Treadmill pace chart: km/h to min/km
Treadmills are marked in km/h, but runners think in min/km. 12 km/h is 5:00 min/km, 10 km/h is 6:00 min/km, and 14 km/h is 4:17 min/km.
The sum is 60 divided by the speed: 60 ÷ 12 = 5.0 minutes per kilometre.
Full chart: 6 to 20 km/h
The finish times show what each speed would give over 5K and a half marathon if you held it the whole way.
| Speed | Pace | 5 km | 21.1 km |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 km/h | 10:00 min/km | 50:00 | 3:30:59 |
| 6.5 km/h | 9:14 min/km | 46:09 | 3:14:45 |
| 7.0 km/h | 8:34 min/km | 42:51 | 3:00:50 |
| 7.5 km/h | 8:00 min/km | 40:00 | 2:48:47 |
| 8.0 km/h | 7:30 min/km | 37:30 | 2:38:14 |
| 8.5 km/h | 7:04 min/km | 35:18 | 2:28:55 |
| 9.0 km/h | 6:40 min/km | 33:20 | 2:20:39 |
| 9.5 km/h | 6:19 min/km | 31:35 | 2:13:15 |
| 10.0 km/h | 6:00 min/km | 30:00 | 2:06:35 |
| 10.5 km/h | 5:43 min/km | 28:34 | 2:00:33 |
| 11.0 km/h | 5:27 min/km | 27:16 | 1:55:05 |
| 11.5 km/h | 5:13 min/km | 26:05 | 1:50:04 |
| 12.0 km/h | 5:00 min/km | 25:00 | 1:45:29 |
| 12.5 km/h | 4:48 min/km | 24:00 | 1:41:16 |
| 13.0 km/h | 4:37 min/km | 23:05 | 1:37:22 |
| 13.5 km/h | 4:27 min/km | 22:13 | 1:33:46 |
| 14.0 km/h | 4:17 min/km | 21:26 | 1:30:25 |
| 14.5 km/h | 4:08 min/km | 20:41 | 1:27:18 |
| 15.0 km/h | 4:00 min/km | 20:00 | 1:24:23 |
| 15.5 km/h | 3:52 min/km | 19:21 | 1:21:40 |
| 16.0 km/h | 3:45 min/km | 18:45 | 1:19:07 |
| 16.5 km/h | 3:38 min/km | 18:11 | 1:16:43 |
| 17.0 km/h | 3:32 min/km | 17:39 | 1:14:28 |
| 17.5 km/h | 3:26 min/km | 17:09 | 1:12:20 |
| 18.0 km/h | 3:20 min/km | 16:40 | 1:10:20 |
| 18.5 km/h | 3:15 min/km | 16:13 | 1:08:25 |
| 19.0 km/h | 3:09 min/km | 15:47 | 1:06:37 |
| 19.5 km/h | 3:05 min/km | 15:23 | 1:04:55 |
| 20.0 km/h | 3:00 min/km | 15:00 | 1:03:18 |
What does the incline do?
Indoors there is no headwind, and the belt pulls your feet backwards for you. Together that makes the same speed feel slightly easier on a treadmill than outside. The usual recommendation is 1% incline to make up the difference.
From about 2% upwards the incline starts changing your stride rather than just the load — the stride shortens and you land further forward. That is a fine session in its own right, but it is no longer a simulation of flat ground, and the pace cannot be compared directly to a time outdoors.
Why the treadmill feels harder anyway
Many people experience the opposite of what the chart says: 12 km/h indoors feels heavier than 5:00 min/km outside. That is rarely physiology and mostly heat and boredom. With no wind of your own making, cooling is worse and your heart rate creeps up at the same workload; with no scenery moving, your head has nothing to do. A fan and a shorter interval solve more than adjusting the speed does.