Treadmill Pace Chart for Pace Conversion with Free Printable
From time to time, you might find yourself needing to complete a run on the treadmill.
If you’re primarily an outdoor runner, you probably become used to the pace you run. That means you might feel a little discombobulated once you hop onto the treadmill because treadmills are generally set to use miles per hour (mph).
You might know how fast you run a mile, but how many miles can you run in exactly one hour? I sure don’t know!
A treadmill pace chart can be a simple tool to help you understand where you should set your treadmill to match your regular running pace.
Benefits of Running on the Treadmill
There are quite a few benefits of running on the treadmill over running outdoors.
👉🏼 First, you can run on the treadmill regardless of the weather. Your trusty treadmill will always be ready for a run in the rain, heat, or snow.
👉🏼 Treadmills are softer than pavement. The belts provide shock absorption that isn’t available on the rugged outdoor surfaces we usually run on.
👉🏼 You decide your pace and the incline you run. When you run in a neighborhood, you likely must stop for traffic numerous times. You also can’t avoid elevation in some places. On a treadmill, you can ultimately choose these elements.
Drawbacks of Running on the Treadmill
While there are significant benefits to treadmill running, there are certainly some drawbacks.
👎🏼 BORING. You might disagree, but most runners find that covering the distance in one place isn’t the same as watching the scenery change outdoors.
👎🏼 Treadmill running doesn’t allow for a natural running stride. Although the motion is essentially the same, a treadmill doesn’t require a runner to drive their feet forward the same as they would when outdoor running.
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What’s Considered a “Good” Pace When Running on the Treadmill?
A good pace for one runner will not be the same for all runners.
There are also good paces for different reasons. If you’re doing a sprint workout on the treadmill, you’ll want to have a quick pace. A long run on the treadmill means you want a slower, steadier pace.
A generally good pace for running on the treadmill might mean that you identify your average mile time when you run outside. Try to apply that pace to your treadmill run.
You might find it more challenging to hold that pace on the treadmill. Is running on a treadmill harder?
This study suggests that treadmill running is perceived to be more difficult because of visual distortion.
When we run outside, we see how quickly we run as we pass by trees, cars, and buildings. Those visual cues don’t exist when running on a treadmill, creating a primarily psychological challenge.
Are Treadmill Paces Accurate?
When you jump on the treadmill and start your run, you’re hoping to complete your workout with a goal in mind. Maybe you want to run a specific mileage, kilometer, time, or pace.
This means you might be counting on the treadmill pace to be accurate.
Although the pace of a treadmill should be accurate in theory, it requires upkeep for this to remain true. If you’re running on a treadmill at the gym and the facility hasn’t calibrated the belt in a while, your pace and distance may be off.
Treadmills are a good tool, but if you depend on accuracy, a treadmill can cause an error in your stats.
How Do You Calculate Pace on a Treadmill?
When running on a treadmill, the machine will generally show you a number that correlates to miles per hour or kilometers per hour.
Today’s treadmills will also show you your average minutes per mile or kilometers per mile. Essentially, the treadmill should provide you with all the information you want.
However, if you want to know the mathematics behind calculating your pace from the treadmill, here is a helpful infographic!
Treadmill Pace Conversion Chart
When running on a treadmill, a pace chart can be beneficial.
If you want to begin your workout without overthinking about miles per hour or minutes per mile, you can look at the pace chart.
If you can run a mile in about 10 minutes and 30 seconds, then you can cross-reference with the chart to see that you need to set the treadmill at about 5.8 to hit close to your pace.
💡 You can save this free treadmill pace chart to your phone for quick access!
How to Use a Treadmill Pace Chart
If you ask yourself questions like “what pace is 7.0 mph on the treadmill?” then a treadmill pace chart will come in handy.
You look in the “miles/per hour” column to find “7.0.” Once you’ve located this, you can see that the pace is 8:34, or 8 minutes and 34 seconds per mile.
Another example is finding the pace for 4.0 on the treadmill.
Looking at the miles per hour column, we find 4.0. Then we see that this equals 15:00, or 15 minutes per mile.
Likewise, if you’re looking to find what an 8-minute pace is on a treadmill, you can use the chart in reverse. Looking at the chart, we can see 8:06 pace equals 7.4 miles per hour.
Treadmill Pace Chart in km/hr
I live in the US, where we generally follow mileage when tracking our runs.
However, most of the world uses the metric system and relies on the measurement unit kilometers (or kilometres).
For those of you who prefer your treadmill pace chart in kilometers per hour (km/hr), this chart is equivalent to those using miles.
Printable Version – Treadmill Pace Chart
You can download and print the attached file if you’re an analog-style person. Then you can always have a copy of the treadmill pace chart with you.
You’ll find each option – miles or kilometers.
Final Thoughts: Treadmill Pace Chart
Although you can run on a treadmill without much assistance, you might need to know how to convert the treadmill and your mileage pace if you’ve got a goal. Using a treadmill pace chart is one of the quickest ways to figure out this information.
I hope this pace chart brings you many happy treadmill miles!
