Treadmill pace chart

Quick answer: 6.0 mph is a 10:00 mile (6:13 per km); 7.5 mph is 8:00 per mile; 5.0 mph is 12:00 per mile. Pace in minutes = 60 / mph.

Treadmill pace chart, 3.0 to 12.0 mph

Pace, then the finish time for a 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon at each belt speed.

The last column is the pace on flat ground with the same oxygen cost as running at that speed on a 1% incline, from the ACSM running equation. The ACSM running equation is stated to be most accurate above 5 mph; for walking speeds the walking equation applies instead (see the walking calorie calculator).

Incline chart: flat-ground pace per mile at each incline

Each cell is the pace on flat ground with the same oxygen cost as the treadmill speed in the first column at that incline, from the ACSM running equation (flat speed = speed x (1 + 4.5 x grade)). Read across to see what a hill session is worth: 6.0 mph at 5% costs about the same as running 8:10 per mile on the flat.

Treadmill speed in km/h

Does a 1% incline match running outside?

On a treadmill there is no air to push through, so the same speed costs a little less energy than outdoors. Setting the belt to 1% is the common fix, based on a 1996 study by Jones and Doust that found a 1% grade best matched outdoor running at the speeds they tested. The flat-equivalent column here is a different, simpler estimate: it uses the ACSM equation, which only adds the cost of climbing (VO2 = 0.2 x speed + 0.9 x speed x grade + 3.5, speed in metres per minute) and so says 6.0 mph at 1% costs the same as about 6.27 mph on the flat, or 9:34 per mile.

Check your treadmill speed

The display can drift from the real belt speed, and you can check it with a chalk mark and a stopwatch. With the machine off, mark the belt and measure its full loop by moving it round by hand. Then run or walk at a steady setting while someone counts how often the mark passes in one minute. Loop length x passes per minute = metres per minute. A 3.0 m loop passing 54 times is 162 m a minute: 9.72 km/h, or 6.04 mph. If that console said 6.0, it is close; if your count is several passes off, the pace in the chart for that setting will be off by the same share.

Workouts on a treadmill

Intervals work on a belt if you allow for the few seconds the motor takes to change speed: start each rep when the belt is up to speed, not when you press the button. Set rep speed from the chart. At 8.0 mph, 400 m takes 1:51.8, 800 m takes 3:43.7 and a mile 7:30. For steady runs the race columns show what the session adds up to; 6.5 mph held for 13.1 miles is a 2:01:01 half marathon. If the same speed feels much harder or easier than that pace outdoors, trust effort and heart rate over the number.

Treadmills in km/h

Outside the US most consoles show km/h. Pace per km is 60 divided by the speed, so 11 km/h is 5:27 per km (6.84 mph). The table above covers 6 to 20 km/h in half steps.

Want calories too? The treadmill calorie calculator uses the same equations with your weight. For any other pace conversion, use the pace converter. Finish times for every pace are on the running pace chart.

Sources: ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription, metabolic equations; Jones and Doust (1996), A 1% treadmill grade most accurately reflects the energetic cost of outdoor running, J Sports Sci. Rules checked 7 October 2026. Found a problem? Tell us.

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