What Is Pace?
Pace is how long it takes you to run one unit of distance. It’s the inverse of speed.
- Speed asks: how far can I go in one minute? (e.g., 200 meters/minute)
- Pace asks: how long does it take me to cover one unit? (e.g., 5:00 per kilometer)
Runners use pace rather than speed because it’s more intuitive for planning: you know roughly how long a race will take because you know your target pace per km (or per mile).
Pace Formats
Apex Run displays pace in minutes:seconds per kilometer (min/km) or minutes:seconds per mile (min/mi), depending on your Distance Unit setting (Settings → General → Distance Unit).
A pace of 5:30/km means it takes 5 minutes and 30 seconds to run one kilometer.
Quick Reference
| Pace (min/km) | Pace (min/mi) | Approx. 5K time |
|---|---|---|
| 4:00 | 6:26 | 20:00 |
| 4:30 | 7:14 | 22:30 |
| 5:00 | 8:03 | 25:00 |
| 5:30 | 8:51 | 27:30 |
| 6:00 | 9:39 | 30:00 |
| 6:30 | 10:28 | 32:30 |
| 7:00 | 11:16 | 35:00 |
The Pace Relationship
Any run can be described by three values. Know any two and you can calculate the third:
Pace = Time ÷ Distance
Time = Pace × Distance
Distance = Time ÷ Pace
Example: You want to run a 10K in 50 minutes. What pace do you need?
Pace = 50 min ÷ 10 km = 5:00/km
Example: You ran for 45 minutes at 5:30/km. How far did you go?
Distance = 45 min ÷ 5.5 min/km = 8.18 km
Using the Pace Calculator in Apex Run
The Pace Calculator lives in the Profile tab under Runner’s Toolkit. Enter any two of the three values (Distance, Time, Pace) and the third is automatically calculated and highlighted.
This is useful for:
- Planning a race: “I want to finish in X time — what pace is that?”
- Pacing a long run: “My long run is Y km — at easy pace, how long will I be out?”
- Analyzing a workout: “I covered Z km in W minutes — what was my average pace?”
Average Pace vs. Instant Pace
Average pace — Total time divided by total distance for the whole run. This is what Apex Run shows in the main metrics section.
Instant pace — Your pace at any specific moment. Shown in the pace chart, where you can tap to inspect individual points. Instant pace fluctuates with hills, traffic stops, and natural speed variation.
Split pace — Average pace for a defined portion of the run (e.g., each kilometer). Shown in the splits section, useful for evaluating pacing strategy.