Treadmill Speed to Pace: The Conversion Chart
Treadmills display speed in miles per hour. Every training plan and race result is written in minutes per mile. The conversion is one division, and once you know it the two stop feeling like different languages.
Short answer
To convert treadmill speed to pace, divide 60 by the mph reading. At 6.0 mph that is 60 ÷ 6.0 = 10:00 per mile. To go the other way, divide 60 by your pace in decimal minutes. For kilometers, multiply mph by 1.609344 to get km/h.
The short version
- mph to pace per mile: 60 divided by the speed.
- mph to km/h: multiply by 1.609344.
- 5.0 mph is a 12:00 mile. 6.0 mph is a 10:00 mile.
- Set the incline to 1% if you want indoor effort to match outdoors.
The conversion chart
| mph | km/h | Per mile | Per km | 5K time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | 4.8 | 20:00 | 12:26 | 1:02:08 |
| 3.5 | 5.6 | 17:09 | 10:39 | 53:16 |
| 4.0 | 6.4 | 15:00 | 9:19 | 46:36 |
| 4.5 | 7.2 | 13:20 | 8:17 | 41:25 |
| 5.0 | 8.0 | 12:00 | 7:27 | 37:17 |
| 5.5 | 8.9 | 10:55 | 6:47 | 33:54 |
| 6.0 | 9.7 | 10:00 | 6:13 | 31:04 |
| 6.5 | 10.5 | 9:14 | 5:44 | 28:41 |
| 7.0 | 11.3 | 8:34 | 5:20 | 26:38 |
| 7.5 | 12.1 | 8:00 | 4:58 | 24:51 |
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
The arithmetic
Speed and pace are inverses of each other. Speed says how far in an hour. Pace says how long for one unit of distance.
- mph to minutes per mile: 60 ÷ mph. So 5.5 mph gives 60 ÷ 5.5 = 10.909 minutes, which is 10 minutes and 55 seconds.
- Minutes per mile to mph: 60 ÷ pace in decimal minutes. A 9:30 mile is 9.5 decimal minutes, so 60 ÷ 9.5 = 6.3 mph.
- mph to km/h: multiply by 1.609344. 6.0 mph is 9.66 km/h.
- km/h to minutes per kilometer: 60 ÷ km/h.
Converting the seconds
The decimal part of the minutes is not seconds. Multiply it by 60 first. 10.909 minutes is 10 minutes plus 0.909 × 60, which is 55 seconds, so 10:55 and not 10:90.
Does treadmill pace match outdoor pace?
Close, but not exactly. Running indoors means no air to push through and a surface that never changes, so the same nominal pace is slightly easier than it would be outside.
The usual adjustment is a 1% incline, which is small enough that you will not feel it and brings indoor effort roughly in line with flat ground outdoors. More on incline settings.
Belt calibration drifts
Gym treadmills are not laboratory instruments, and a belt that has done thousands of miles can read differently from the one next to it. If the numbers on two machines disagree, trust your breathing over the display.
Using this to hit a race pace
If you are training indoors for an outdoor 5K, work backwards from the finish time you want.
- 1Pick the finish time. Say 32 minutes for a 5K.
- 2Divide by 3.11 miles. That gives 10:18 per mile.
- 3Convert to mph. 10:18 is 10.3 decimal minutes, and 60 ÷ 10.3 is about 5.8 mph.
- 4Set the belt to 5.8 and 1% incline. That is your race pace, indoors.
Do not run every session there. Race pace belongs in one session a week at most, with the rest kept conversational.
Frequently asked questions
What pace is 6.0 mph on a treadmill?
A 10:00 minute mile, which is 6:13 per kilometer. Over 5K that is a 31:04 finish.
What speed is a 10 minute mile?
6.0 mph, or 9.7 km/h. The conversion is 60 divided by your pace in decimal minutes.
Is 5 mph running or jogging?
5.0 mph is a 12:00 mile, which is a comfortable jog for most people and a fast run for some. It depends on your height and stride, which is why effort matters more than the number.
Should I add incline to match outdoor running?
1% is the common adjustment. It offsets the lack of air resistance indoors and is small enough that you will not notice it underfoot.
Part of
Treadmill Running Plan for BeginnersA free beginner treadmill running plan with starting speeds in mph and km/h, incline guidance, an 8-week run/walk schedule, and how to make indoor running less boring.
The Yalla Go Team
We build Yalla Go, a running app for people who aren't runners yet. We started running from zero ourselves, so most of what's here is what we wish someone had told us in week one.
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