Planning a sub-30-minute 5K: turn a finish goal into pace
A target pace is a time budget, not a prediction of fitness. Check that the per-kilometre plan matches the full distance.
Pace calculator →Calculate the target average
Covering 5 km in 30 minutes requires 6 min/km, equivalent to 10 km/h. For a target of 29 minutes 30 seconds, enter 29.5 minutes. The result is 5.9 min/km, or 5 minutes 54 seconds. Six seconds less per kilometre produces a 30-second improvement across 5 km.
Check the remaining time at a split
At an even 6 min/km, 2 km takes 12 minutes and 4 km takes 24. If the first 2 km instead takes 13 minutes, only 17 minutes remain in a 30-minute budget for the final 3 km. That requires an average of roughly 5 minutes 40 seconds per kilometre. This explains the arithmetic of a split; it is not an instruction to accelerate regardless of how you feel.
Keep course conditions in the plan
Hills, weather, aid stops and crowding can change actual performance. The calculator does not assess whether a pace is a suitable training intensity for an individual. Use the speed tool to solve for distance or time and the time converter to handle minute-second notation. Match the distance unit throughout so a mile-based plan is not mistaken for a kilometre-based one.
Try the calculators
- Pace calculator
Turn distance and time into pace and speed.
- Speed, distance and time calculator
Solve for speed, distance or time from the other two, with metric and imperial units.
- Time conversion
Convert hours, minutes and seconds.