Treadmill speed and incline to outdoor running pace
Treadmill Converter
A flat treadmill runs easier than the road, because there's no air to push through, and every percent of incline runs harder. Enter the belt's speed and grade for the outdoor pace it matches, or the pace you want for the setting that gives it.
What the belt is worth outside.
No wind to push through, so a flat treadmill runs easy, and every percent of incline runs hard. Enter the belt's speed and grade for the outdoor pace it matches, or the pace you want for the setting that gives it.
| mph | Belt pace | Outside |
|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 15:00 | 15:00 |
| 4.5 | 13:20 | 13:20 |
| 5.0 | 12:00 | 12:00 |
| 5.5 | 10:55 | 10:55 |
| 6.0 | 10:00 | 10:00 |
| 6.5 | 9:14 | 9:14 |
| 7.0 | 8:34 | 8:34 |
| 7.5 | 8:00 | 8:00 |
| 8.0 | 7:30 | 7:30 |
| 8.5 | 7:04 | 7:04 |
| 9.0 | 6:40 | 6:40 |
| 9.5 | 6:19 | 6:19 |
| 10.0 | 6:00 | 6:00 |
| 11.0 | 5:27 | 5:27 |
| 12.0 | 5:00 | 5:00 |
Inclines worth knowing: 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 8%, 10%. Above about 5% the numbers are honest about effort but the stride is a different sport.
The twelve-week course
Tier I for a first marathon, Tier II for a big PB, Tier III for a BQ or faster. One video a week, with fueling, pacing, workouts, recovery and race planning in the week you need them.
Tier I
$24714 videos · 12 weeks
Your first marathon, or your first time on a real plan. Week 1 is three days of running. By the end you’ll run 16 miles (25.5km) and finish at marathon pace. We cover easy running, cross-training, fueling, recovery, your first threshold workouts, and how to run each half of the race.
Start Tier I
Tier II
$24714 videos · 12 weeks
You’ve done one or a few, but now we get faster. You should be holding 20–30 miles (32–48km) a week before Week 1. You’ll peak around 54–60 miles (87–97km), with marathon pace in your long runs, a 20-miler (32km), and a 10K time trial that sets your race pace.
Start Tier II
Tier III
$24714 videos · 12 weeks
You’re chasing a BQ or faster. You should be holding 30–40 miles (48–64km) a week before Week 1. You’ll peak at 60–70 miles (97–113km), with LT, CV and VO2max work, a 20-mile (32km) long-run workout, and an even-split race plan.
Start Tier III
All three
$494
$741Buy two, get the third free. That’s 42 videos, one for every kilometer of the marathon, and three training blocks from your first marathon to your first BQ attempt.
Get all three
How the numbers are worked out
Why 1% is the level playing field
A treadmill has no air to push through. Jones and Doust measured it in 1996: a 1% incline makes the belt cost what the same speed costs outdoors, across normal running speeds. So 1% is treated as neutral here.
What an incline costs
The standard running equation (the ACSM's) puts the cost of a grade at 4.5 times the cost of the same speed on the flat. So every percent above 1% is worth 4.5% of pace: 6.5 mph at 3% costs what about 7.1 mph costs on the road. Below 1% the belt flatters you by the same rule. Above 5% the numbers still describe the effort, but the stride changes, so marathon-pace work belongs near flat.