Treadmill Pace Calculator

Running on a treadmill is a great way to reduce the strain on your joints, improve your cardiovascular health, and train for running competitions. With a little planning, you can reach your next treadmill milestone.

The treadmill pace calculator is designed to help you find the ideal pace for your next workout. By entering a treadmill speed you’ll discover your resulting pace. However, you can discover much more than that!

Use this app to help guide your training. Use it to enter your desired running time, distance, or speed. The treadmill speed calculator will determine the missing pace, incline, and/or treadmill speed needed to achieve your running goal. Let’s look at how.

Start With Your Goal

To use the running pace calculator, you must start by determining a target treadmill speed you want to run. If you’re new to treadmills, use the suggested speed settings dropdown to select common treadmill settings.

If your goal is based on a specific distance, such as running 5k in 25 minutes, you can use the time calculator. After clicking on the time button, fill in the distance and speed inputs. This is useful for discovering potential speeds to hit your PR.

When your goal is based on a fixed time, such as V02 Max testing, select the distance tab. Then enter the required time and your target speed. The output distance will be your score for this type of cardiovascular testing.

How Treadmill Speeds Work

The critical point to understanding treadmill speeds is that they are measured in hourly values. Therefore, if a treadmill speed displays a value of 3.0, the treadmill belt is moving at a pace of 3 MPH (or 3 KM/H for metric machines).

You may note that the results table contains a “difference” column. This denotes the difference between your target speed and the speed of the row. So a difference of 00:00:00 is exactly your target speed, while negative values are slower and positive ones are faster.

Treadmill Incline Conversions

One of the big differences between running outdoors compared to on a treadmill is the incline, as uneven ground surfaces and wind speeds can affect your pace.

If you have been running on a flat treadmill, consider adding a bit of an incline to replicate the feeling of running outdoors. As a general rule of thumb, increasing the incline by 1 - 2% makes it significantly closer to running outside due to wind resistance and uneven ground.

With that said, it is worth noting that inline has more of an effect at slower treadmill speeds than at higher speeds. Going from a 0% incline to 2%, at a speed of 5 MPH, will change the adjusted pace per mile from 00:12:00 to 00:11:05. Simply put: raising the incline to 2% is like running nearly a minute faster per mile on a flat surface. At slower speeds more inline means, you’ll exert more energy.

Adding some incline to your treadmill runs is an excellent way to challenge yourself and create a more natural, outdoor, feeling. Determine what incline setting you want to run at, and then use the treadmill incline conversion calculator to find your adjusted pace.

Conclusion

The treadmill pace calculator helps you achieve your running goals by calculating the exact pace, speed, and/or distance you must run. Whether you are just starting or training for a competition, use this helpful app to map out your route to unlocking your next level of fitness.

Always remember to factor in the time it takes for the treadmill belt to speed up when planning your next run. Then use the recommended pace, speed, and incline conversion as an average to achieve your next goal.