 60 ÷ 10 = 6.
What is 6 minutes per km in mph? #
6:00 per km is 10 km/h, which is 6.2 mph, or a 9:39 mile. To check any pace, divide 60 by the minutes per km for km/h, then multiply by 0.621 for mph.
How do I convert treadmill speed to pace? #
Divide 60 by the treadmill speed. In km/h that gives minutes per km, and in mph it gives minutes per mile. So 12 km/h is 5:00 per km and 7 mph is about 8:34 per mile.
Should beginners track pace or speed? #
Pace, if you run on roads and want to predict race times. For the first few weeks, though, running by feel and total time is often more useful than either number, and much less frustrating when the GPS jumps.