An even-pace split sheet for the run you are planning
Turns one distance and finish time into an even-pace checkpoint sheet. It shows kilometre and mile pace, handles a shortened final split, and downloads every checkpoint as CSV without sending a training target anywhere.
The complete even-pace split sheet
| 1 | 1 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 5:00 |
| 2 | 2 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 10:00 |
| 3 | 3 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 15:00 |
| 4 | 4 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 20:00 |
| 5 | 5 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 25:00 |
| 6 | 6 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 30:00 |
| 7 | 7 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 35:00 |
| 8 | 8 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 40:00 |
| 9 | 9 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 45:00 |
| 10 | 10 km | 1 km | 5:00 | 50:00 |
An estimate, not medical advice. Body metrics are population averages and do not account for your individual circumstances. Speak to a clinician about anything that matters.
How it works
What this works out
A finish time on its own is hard to operate. A split sheet turns it into things you can check while moving: the time at each kilometre, mile or 400 metre lap, the elapsed clock there, and the exact shorter row that reaches the finish.
The important word is even. This is the straight line between start and finish, not a claim that the straight line is the best way to run every course. It is useful as a baseline because every deliberate adjustment can then be described against something exact.
The method
Distance is converted to metres and finish time to seconds. Their ratio gives seconds per metre. Multiplying that ratio by 1,000 gives kilometre pace; multiplying it by exactly 1,609.344 gives international-mile pace.
The checkpoint count rounds the course length up, not down. For a 10.3 km run split by kilometre, ten full rows are not the course: an eleventh row of 300 m is required. Each cumulative distance is capped at the actual finish, so the last row cannot overshoot it.
The timing calculation deliberately does not add the displayed row above. Suppose the exact kilometre pace is 4 minutes 41.4 seconds. The page displays 4:41, but five copies of that label make 23:25 while five exact copies make 23:27. Every cumulative checkpoint therefore multiplies the original unrounded ratio by distance and rounds only the final clock shown in that row.
Before you read on
A runner wants 23:27 for 5 km. Each displayed kilometre rounds to 4:41. What should the finish row say?
23:27. The exact kilometre is 281.4 seconds and only its label rounds to 281. Five labels therefore lose two seconds between them; the finish row uses the unrounded ratio and still lands on the requested clock.
A worked example
For 10 kilometres in 50 minutes, split every kilometre:
total distance 10,000 m
total time 3,000 s
seconds per metre 0.3 s
pace per kilometre 300 s = 5:00
pace per mile 482.8032 s = 8:03 when displayed
average speed 12 km/h
The first five checkpoints are 5:00, 10:00, 15:00, 20:00 and 25:00. The tenth is 50:00, so the row count is ten and there is no partial finish. Switch the same target to 400 metre laps and the sheet has 25 rows of 2:00 each.
A four-hour marathon is the useful partial-row example. At 42.195 km it averages 5:41 per kilometre and 9:09 per mile. Twenty-six miles reach approximately 3:58:00; the remaining 0.2188 mile takes about 2:00 and the final cumulative clock is exactly 4:00:00. Those figures and the 10K figures above are asserted in the formula tests.
What this does not decide
It does not choose the target, vary it by terrain, or prescribe effort. A hill can make even effort deliberately slower than even pace, and a crowded start can make the first checkpoint a poor place to chase lost seconds. The CSV is a precise baseline to carry or adapt, not a diagnosis of what anybody should run.
The formula
totalMetres = distanceKm x 1,000
totalSeconds = finishMinutes x 60
secondsPerMetre = totalSeconds / totalMetres
pacePerKm = secondsPerMetre x 1,000
pacePerMile = secondsPerMetre x 1,609.344
splitCount = ceiling(totalMetres / chosenSplitMetres)
checkpointDistance[n] = min(n x chosenSplitMetres, totalMetres)
checkpointTime[n] = totalSeconds x checkpointDistance[n] / totalMetres
Every checkpoint uses the unrounded totals. Displayed times are rounded only
after the checkpoint has been calculated.
What it assumes
- The sheet is an even mathematical pace from start to finish. It does not model hills, wind, congestion, aid stations, warm-up, fatigue or a deliberate negative split.
- Distance arrives in kilometres. The measurement-system switch converts miles at the input boundary, so the formula receives one base unit whichever control the visitor sees.
- One international mile is exactly 1,609.344 metres. A track-lap row is 400 metres; a real runner in an outside lane travels farther unless the start is staggered.
- Each displayed clock is rounded independently to the nearest second. Adding those rounded split labels can differ from the exact finish by a few seconds, so cumulative checkpoints come from the unrounded total instead.
- This is a planning aid, not medical or coaching advice. A target can be mathematically consistent and still be unsuitable for a particular runner.
Common questions
What is the difference between pace and speed?
Pace is time per unit of distance, such as 5:00 per kilometre. Speed is distance per unit of time, such as 12 kilometres per hour. They describe the same average from opposite directions: doubling speed halves pace.
Why is the last row shorter than the others?
The course is not always a whole number of the chosen split. A marathon is about 26.2188 miles, so a mile sheet needs 26 full rows and one final row of about 0.2188 mile to reach the actual finish.
Why can the displayed split times add to a different total?
Each display is rounded to a whole second. Repeating a rounded label also repeats its rounding error, while the cumulative column is calculated afresh from the requested finish time and therefore lands on it exactly.
Does the split sheet recommend a safe pace?
No. It only divides a target supplied by the visitor. Fitness, conditions, terrain and health determine whether that target is reasonable; none of those are inferred here.