If you’re planning to run a 10k, then you may have a target time in mind. If you do, then this article might just be what you’re looking for. We’ll be able to show you a 10k time chart with different times and the pace you’ll need to run to hit that finishing time.
It is important to note that to hit the time you want, you will need to do appropriate training, especially if you are moving up from a 5k for the first time. if you are, make sure you read our blog about moving from a 5k to a 10k race.
There’s plenty to think about when looking at what time you want to finish your next race in. You might want to think about your mile pace, your current fitness level and whether this will lead to running a further distance in the future or you’ll just try and improve on that time.
A 10k run will take the average runner 52 minutes and 42 seconds, but at UKFE, we think that the average time for beginners to intermediate runners will be understandably slower than that.
An average pace for males is around 5 minutes and 41 seconds per kilometre (on average a 9 minute mile), and females average at 6 minutes and 58 seconds per kilometre (on average an 11 minute mile).
Using a 10k time chart can help you work out the specific pace you need to complete your 10k within your goal time and what pace per KM/Mile you should stay within to hit your specific time, whether that’s your personal best time or your ‘that’ll do’ time.
A 10k time chart is a great tool to use alongside other tracking tools like your smartwatch or strava to keep an eye on your progress and understand if your training is working for you or you need to amend it slightly to ensure your average times are working for you.
By tracking your runs with Strava, or your fitness watch you can look at your average pace and how your time and pace are improving. You can also use the tracked runs to check where you need to focus and if you need to add in a different style of training like pace intervals or hill sprints or speed workouts.
When you set up your training plan, it is a good idea to think of a few different finishing times that you’d be happy with and then you can work on those different times and concentrate on getting a good pace ready for race day.
It will also help you stay motivated with your training plan especially if a run or workout is missed for whatever reason.
If you’ve never used a pacing chart before, they can look quite technical and scary! However, they are really easy to work out and you’ll be able to map out half marathon and marathon pace charts like a professional before long.
Down the first column on the left hand side, you’ll see the pace per mile/KM in minutes and then on the right hand side, it’ll show the finish time you’ll achieve if you stay within those split times.
A more advanced running pace chart will show you the times for each mile in the 10KM race and then the finish time in the last column. This will help if you don’t think you’ll be able to keep the exact same pace throughout the race and want to know what will happen to your time if you move into different lap splits.
We’ve put a few examples of a 10k time chart below so you can see the different ones available.
You may be wondering how you’ll keep on top of your pace with a pace calculator when you’re actually running on the race course – well there are 10k time chart wristbands you can get so you can keep track of the times you’re doing and how a negative split may change the entire race for you.
On some smartwatches, you can also set a pace calculator up, set a goal pace and it’ll beep or vibrate when you are going too slow or too fast, keeping you dead on track with your run time.
When running the race, there may also be a pace group with a run pacer (they usually have huge flags showing the time they’re running for and a large group of people with them), who will also keep you on track and make sure that you achieve your goal race pace.
If it is a big race with multiple waves of runners, there’ll be a few per wave so watch out for them and stick with them if you want to. They do help, you can keep up with your target pace and cross that finish line with a smile on your face knowing that you’ve achieved the time you want.
Having a 10k time chart as you plan your training runs and with you on race day can help improve your race results and get you into a place where you’re always wanting to improve on your time.
With a 10k time chart, it’s easy to keep on top of your overall average pace so come race day, you know exactly what times you need to be hitting in order to get to the end of the race within your goal time.
Want to know more about running? Head over to our running blog page for more articles on 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon runs.
