Running Pace, Time & Distance Calculator

Use the calculator below to determine the pace for a range of sports, such as running, walking, and biking. The calculator can also be used to calculate the time or distance traveled based on a specific pace and distance.

Multipoint Pace Calculator

For individuals who have access to the time at intermittent intervals throughout a run (or other activity), the following calculator can be used to determine the pace of segments. For example, if a person runs from point A to point B, then to point C, records the time at each point, and then determines the distance between those points (using many available websites, applications, or maps), the multipoint calculator can determine how fast the person traveled between each pair of points, allowing use for training purposes; a person can run the same route (or distance) repeatedly and track pace over that given route, enabling comparison of

Typical Races and World Record Paces

Training Through Pace and Heart Rate

Pace is the rate of activity or movement, whereas heart rate is the number of times a person’s heart contracts per minute. Pace and heart rate are positively correlated; faster pace equals faster heart rate. Using both during training can assist a person enhance performance, avoid overtraining, and track development and fitness over time.

Measuring and Estimating Heart Rate and Heart Rate Zones:

Heart rate can be monitored in a variety of ways, including employing technologies such as heart rate monitors or simply gazing at a watch and detecting pulse at a peripheral point such as the wrist or neck. Resting heart rate and maximum heart rate are two well-known heart rate measurements that are frequently used to estimate specific target heart rate zones and determine different levels of exercise.

Typical adult resting heart rates (RHR) are usually reported as ranging from 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm), while some argue that normal RHRs actually lie between 50 and 90 bpm. In general, a lower RHR implies better heart function, however RHRs below 50 bpm may suggest an underlying heart problem or disease. The same is true for RHRs over 90 bpm.

A cardiac stress test, which involves repeatedly increasing degrees of activity, is the most accurate way to assess maximum heart rate (MHR). These examinations normally last from 10 to twenty minutes, which might be inconvenient. As a result, there are numerous estimates for MHR based on age, which is significantly connected to heart rate, but there is no agreement on which formula should be employed. The most widely used formula for measuring MHR is:

MHR = 220 – age

Although it is the most generally referenced formula and is frequently used to calculate heart rate training zones, it lacks a standard deviation reference and is not regarded as a strong predictor of MHR by respected health and fitness experts. Furthermore, MHRs differ greatly amongst individuals, even those with very similar training and age within the same activity. Nonetheless, MHR calculated using the above technique is commonly used to recommend exercise training heart rate ranges and can serve as a reference. It should be noted that an exercise intensity level of 60-70% of maximum heart rate is regarded optimal for fat burning. See the figure below for further information.

Exercise intensity levels and the normal heart rates linked with those levels based on age

Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercise:

Aerobic and anaerobic exercise are frequently referenced in terms of endurance training and running. These types of exercise differ primarily in terms of the duration and intensity of muscular contractions, as well as how energy is created within the muscle. Anaerobic exercise (80-90% MHR) involves short, rapid bursts of activity, whereas aerobic exercise (70-80% MHR) involves light effort sustained over time. To get the most out of aerobic exercise, aim for an intensity level of 55-85% of MHR for 20-30 minutes.

Aerobic exercise provides enough oxygen for a person’s muscles to produce all of the energy required for the workout. In contrast, during anaerobic exercise, the circulatory system is unable to provide muscles with oxygen quickly enough, so muscles burn down sugar to provide the necessary energy, resulting in an excess of lactate (a consequence of glucose metabolism). Excess lactate generates the burning feeling in muscles that is characteristic of anaerobic activities, and if excess lactate is not cleared from the bloodstream in a timely manner, activity cannot be continued. Although lactate is created in aerobic settings, it is consumed nearly as fast as it is formed at modest levels of exercise, with just trace amounts leaking into the bloodstream via the muscles.

Understanding aerobic exercise is especially important when preparing for a long-distance event like a marathon. Determining a pace that can be maintained while using solely aerobic energy, known as a “aerobic threshold pace,” aids in the maintenance of a balance between fat and carbohydrate consumption. This pace needs a low degree of intensity and may usually be maintained for several hours. Increasing aerobic threshold pace allows for a quicker sustained pace and is an important part of many marathon training regimens.

Some describe an anaerobic threshold pace as the point at which glycogen replaces oxygen as the body’s major source of energy. While anaerobic training will improve a person’s general fitness, it is not always the best way to prepare for a marathon because an anaerobic pace cannot be sustained for lengthy periods of time. This is not to argue that anaerobic training should be avoided; in fact, training at or slightly over one’s anaerobic threshold (the degree of exercise intensity at which lactic acid accumulates faster than it can be cleared from the bloodstream) can be advantageous.

Similar to heart rate, laboratory testing is the most accurate approach to detect these thresholds. However, both aerobic and anaerobic thresholds can be calculated using a variety of approaches, including the use of a heart rate monitor. According to a 2005 study, the most accurate approach to assess anaerobic threshold (other than blood tests in a lab) is a 30-minute time trial with heart rate monitoring. In this time trial, a runner must run with full effort while averaging their heart rate for the last 20 minutes of the run. The average heart rate during the previous 20 minutes is an estimate of the person’s anaerobic threshold heart rate (LTHR). It is critical that the time trial be completed alone. If done in a group situation, the period should be raised to 60 minutes rather than 30 minutes. The aerobic threshold heart rate can be calculated by subtracting 30 beats per minute from the anaerobic threshold heart rate.

Essentially, threshold training entails training to delay the point at which lactate begins to build up in the bloodstream, so delaying the point of fatigue and perhaps allowing a person to run farther and faster.