5K pace chart and calculator

Pace is the time it takes you to cover one mile or one kilometre. For a 5K — 3.1 miles, 5 kilometres — it is the number that decides your finish time. Type in a goal time to get the pace you need, or scan the chart.

How to use pace as a beginner

Pace is useful for two things: knowing roughly how long a run will take, and noticing progress over weeks. It is much less useful as a target to hit in every session. Early on, the right pace is simply one you can keep up while still being able to talk — and for most beginners that is slower than they expect.

A quick sanity check for a first 5K:

• 12:00–14:00 per mile (7:30–8:40 per km) — a comfortable beginner running pace. A 5K at this pace takes about 37 to 43 minutes.
• 10:00–11:00 per mile (6:15–6:50 per km) — a solid pace after a few months of regular running; a 31 to 34-minute 5K.
• Walking briskly — about 15:00 to 18:00 per mile (9:20–11:10 per km), or 47 to 56 minutes for the distance.

Why your watch pace jumps around

GPS pace on a phone or watch is calculated from a few seconds of position data, so it swings a lot — especially between buildings or under trees. Look at the average pace at the end of a run, not the live number halfway through.

Run-walk pace

If you alternate running and walking, your average pace is somewhere between the two, weighted by how long you spend on each. The 5K time calculator does that maths for you.

When pace does matter

Once you can run 30 minutes without stopping, pace becomes a training tool: a few faster intervals once a week will bring your 5K time down more than anything else. Before that point, time on your feet is what counts. That is why the plan in our Couch to 5K guide is built on minutes, not on pace.