Why Use this Training Pace Calculator?

Use this calculator to translate race times into actionable training data. While these calculations provide the accurate physiological targets necessary for my workouts, you are an athlete, not a robot. Treat these paces as your primary guide, but remain flexible—adjust for your personal strengths (speed vs. endurance) and always respect the impact of heat and course difficulty on your effort.

The Golden Rule: Train Your "Date Pace"

Unless you are in the final weeks of your season, always base your training paces on your current fitness level (Date Pace), not the time you hope to run at the end of the year (Goal Pace). Training at a pace you aren't ready for yet leads to burnout and injury, not speed.

How to Read the Chart

Find your current 5k time in the left column. If you are between times, always round up to the slower time to stay safe.

• Easy: This is your most important zone. These runs build aerobic volume and allow your body to absorb hard training. If you run these too fast, you won't recover for the real workouts.
• Threshold: The "comfortably hard" zone. This pace improves your body's ability to clear lactate, allowing you to run faster for longer without fatigue setting in.
• Critical Velocity: It is often defined as the fastest pace a runner can sustain for 30 to 45 minutes of all-out running.
• 5K Race Pace: These workouts (usually 800m–1200m repeats) increase the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use.
• Mile Race Pace: These short bouts improve your running economy, mechanics, and raw speed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my "Easy Run" pace so slow?

It is supposed to be! Many young athletes make the mistake of running their easy days too fast (the "Grey Zone"). Physiological adaptation—specifically mitochondrial development and capillary density—happens best at 65–75% of your max heart rate. Running faster than the calculator prescribes doesn’t make you fitter; it just prevents you from recovering fully for your next hard workout. Trust the data.

How often should I update my training paces?

You should re-calculate your paces after every significant race PR (Personal Record) or roughly every 4–6 weeks of consistent training. Do not manually adjust the paces just because a workout felt "too easy." Training is meant to build you up, not break you down. Let your race results dictate your training speed, not your ego.

I don't have a recent 5K time. What should I enter?

If you are new to the season or haven't raced a 5K recently, you have two options:

1. Run a timed 1-mile time trial at maximum effort and select "1 Mile" in the calculator above.
2. Use a result from a different distance (like a recent 3200m or 10K) and use our Race Time Predictor to estimate what your 5K equivalent would be.

About the Coach

Coach Saltmarsh specializes in high school distance running and athlete development. With a focus on data-driven training and consistent progression, this site provides the tools and insights coaches and athletes need to reach their peak performance. This app was built to solve a common problem for coaches: making running math simple, making the progression appropriate, and making summer training individualized and optimized for every runner on your team.

Looking for more training resources? Explore the Training Articles or view Coaching Resources.