How to convert treadmill pace to road pace

Treadmill running is slightly easier than the same pace outdoors, so your indoor numbers need a small adjustment to mean the same thing. This tutorial shows how to convert them.

Step 1: Choose your direction

Open the treadmill converter and pick which way you are converting.

• Treadmill to road takes a pace you ran indoors and shows the equivalent outdoor pace.
• Road to treadmill takes an outdoor target and shows the treadmill pace and incline that match it.

Step 2: Enter your pace

Type in your pace per mile or kilometre using the minutes and seconds boxes. Use the unit toggle to switch between miles and kilometres.

Step 3: Set the incline

Move the incline slider to match your treadmill setting. The key number to remember is 1%. At a 1% incline, a treadmill run lines up closely with running on flat ground outside, which makes it the sensible default for everyday runs.

If you run steeper than 1%, the converter accounts for the real cost of climbing, so an incline session translates into a faster equivalent road pace than the treadmill display shows.

Step 4: Read the result

The big number is your converted pace. Use it to keep your training honest. If your plan calls for an easy run at 9:30 per mile outdoors, set the treadmill to 1% and run the treadmill pace the converter gives you, rather than guessing.

Step 5: Do not over-think it

A few seconds either way will not make or break your training. The point of converting is to stop a flat, fast treadmill run from masquerading as an honest outdoor effort, and to make sure your hard days are genuinely hard. Set 1% for normal runs, convert your incline work, and your winter miles will carry straight over to the road.