Running
Km to Mile Pace
Updated 1 Nov 2026 · Source: NIST unit conversion factors ↗
Enter a pace and choose whether it is per kilometer or per mile. You get the matching pace in the other unit, plus speed in km/h and mph.
Worked example
- 5:30 per km × 1.609344 = 8:51 per mile
Kilometer pace to mile pace
| Per km | Per mile | km/h | mph |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 4:50 | 20.0 | 12.4 |
| 3:15 | 5:14 | 18.5 | 11.5 |
| 3:30 | 5:38 | 17.1 | 10.7 |
| 3:45 | 6:02 | 16.0 | 9.9 |
| 4:00 | 6:26 | 15.0 | 9.3 |
| 4:15 | 6:50 | 14.1 | 8.8 |
| 4:30 | 7:15 | 13.3 | 8.3 |
| 4:45 | 7:39 | 12.6 | 7.8 |
| 5:00 | 8:03 | 12.0 | 7.5 |
| 5:15 | 8:27 | 11.4 | 7.1 |
| 5:30 | 8:51 | 10.9 | 6.8 |
| 5:45 | 9:15 | 10.4 | 6.5 |
| 6:00 | 9:39 | 10.0 | 6.2 |
| 6:15 | 10:04 | 9.6 | 6.0 |
| 6:30 | 10:28 | 9.2 | 5.7 |
| 6:45 | 10:52 | 8.9 | 5.5 |
| 7:00 | 11:16 | 8.6 | 5.3 |
| 7:15 | 11:40 | 8.3 | 5.1 |
| 7:30 | 12:04 | 8.0 | 5.0 |
| 7:45 | 12:28 | 7.7 | 4.8 |
| 8:00 | 12:52 | 7.5 | 4.7 |
The conversion factor: 1.609344
A mile is exactly 1,609.344 meters, which is 1.609344 kilometers. To turn a pace per km into a pace per mile, multiply by 1.609344. To go the other way, divide.
Work in seconds to avoid slips. A 5:30 km pace is 330 seconds, and 330 times 1.609344 is 531 seconds, or 8:51 per mile.
Shortcuts you can do in your head
Multiplying by 1.6 lands within a few seconds for most paces. A 5:00 km pace times 1.6 is 8:00, and the exact answer is 8:03. The shortcut always comes out a little fast, so round up.
Another rule: each extra 15 seconds per km adds about 24 seconds per mile. Going from 5:00 to 5:15 per km moves you from 8:03 to 8:27 per mile.
Running a race abroad
Many races outside the U.S. post kilometer markers instead of mile markers. Before the trip, convert your goal mile pace and write down clock times for 5, 10 and 20 km. A 9:09 mile, the pace for a 4-hour marathon on the marathon pace chart, becomes 5:41 per km.
Kilometer markers come up more often: a marathon has 42 of them against 26 mile markers. That gives you more chances to catch a small pacing error early. Treadmills in gyms abroad may show km/h too, which the chart lists next to mph.
Setting up your watch
A GPS watch lets you choose miles or kilometers for distance and pace. Switching changes only the display, not the measurement, so your stored runs stay the same.
If you train in miles but will race in kilometers, switch the display a week or two before the race so the new numbers feel normal. Lap alerts follow the chosen unit too, so a watch set to km will buzz at every kilometer. For full race-time math in either unit, use the pace calculator.
Related pages
Mile Time Calculator, 10K Pace Chart, 5K Pace Chart, Half Marathon Pace Chart, Marathon Pace Chart
Questions
What is 6:00 per km in mile pace?
9:39 per mile, which is 10 km/h or about 6.2 mph.
What is a 10:00 mile in km pace?
About 6:13 per km.
How do I convert km/h to mph?
Divide km/h by 1.609344. So 12 km/h is about 7.5 mph, which is an 8:03 mile.
Why use 1.609344 and not 1.6?
The longer number is the exact value. Using 1.6 makes your mile pace a few seconds too fast, and that error adds up over a long race.
How we calculate: every formula, with its author and year, is on our method page; data sources and their licenses are on sources.
gymnical.com gives estimates from published formulas and public data. It is not medical advice and not a training prescription. Last reviewed November 2026.