This running pace calculator can help you set your goals for races — here’s how to use it

There are several different types of running pace calculator, but they all serve the same purpose, which is to help you work out what pace you need to run in events like 5Ks and marathons to hit your goals.

The most simple running pace calculator is a pace chart, which you’ll find below and gives the pace you need to run in min/mile and min/km in order to hit an overall time goal for an event. The next level up is a pace calculator where you give a target time and it automatically works out the pace for you, or vice versa – you suggest a pace and it says what your overall time will be if you stick to it.

More complex still are running pace calculators that will work out the pace you might be able to run for events, based on factors like your age and other race times. These can be useful to get a rough idea of times you could do, but the targets they set shouldn’t be taken as gospel. 

Many of the best sports watches will predict your race time as well, to varying degrees of success. As someone who runs and races a lot, I've never found these predicted times perfect, but they can be useful for gauging your training paces.

If you are looking for advice on how to work out your target race time for any distance, then check out the expert advice below. Then below that you’ll find pace charts for 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon running events so you can see the pace you’ll need to run to hit your target time. 

Of course whatever your target time is, you'll need to put in a lot of training to make it happen, and if you're eyeing up a PR then a pair of the best carbon plate running shoes can also help.

How to work out your target time

The biggest question you might have, especially if you’re a new runner, is how you pick a target time. For advice on that I asked running coach David Chalfen, who has been coaching for over 20 years and is currently the Senior Men's A Group Coach at London club Highgate Harriers.

Chalfen, whose new book A Few More Laps: A Deep Dive Into The Sharp End of Running and Coaching, shares insights from his 45 years in the sport as an athlete, coach and administrator, gave us advice on how to judge your target time for distances from 5K to the marathon.

"For newer runners with no real benchmark of training level, about four weeks before the event, run 70 to 75% of the target distance as a full effort time trial,” says Chalfen. “With four weeks of further training and the race atmosphere, if sensibly channeled, this time trial pace should be very close to the expected pace for the full race distance.”

I asked Chalfen if this applied to marathoners as well as those training for shorter events, and he said yes, it would fit into a marathon training plan well.

“I'd say it applies for newer/moderately-experienced runners from 5K to half marathon and arguably very similarly to marathoners too, albeit at marathon you'd do better to do it at marathon pace,” says Chalfen. “If a notional 4-hour marathoner runs 19 miles at 4-hour pace four weeks before the event it's a suitably hard and key training effort at the right stage of preparation.”

If you’re looking to work out your 5K pace in particular, Chalfen has a couple of challenging training sessions you can try that can give you an idea of your pace.

“A tough but reliable indicator of your 5K pace could be 10 x 800m with a 60-70 sec standing recovery, says Chalfen. “Or 8 x 1000m with an 80-90 second standing recovery.”

Once you have your 5K pace, you can use that to work out a rough pace for longer distance events — Chaflen warns against being too ambitious in how you scale up your times.

“As you double the race distance from 5K to 10K to half marathon to full marathon, a well-prepared runner slows by about 6% to no more than 7% with each doubling of the race distance,” says Chalfen. “Any tighter conversion is unusual or just unrealistic.

If you’re lining up a marathon then shorter races can be a good indicator of your goal, and Chalfen has provided some rough guidelines for 10K and half marathon times that indicate you might be able to run popular marathon goals from sub-3 to sub-4.

“Below are some rules of thumb for a range of the most often used marathon targets, based on 10k and half marathon comparators, and assume all factors regarding course, weather, and terrain are equal and that the runner is at the same level of aerobic fitness across the distances.”

That last point is important — think about how fit you were when you ran a shorter race, if you’ve gained or lost fitness, then your marathon time might not line up with that shorter event time,

“For example, a runner who runs 90 minutes for a half marathon in November, improves significantly over a 10-month spell without another race, then does a September marathon, would likely be fitter than a 3:15 potential,” says Chalfen.

“Around the ‘classic’ marathon goals one can broadly extrapolate between the numbers:

If you use a running pace chart or calculator that aims to predict your race time using other race times, you can get a goal to aim for, but Chalfen warns that these charts are sometimes based on shaky foundations.

“A big caveat in many of the pace charts is that they seem to assume that much newer and slower runners have developed their VO2 max, their anaerobic threshold and their running economy to the same relative levels as high performers,” says Chalfen.

“This is rarely the case as VO2 max, which is perhaps the key influencer of 5k performance, typically reaches its trainable plateau years before a runner has optimized their running economy, which is the critical indicator at marathon. Hence many charts extrapolate highly flattering marathon times from 5K performance.” 

Running Pace Charts

Once you have a set time in mind, these pace charts will show you the pace you need to run to hit it. If you have a more exact goal that isn’t covered here, a pace calculator might work instead.

5K Pace Chart

10K Pace Chart

Half Marathon Pace Chart

Marathon Pace Chart

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