A good pace is one you can hold for the distance you are actually running. Six minutes per kilometer is a comfortable 5K for some runners and a marathon goal for others. The number without a distance does not grade the run.
Effort first, then the clock
Easy running is the pace you could talk in. For a lot of recreational runners that lands somewhere between 6:00 and 8:00 per kilometer (about 9:39 to 12:52 per mile, 7.5 to 10 km/h). That is a description of effort, not a ranking. A newer runner at 8:00/km and a trained runner at 5:30/km can both be on an easy day.
Race pace is faster and it has to survive the whole course:
| Goal | Pace | What it finishes |
|---|---|---|
| 25:00 5K | 5:00/km (8:03/mile) | 5.000 km |
| 55:00 10K | 5:30/km (8:51/mile) | 10 km |
| 1:50:00 half | 5:13/km (8:23/mile) | 21.0975 km |
| 4:00:00 marathon | 5:41/km (9:09/mile) | 42.195 km |
| Sub-3:00 marathon | 4:16/km (6:52/mile) | 42.195 km |
Check a live distance on the 5K or marathon pace calculator. The pace calculator covers anything in between.
Why averages mislead
Published “average running speeds” mix first-time joggers with club runners, and they mix a one-mile effort with a long run. Age shifts the range too, mostly because maximum heart rate and VO2 max tend to decline, but training history moves the number more than a birthday does. Average running speed by age keeps easy-run bands labeled as planning ranges, not survey results. Pace by age and distance does the same for race clocks.
A recent race is a better benchmark than a stranger’s average. If you have one finish time, the race time predictor scales it to other distances. The marathon line from a 5K is often optimistic until you have trained for the longer race.
A practical test
Take an easy run you have repeated. Divide the time by the distance. If that pace is drifting faster while the effort stays the same, fitness is moving. If you only look at one hard workout, you will call a good pace whatever you survived that day.
Compare the result with speed only when you need km/h. Pace versus speed is the conversion, not a second opinion about whether the run was “good.”