Training paces from a race result

Updated: 2026-10-28

A good running plan has more than one pace. Easy runs are slow, threshold work is clearly faster and intervals are faster still. This calculator gives you five training paces from one current result: enter the distance and time of a race or a hard time trial, and you get a pace range per kilometre or per mile and the matching speed for each type of training, together with one sentence on what that pace is for.

Calculate your training paces

Distance

Race or test time

Training paces from a result
Pace	Pace range (min/km)	Speed (km/h)	Use
Easy	5:18–6:21	9.5–11.3	Easy runs, long runs and warm-ups: they build the aerobic base.
Marathon	4:47–5:15	11.4–12.5	Long segments at marathon race pace.
Threshold	4:37–4:50	12.4–13.0	Segments of 5-20 minutes or a steady run up to an hour: they raise the lactate threshold.
Interval	4:09–4:20	13.8–14.4	Segments of 3-5 minutes with jog recovery: they develop aerobic capacity.
Repetition	3:51–4:00	15.0–15.6	Short, fast segments with full recovery: speed and running economy.

This is an estimate from a single result. For beginners and when converting a short distance to the marathon it can be off; a coach verifies it with a test.

Calculate zones from this threshold pace

Below the result there is a "Calculate zones from this threshold pace" button. It carries your threshold pace to the pace zones page, where it becomes five zones for analysing your training. You can also bring a race result over from the running calculator: next to the prediction there is a button that fills in the fields on this page.

Where the paces come from

The calculator uses the equations Jack Daniels and Jimmy Gilbert published in 1979. We do not copy tables from a book; we calculate from the equations, so the result is continuous for any time instead of being rounded to the nearest table row.

The calculation has three steps. First, distance and time give the average running speed. A second equation tells how much oxygen running at that speed costs. A third describes what share of maximum aerobic capacity a runner can hold for a given time: almost all of it for a few minutes, clearly less for an hour, even less for three hours. From those two numbers the calculator estimates aerobic capacity, then looks for the speeds at which the cost of running matches a given percentage of it.

The effort ranges are fixed and described in the method: easy pace is 59 to 74 percent of capacity, marathon pace 75 to 84, threshold 83 to 88, interval 95 to 100 and repetition 105 to 110 percent. The last range goes above one hundred percent because short repetitions are run faster than the pace you could hold for several minutes.

Which workouts at which pace

Easy pace is the base of the week: easy runs, recovery runs after a hard session and the long run. It builds your aerobic base and your tolerance for mileage. Most runners run it too fast.

Marathon pace is longer segments at marathon race pace or the end of a long run. It teaches economy and fuelling at a realistic effort.

Threshold pace is a 20-minute continuous run or repeats of a few minutes with short recoveries. It raises the pace you can hold without fatigue building up quickly and transfers best to results from 10K to the half marathon.

Interval pace is repeats of three to five minutes with recoveries of similar length. It works on maximum aerobic capacity.

Repetition pace is short, fast repeats with full recovery: speed and form without much fatigue.

Why there is no single magic number

Every pace is a range, because fatigue, weather, terrain and the day in your training cycle all change how an effort feels. The result is an estimate from a single race. For beginners, and for a marathon calculated from a 5K, the error is larger, because a short race says little about endurance. A coach checks threshold pace with the 30-minute test described on the heart rate zones page and updates the paces after each race.

Training pace tables for 10K results

The tables show five paces for 10K results from 35:00 to 65:00 in 2:30 steps, first per kilometre and then per mile. Each pace is a range.

Training paces from a 10K result (min/km)
10K result	Easy (min/km)	Marathon (min/km)	Threshold (min/km)	Interval (min/km)	Repetition (min/km)
35:00	4:11–5:01	3:46–4:08	3:38–3:49	3:17–3:25	3:02–3:09
37:30	4:28–5:21	4:02–4:25	3:53–4:04	3:30–3:39	3:14–3:22
40:00	4:45–5:41	4:17–4:42	4:07–4:19	3:43–3:53	3:26–3:34
42:30	5:01–6:01	4:32–4:58	4:22–4:35	3:56–4:06	3:39–3:47
45:00	5:18–6:21	4:47–5:15	4:37–4:50	4:09–4:20	3:51–4:00
47:30	5:34–6:40	5:02–5:31	4:51–5:05	4:23–4:34	4:03–4:12
50:00	5:51–6:59	5:17–5:47	5:05–5:20	4:36–4:47	4:15–4:25
52:30	6:07–7:18	5:32–6:03	5:20–5:35	4:49–5:01	4:27–4:37
55:00	6:23–7:37	5:47–6:19	5:34–5:50	5:02–5:14	4:39–4:50
57:30	6:39–7:56	6:01–6:35	5:48–6:05	5:15–5:28	4:51–5:02
1:00:00	6:56–8:14	6:16–6:51	6:03–6:20	5:28–5:41	5:03–5:15
1:02:30	7:11–8:33	6:31–7:07	6:17–6:35	5:40–5:55	5:15–5:27
1:05:00	7:27–8:51	6:45–7:23	6:31–6:49	5:53–6:08	5:27–5:40

Training paces from a 10K result (min/mile)
10K result	Easy (min/mile)	Marathon (min/mile)	Threshold (min/mile)	Interval (min/mile)	Repetition (min/mile)
35:00	6:44–8:05	6:04–6:39	5:51–6:08	5:16–5:30	4:53–5:04
37:30	7:11–8:37	6:29–7:06	6:15–6:33	5:38–5:52	5:13–5:25
40:00	7:38–9:09	6:53–7:33	6:38–6:58	5:59–6:14	5:32–5:45
42:30	8:05–9:41	7:18–8:00	7:02–7:22	6:20–6:36	5:52–6:05
45:00	8:32–10:13	7:42–8:26	7:25–7:47	6:41–6:58	6:12–6:26
47:30	8:58–10:44	8:06–8:53	7:48–8:11	7:02–7:20	6:31–6:46
50:00	9:25–11:15	8:30–9:19	8:12–8:35	7:23–7:42	6:51–7:06
52:30	9:51–11:45	8:54–9:45	8:35–8:59	7:44–8:04	7:10–7:27
55:00	10:17–12:16	9:18–10:10	8:58–9:23	8:05–8:26	7:29–7:47
57:30	10:43–12:46	9:42–10:36	9:21–9:47	8:26–8:47	7:49–8:07
1:00:00	11:09–13:16	10:05–11:02	9:44–10:11	8:47–9:09	8:08–8:27
1:02:30	11:34–13:45	10:29–11:27	10:06–10:35	9:08–9:31	8:28–8:47
1:05:00	12:00–14:15	10:52–11:52	10:29–10:59	9:29–9:52	8:47–9:07

Frequently asked questions

What is my easy pace with a 50-minute 10K?

Roughly 5:50 to 7:00 min/km, or about 9:25 to 11:15 min/mile. It is a wide range, and that is good: run easy days after a hard week near the slow end and ordinary aerobic runs in the middle.

How is threshold pace different from marathon pace?

Threshold pace is faster and you can hold it for about an hour. Marathon pace is slower because it has to last three or four hours. For a 40:00 10K, threshold pace comes out at about 4:07 to 4:19 min/km and marathon pace at about 4:17 to 4:42 min/km.

Which result should I use?

A recent 5K, 10K or half marathon run at full effort. A result from six months ago or a race run with an injury will make every pace too slow or too fast.

How often should I update my paces?

After every race or test that shows a clear change in fitness, usually every six to eight weeks.