When running, you might like to know your pace per mile, as well as your overall speed and distance covered. Particularly for running races, it is helpful to know how it feels to run at different paces -- this way, you can control your overall pace and effort over the course of a race. For example, you might wish to start at an easy to moderate pace and increase your pace every mile throughout a 5K running race.
Formula
To calculate your per-mile pace, divide the total number of minutes you ran by the total number of miles you covered. For example, if you ran a 5K race -- a distance of 3.1 miles -- in 35 minutes, the calculation would be 35 divided by 3.1, for a pace of 11.3 minutes per mile. Remember that in minutes, each decimal point refers to 6 seconds, so 11.3 minutes per mile is 11 minutes and 18 seconds per mile.
Reverse Calculation
If you know the pace you want to run at -- for example, many people like to run a 10-minute mile as a marker of a good running speed -- you can figure out how fast you need to run using the reverse calculation. To find the speed associated with a certain pace, divide the number 60 by the desired pace. For example, to find the speed of a 10-minute mile pace, you would divide 60 by 10 for a speed of 6 miles per hour.
Uses
Knowing the formula for calculating your pace and your speed can help you to plan your running workouts, race strategy and overall fitness trajectory. If you run outdoors and know the length of a planned running course, you can estimate the overall time it will take you to complete the run at a predetermined steady pace. Alternatively, you may choose to run laps or miles at different paces. A common example would be to run a 5K race with the first mile taking 12 minutes, the second mile at 11 minutes and the final 1.1 miles at a 10-minute mile pace.
Distance
According to a study conducted by Angela Mastaloudis at Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute, a runner's overall pace will generally be faster in shorter runs and slower in longer runs. Mastaloudis studied runners completing an ultramarathon race of 50 km, or 32 miles, in length. The average pace over the course of the whole race was roughly 13 minutes per mile, which Mastaloudis notes is relatively fast for such a long-distance running race.
Member Comments