MinimalistPace vs speed: what the numbers on your tracker mean
Pace is how long it takes you to cover a distance (for example, 7:00 minutes per kilometer); speed is how much distance you cover in a set time (for example, 8.6 km/h). They describe the same thing from opposite directions, and you can always convert one into the other with a single division.
Runners and walkers tend to prefer pace because it answers the practical question: “How long will this take me?” Here is how to read both, convert between them, and avoid the most common mix-ups.
What is the difference between pace and speed?
- Pace = time ÷ distance. Shown as minutes:seconds per kilometer or per mile. A lower number means faster.
- Speed = distance ÷ time. Shown as km/h or mph. A higher number means faster.
That inversion is the source of most confusion. If your pace “goes down” from 8:00 to 7:30 per kilometer, you got faster. If your speed goes down, you got slower.
Why runners use pace and treadmills use speed
Pace maps neatly onto distance. If you know you jog at 7:00 per kilometer, a 5K will take about 35 minutes — easy mental math. With speed, you’d need to divide 5 by 8.6 and convert the result to minutes.
Treadmills, cars and bikes show speed because it is a continuous reading of how fast the belt or wheel is moving. So if you train both indoors and out, being able to switch between the two is genuinely useful.
How to convert pace to speed (and back)
The one formula you need:
Speed (km/h) = 60 ÷ pace (minutes per km)
Pace (minutes per km) = 60 ÷ speed (km/h)
The same works for miles: swap km for miles and km/h for mph.
The trap is the seconds. A pace of 6:30 is six and a half minutes, so you divide by 6.5, not 6.3. Convert seconds to a decimal by dividing by 60 first:
- 6:30 → 6.5 → 60 ÷ 6.5 = 9.2 km/h
- 7:45 → 7.75 → 60 ÷ 7.75 = 7.7 km/h
- Going the other way, 9 km/h → 60 ÷ 9 = 6.67 minutes → 0.67 × 60 = 40 seconds → 6:40 per km
Pace and speed conversion chart
| Pace per km | Pace per mile | km/h | mph |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5:00 | 8:03 | 12.0 | 7.5 |
| 5:30 | 8:51 | 10.9 | 6.8 |
| 6:00 | 9:39 | 10.0 | 6.2 |
| 6:30 | 10:28 | 9.2 | 5.7 |
| 7:00 | 11:16 | 8.6 | 5.3 |
| 7:30 | 12:04 | 8.0 | 5.0 |
| 8:00 | 12:52 | 7.5 | 4.7 |
| 9:00 | 14:29 | 6.7 | 4.1 |
| 10:00 | 16:06 | 6.0 | 3.7 |
| 12:00 | 19:19 | 5.0 | 3.1 |
To go from per-kilometer pace to per-mile pace, multiply by 1.609. For more distance conversions, our kilometers vs miles cheat sheet has quick reference tables.
Treadmill speeds in mph
If your treadmill shows mph, these are handy to remember: 3 mph is a 20:00 mile (12:26 per km), 4 mph is a 15:00 mile (9:19 per km), 5 mph is a 12:00 mile (7:27 per km), and 6 mph is a 10:00 mile (6:13 per km).
Average pace: why your numbers might not add up
Moving time vs elapsed time
Say you go out for 40 minutes, cover 5 km, and spend 4 of those minutes waiting at crossings. Your elapsed pace is 8:00 per km. Your moving pace — based on the 36 minutes you were actually moving — is 7:12 per km.
Both are “correct”; they just answer different questions. Moving pace reflects how fast you actually ran or walked. Minimalist reports moving time, and you can pause a session for a longer stop, so a coffee break doesn’t drag your numbers down.
Why you can’t average speeds
Imagine you run one kilometer at 6:00 and a second kilometer at 8:00. Your average pace over the two is 7:00 per km — 14 minutes for 2 km. Simple.
Now try it with speed. Those kilometers were 10 km/h and 7.5 km/h. Averaging them gives 8.75 km/h, but your real average speed was 2 km in 14 minutes, which is 8.6 km/h. Speeds can’t be averaged by distance, because you spend more time at the slower one. Always calculate averages from total distance and total time.
Working out pace from any run
Divide total minutes by total distance. A walk of 42:30 covering 4.2 km is 42.5 ÷ 4.2 = 10.12 minutes, which is about 10:07 per km.
Live pace vs average pace
Many apps show a “current” pace that bounces around. That is because it is calculated from a few seconds of GPS data, and GPS positions wobble by a few meters at a time. Under trees or between tall buildings it can swing even more.
For that reason, average pace over a whole kilometer or a whole session is far more trustworthy than any instant reading. If your numbers look strange, see how your phone measures distance with GPS.
Which number should you pay attention to?
- Beginner runners: mostly neither. Effort comes first. When you do look, average pace for the whole run is the useful one. Our guide to a good beginner running pace gives realistic ranges.
- Walkers: either works. Speed in km/h or mph is intuitive for walking, and it matches most research and health guidance on brisk walking. See average walking speed for typical figures.
- Treadmill users: speed, plus the chart above to translate to outdoor pace.
Key takeaways
- Pace is time per distance (lower is faster); speed is distance per time (higher is faster).
- Convert with 60 ÷ the other number — but turn seconds into decimals first.
- Multiply per-km pace by 1.609 to get per-mile pace.
- Calculate averages from total distance and total time, never by averaging speeds.
- Moving pace ignores stops; elapsed pace includes them.