Pace calculator
With this really easy-to-use tool, especially designed for runners, you can calculate your own pace in different distances and make conversions between distances and paces in different units. Instructions are available.
[Show the Pace Calculator in a separate window]
A few seconds per mile during a marathon is the difference between finishing with the Kenyans and finishing with some guy named Ken.Josh Cox (Marathoner)
Instructions
The pace calculator can be used in many different ways and here I list some of the functionality that I have found useful. Perhaps you will find other ways to use the calculator.
- You can define the distance (in kilometers, miles, meters, yards or 400m laps) and time (hours, minutes and/or seconds). Then the pace in several different units can be calculated.
- You can define a pace in one specific unit (minutes per km, minutes per mile, minutes per 400m, minutes per 100m, meters per second, kilometers per hour or miles per hour). Then the pace can be converted to other units.
- You can define a pace in one specific unit (minutes per km, minutes per mile, minutes per 400m, minutes per 100m, meters per second, kilometers per hour or miles per hour) and the distance (in kilometers, miles, meters, yards or 400m laps). Then the time can be calculated. The pace is also converted to the other units.
- You can define a pace in one specific unit (minutes per km, minutes per mile, minutes per 400m, minutes per 100m, meters per second, kilometers per hour or miles per hour) and the time (hours, minutes and/or seconds). Then the distance (in kilometers, miles, meters, yards and 400m laps) can be calculated. The pace is also converted to the other units.
- You can get target split times for different distances in a race by defining the pace and the "split distances". For example, suppose you plan to run 5 km in 22:30 with a target pace of 4:30 /km. Then you fill in the pace (4:30) and 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 km in the distance field. For each value of distance, you can read the target split times in the time section (4:30, 9:00, 13:30, 18:00 and 22:30).
- If you only define a distance (in kilometers, miles, meters, yards or 400m laps) and pushes the calculate/convert button, the distance will be converted to the other units.
- The decimal point to use is the dot character "." and not the comma character ",". For example, the number 12.5 is valid, but 12,5 is not valid.
- The input parameters used for the calculation/conversion are marked in bold in the result column.
- If the input parameters contain errors, the errors are shown in red above the pace calculator.
- If there are blank result rows, the reason can be that the result values are to small (for example, time values less than a second are not shown).
- The distance value used by the 400m laps is the number of laps, i.e. you can think of the unit as being 400m. For example, if you define 2.5 400m laps, this is equivalent to defining 1000 meters.
About the pace calculator
This online pace calculator is designed and developed by Anders Gustafson with useful help and hints from Ingmarie Nilsson.
Feedback on the calculator is highly appreciated, so please, send any comments, suggestions and/or errata to: anders at nemonisimors dot com.
Version history
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[October 2002] Version 1.0 is released. In this version you could convert between paces in different units, calculate a pace from a distance and time.
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[August 2003] Version 2.0 is released. The user interface is completely redesigned and rewritten. Many new functions are added (see the instructions above).
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[July 2005] This improved version (2.1) is released. The distance can now be defined in number of 400m laps. Paces for 400 meters and 100 meters are added.
Features in the future
Here is a list of features and functionality that hopefully will be added in some of the future versions of the Pace Calculator.
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Better calculation of target split times, so you get the different times for different distances in one calculation.
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Using intervals in pace definitions. By defining, for example, a distance of 5 km and a pace of 5:00 minutes per kilometer with a variation of ±5 seconds. In this case you should get the finish time for the paces 4:55 and 5:05 minutes per kilometer, i.e. 24:35-25:25 minutes.
Send me an email if you have any ideas or comments about features and functionality that you think could be useful.
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