Pace Guide

What Is Pace?

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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

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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

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The Pace Relationship

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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

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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?”

Instant Pace vs. Split Pace vs. Average Pace

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When tracking a workout on your Apple Watch or analyzing it in Apex Run, you will encounter different scopes of pace:

• Instant Pace: Your real-time speed at any exact second. Displayed on your watch screen during workouts and in the Apex Run interactive pace chart. It naturally fluctuates with turns, wind, and GPS noise.
• Split Pace: The average pace across a specific segment or checkpoint (such as each kilometer or mile). Splits reveal your pacing discipline—whether you started too fast or maintained consistent negative splits.
• Average Pace: The overall pace summarizing your complete run. However, depending on how stops and hilly terrain are counted, watches and platforms calculate average pace in three distinct ways.

Elapsed Pace vs. Moving Pace vs. Effort Pace (GAP)

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Have you ever noticed your GPS watch, Strava, and official race results report slightly different average paces for the exact same run? It comes down to how time and elevation are handled:

1. Elapsed Pace (Total Clock Time)

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• Formula: Total Elapsed Time ÷ Total Distance
• What it measures: Every single second from the moment you hit “Start” until you hit “Finish”—including waiting at red traffic lights, tying shoelaces, or walking through hydration stations.
• Why it matters: Race Day. In official road races and marathons, chip timing never pauses. Your official gun and net finish times are calculated purely on elapsed time.

2. Moving Pace (Active Running Time)

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• Formula: Moving Time ÷ Total Distance
• What it measures: Only the duration where your body was actively in motion. When you pause at a pedestrian crossing and your watch auto-pauses, the timer stops.
• Why it matters: Daily Training. Moving pace reflects your true athletic speed when your feet were actually striking the ground.

3. Effort Pace / GAP (Grade Adjusted Pace)

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• Formula: The equivalent flat-ground pace required to match your current metabolic energy expenditure, adjusted for uphill and downhill inclines.
• What it measures: Climbing an 8% incline at 6:00/km might require the same cardiovascular heart rate and oxygen intake as cruising at 4:30/km on a flat road. Effort Pace (also called Grade Adjusted Pace or GAP) removes the distortion of elevation.
• Why it matters: Hilly Routes and Trail Running. It keeps you honest during hilly sessions, preventing you from overexerting on steep climbs just to chase an arbitrary flat pace number.

⛰️ Deep Dive: Want to understand the physiological science behind how hills alter your oxygen cost? Check out our dedicated guide: Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP): How to Measure True Effort on Hilly Runs.

Frequently Asked Questions

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What is the difference between elapsed pace and moving pace?

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Elapsed pace divides your total time (including all pauses, red lights, and breaks) by total distance. Moving pace only counts the time you were actively running. On race day, official marathon results are always based on elapsed time.

What is average effort pace or Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP)?

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Average effort pace (or Grade Adjusted Pace) estimates what your pace would have been if the entire run had taken place on flat ground with the same aerobic energy output. It accounts for the extra effort of running uphill and the assistance of running downhill.

What does split pace mean in running?

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Split pace is the average pace for an individual segment of your workout (commonly 1 km or 1 mile). Tracking splits helps runners evaluate pacing stability and avoid burning out too early.

What is the formula for calculating running pace?

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Pace is calculated as Time ÷ Distance. For example, running 10 kilometers in 50 minutes equals a pace of 50 ÷ 10 = 5:00 min/km.

What is the difference between average pace and instant pace?

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Average pace is total session duration divided by total distance. Instant pace is your real-time speed at any given second, which fluctuates with terrain, corners, and arm swing.

How do I convert min/km to min/mile?

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Multiply your min/km pace by 1.60934. For example, a 5:00 min/km pace equals 5.0 × 1.60934 = 8:03 min/mile.

Related Tools & Guides

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• Online Pace Calculator — Calculate time, pace, or distance instantly.
• Pace Converter (min/km ↔ min/mile ↔ km/h ↔ mph) — Rapid conversion across imperial and metric running units.
• Grade Adjusted Pace (GAP) Guide — The Minetti physiological formula and how slopes alter your true training pace.
• Running Form Metrics — Cadence, vertical ratio, and ground contact time dynamics.