Run Goal Planner
Free to use, with no sign up. Your entries stay in this browser; calculations run on your device.
The men's half marathon data has an odd jump near the median. We use it as published.
Cadence
There is no single ideal cadence. Heiderscheit and others (2011) found that a cadence 5 to 10% above your own cut the load on the knee and hip. The often-quoted 180 steps a minute came from elite racers at race pace, not from easy running. Raise it a little at a time.
Where the numbers come from
- Runners slower: RunRepeat finish-time percentiles, from about 35 million race results. Only the 1st, 10th, 20th and on to 90th are published, so the page draws a smooth curve through them. Shares past those points are estimates. People who never race are not in the data.
- Levels: runninglevel.com standards by sex and age for the 5K, 10K, half marathon and marathon.
- Heat: Ely and others, 2007, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. Marathons got slower as heat rose. The cool-and-flat estimate takes off 0.15% per °F above 60°F and 0.1 seconds per foot of climb. Both are rough rules, not study results.
- New distance: when you change the distance, your times are carried over with Riegel's formula (American Scientist, 1981): time × (new distance ÷ old distance) to the power 1.06. It is a rough guide and less sure for races over about 4 hours.
- Cadence: Heiderscheit and others, 2011, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
Not medical advice.
How to use this tool
Pick a distance, sex and age. Drag your run or a goal dot along the chart, move a slider, or type the times below the chart. Add the temperature, climb and cadence if you know them. The share of runners slower, your level, the chart and the table change as you go. Reset to example brings back the sample run.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good 5K time for my age?
It depends on your age and sex. For men aged 35, runninglevel.com puts Beginner at 31:59 or faster and Intermediate at 22:53. Enter your age and sex to see your own levels. Across RunRepeat's race results, the median men's 5K is 31:28 and the median women's 5K is 37:28.
What cadence should I run at?
There is no single ideal cadence. Heiderscheit and others (2011) found that running 5 to 10% above your own cadence cut the load on the knee and hip. The often-quoted 180 steps a minute came from elite racers at race pace. No study we found gives a cadence formula by height.
How are levels set?
Levels come from runninglevel.com standards for each distance, by sex and age. Reaching a level's time puts you at that level. Slower than Beginner shows as Starting out. Ages between the 5-year columns are blended.
How much does heat slow me?
Only roughly. Ely and others (2007) found marathon times got slower as heat rose, and slower runners slowed more. This page uses a rough rule of 0.15% per °F above 60°F. Humidity matters a lot, so treat the estimate as a guide.