Running isn’t always about chasing the clock. But sometimes there’s nothing quite like going after a PB. If you’ve got a 10K coming up and a target time in mind, this guide will help you work out the pace you need.

Use the 10K pace chart below to find the average pace per kilometre and mile required for your target time. You’ll also find guidance on how to pace a 10K, race-day split times and an evidence-informed approach to getting the most from your race.

• Check out our 5k race planner too

10K Race Pace Planner

The Strategy

A 10K sits between the speed of a 5K and the endurance demands of longer-distance racing. It’s short enough to race hard, but long enough that getting your pace wrong in the opening kilometres can make the second half considerably tougher.

There are different schools of thought when it comes to pacing a 10K. Some favour a negative split, starting slightly more conservatively and running the second half faster, while others aim for a more evenly paced race. There’s no single strategy that suits everyone, and it can take a few races to learn which approach works best for you.

A good approach if you’re unsure is to stay patient early and think of the race as two 5Ks. Use the first half to find your pace and relax into the race, before beginning to race harder in the second half. The key is resisting the temptation to spend too much energy when everything feels easier in those opening kilometres.

Top tip: Whichever approach you choose, knowing your goal pace beforehand is important. Practise it in training, avoid getting carried away at the start, and give yourself the best chance of still running strongly when the race starts to hurt.

10K Pace Chart — 35 to to 70 minutes

If you’re targeting a milestone rather than an exact finish time, remember you need to average fractionally faster than the pace shown. For example, a sub-40-minute 10K requires slightly faster than 4:00/km (6:26/mile), while a sub-50 10K requires slightly faster than 5:00/km (8:03/mile).

10K Split Times

Knowing your average pace is useful, but cumulative splits can make it much easier to judge whether you’re on track during the race.

These are even-pace reference splits, not instructions to hit every checkpoint to the second. Hills, wind, corners, congestion and race conditions can all affect individual splits. A better approach is to use cumulative times to understand whether you are broadly on track rather than reacting to every fast or slow kilometre.

Goal pace is useful, but it shouldn’t override what’s happening on the course.

Running 4:30/km uphill or into a strong headwind requires more effort than running the same pace on a flat, sheltered section. Likewise, a downhill kilometre may naturally be faster without requiring greater effort.

Use your target pace as an anchor, but be prepared to make sensible adjustments for hills, wind, heat, congestion and other race-day conditions.

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