It is crucial for new and young runners to get familiar with the pace and maintain different speeds throughout their training routine. Once you get comfortable with your pace, you can recognize your pace for 5km, 10km, or any other distance. So you want to learn how to read a pace chart? You’ve come to the right place!
How to read a Pace Chart?
To read a pace chart, you’ll need to determine the time you took to cover the distance, i.e., 5km, 10km, half marathon, marathon. Once you know your time, you can find the pace at which you want to run or target.
For example, if you want to cover 5miles in 40 mins, you can look at the pace column and see at what pace you should run to cover that distance.
Pace Chart Track for 5miles, 10 miles, half marathon, and marathon:
| Pace (in min) | 5 miles (8.04 km) | 10 miles (16.09 km) | Half Marathon (13.1 miles/ 21.09 km) | Marathon (26.21 miles/ 42.19 km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06:00 | 0:30:00 | 1:00:00 | 1:18:39 | 2:37:19 |
| 06:30 | 0:32:30 | 1:05:00 | 1:25:13 | 2:50:25 |
| 07:00 | 0:35:00 | 1:10:00 | 1:31:46 | 3:03:32 |
| 07:30 | 0:37:30 | 1:15:00 | 1:38:19 | 3:16:38 |
| 08:00 | 0:40:00 | 1:20:00 | 1:44:53 | 3:29:45 |
| 08:30 | 0:42:30 | 1:25:00 | 1:51:26 | 3:42:52 |
| 09:00 | 0:45:00 | 1:30:00 | 1:57:59 | 3:55:58 |
| 09:30 | 0:47:30 | 1:35:00 | 2:04:32 | 4:09:05 |
| 10:00 | 0:50:00 | 1:40:00 | 2:11:06 | 4:22:11 |
| 10:30 | 0:52:30 | 1:45:00 | 2:17:39 | 4:35:18 |
| 11:00 | 0:55:00 | 1:50:00 | 2:24:12 | 4:48:24 |
| 11:30 | 0:57:30 | 1:55:00 | 2:30:45 | 5:01:31 |
| 12:00 | 1:00:00 | 2:00:00 | 2:37:19 | 5:14:38 |
| 12:30 | 1:02:30 | 2:05:00 | 2:43:52 | 5:27:44 |
| 13:00 | 1:05:00 | 2:10:00 | 2:50:25 | 5:40:51 |
| 13:30 | 1:07:30 | 2:15:00 | 2:56:59 | 5:53:57 |
| 14:00 | 1:10:00 | 2:20:00 | 3:03:32 | 6:07:04 |
| 14:30 | 1:12:30 | 2:25:00 | 3:10:05 | 6:20:10 |
| 15:00 | 1:15:00 | 2:30:00 | 3:16:38 | 6:33:17 |
Pace charts can be an excellent instrument for your routine training. No matter what distance you want to run, it helps you get the proper speed to reach your desired goal. For example, if you’re going to run 10 miles, but you run 5 miles in 1:15 hours, you know that your endurance needs to improve.
Hence, by looking at the pace chart, you can know if you want to build your endurance, maintain the same pace or improve your techniques.
If you can’t find your desired pace time, then here’s how you can calculate your pace and speed.
How to Calculate Running Pace and Speed?
The pace is the amount of time taken to walk or run 1 mile, measured in minutes per mile.
Pace = time/distance
Speed is the opposite of pace, and it is the distance you cover while walking or running over how much time.
Speed = distance/time
If you don’t know your speed or can’t calculate it, you can calculate it using pace.
Speed = 60/Pace
Some calculation examples of speed:
Running 8 miles in 1 hour: Speed = 8miles / 1 hour = 8mph (miles per hour)
Running 12 miles in 2 hour: Speed = 12 miles / 2 hour = 6mph
Running at a pace of 12:00 : Speed = 60/12 = 5mph
How to improve your pace?
You can improve your pace if you’re not satisfied with your current speed. Here are some strategies to help you make positive changes:
Improve your walking speed
Take a look at your walking technique to increase your speed. You may be able to increase your pace by making adjustments to your methods.
- Proper Walking Posture: This will help you breathe better, allowing you to walk faster and farther.
- Bend your arms as follows: Incorporating correct arm action into your walks may greatly increase the speed of your walking pace.
- Proper Stepping Method: Increase your pace by stepping from heel to toe with a forceful push-off. Race walking with straighter legs can also increase your speed.
- Try Run+Walk Method: If you can’t run the full distance or want to boost your pace while covering more ground, try doing an alternative between running and walking.
Improve your walking speed
If you’re a runner, you can improve your speed as well. It is important to focus on certain techniques and training strategies.
- Try to improve your stride turnover: To boost your running speed, increase the number of steps you take every minute. Increase your stride turnover and run more effectively by taking short, rapid steps.
- Add Interval Training: Include interval training in your workout to improve cardiovascular health and endurance.
- Weekly Tempo Runs: Running at a steady, consistent pace can improve your running speed and help you to develop your aerobic or lactate threshold(LT), which is a crucial aspect of running faster.
- Hill Training: Hill repetitions are great for building strength, and speed, increasing mental strength and confidence while confronting hills.
- Relax and Recover: Resting and recovering can improve your performance because your body has time to heal, rest and recover.
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, you can get some good evaluations of your overall performance using a pace chart. Keep in mind that these are only educated predictions, and you may not be able to maintain the same speed over all distances, training sessions, or races.
On any given day, other variables will impact your pace, and you may boost your walking or running speed with good technique and training.
