Do you think about running pace in km or mi?

useless

Think in kms, always.

Mile don't exist outside of the US/UK bubble and nobody care about it.

Km is the worldwide reference. All the races are counted in kms. What would you even think about min/miles in a 10k time trial? It means nothing.

Miles should be banned and the metric system used everywhere.

Elso Baddiman wrote:

Think in kms, always.

Mile don't exist outside of the US/UK bubble and nobody care about it.

Km is the worldwide reference. All the races are counted in kms. What would you even think about min/miles in a 10k time trial? It means nothing.

Miles should be banned and the metric system used everywhere.

Well, I happen to live in that bubble and only leave that bubble a few times in a lifetime. And even high school 5k XC races are marked in miles.

Is there an actual running benefit?

Parsecs per millenium.

Elvin wrote:

Parsecs per millenium.

Yeah, I don’t see that option on my Harmon data fields. Can't do the math in my head.

Metric man wrote:

Well, I happen to live in that bubble and only leave that bubble a few times in a lifetime. And even high school 5k XC races are marked in miles.

Is there an actual running benefit?

The benefit is conveniance. Do you want your 10k being split into 10 splits or into 6.2137273 splits?

The metric system also make sense and can be used outside of running for measuring people, building and all others things.

Metric man wrote:

I want to convert to min/km

Any benefit to this? Especially for 5k and 10k training?

I'm in the UK and immersed in the culture of miles. When I restarted running as an adult (5-10K) I defaulted to miles, mph, mpw, mins/mile, mile markers, etc. Then I realised it made no sense when all distances are metric (except M/HM and they're awkward numbers whether imperial or metric). I was also attracted by km markers on training routes being shorter than miles (I used to mark routes in round miles (or kms)).

So I switched to metric and everything made more sense and felt more intuitive. The only downside is that LR is 95% American and everyone quotes paces in mins/mile, but you get used to that. I'd hate to go back to miles, and as other poster said it's really only a UK/US thing.

Who cares? Just run baby.

I thought it was odd last week at Chicago the car behind the lead pack announced the pace of the last mile. I was wondering if any of the lead pack even cared about the pace/mile. I don't think they were announcing it to the spectators.

KM, easier to do the math for races and gives you better feedback.

Coming from Europe I always learned to think in km and min/km. It's very simple to quickly calculate your 10k pace etc., for example 3:45 /km is 37:30 (3.75 min/km x 10 km). Then I lived in Ireland and Canada and learned that miles still exist even outside the UK/US, even though these countries are awkwardly between their official metric system and imperial units. So one runner will talk to you in miles and the next in kms. If they tell you they "ran 10" you'll have no idea if it was 10k or 16k.

Americans typically have little experience in thinking in kilometers so you'll have to be translating all the time. Easier just to go with the norm.

So yeah, there are benefits but don't expect others to appreciate your metric thinking.

Thank you for the legit answer. So you do find the shorter intervals (km vs miles) to be more helpful in terms of pacing?

Metric may be slightly easier for training, but I don't feel it's a big difference. If you use metric in the US, and converse with people who use imperial, be prepared to translate!

I was born in the UK, moved to Canada as a child, came to the US many years ago, then lived in Europe and Asia for some of my career. I started running while in Spain, so everything was metric. I tried to continue that after I returned to the US, but eventually switched back to imperial. Now, I'd have a slight preference for metric for running measures.

I can convert metric imperial quickly in my head for most measures (distances, paces, weight, volume, temperature, etc.), so that's not a problem. In conversation with runners, I'll use whichever they are familiar with.

I can think in both kilometres or imperial measuring units (yards & miles). When I race 5K &/or 10K road races, I try to make note: 700m to go and 300m to go.

The sport was founded on miles and mileage runs through the core. It's such a short and easy word which carries centuries of history.

Can you imagine if we Brits and our ex-colonies such as USA regressed to using km:

"What's your weekly kilometrage?

"The trial of kilometres, kilometres of trials"

Ugh.

I grew up in Canada with both miles and kms. So I regularly do the math. Weak minds say counting miles is easier because there are fewer. However most of our treadmills are in miles for some stupid reason (manufacturer's default?). So I'm still converting 10.4 vs 10.6 to half marathon pace etc.

We always use the term "mileage" to mean weekly/total distance. 9/10 times when I ask someone their mileage they'll give me kms.

I just use both interchangeably as per my post above.

The easiest one is 5:00/km ~ 8min mile. From there you can kind of start putting it together..

2:29 = 4:00

3:06 = 5:00

3:43 = 6:00

4:21 = 7:00

5:00 = 8:00

I tend to round it for training paces like 2:30, 3:05, 3:45, 4:20

Miles. In the US, distances are metric. In races mile markers are given and only the biggest races would have km markers as well. On the track, kms end at a half lap, where as if you focus on a mile being 4 laps (yes I know its 9.x meters further, however, even in a 10k this equates to 6 - four lap "miles" plus 1), it helps a lot versus trying to figure out your time and pace at a half lap. In an international race, I'd just equate the km splits to their mileage equivalents, and take .62 mile splits. For the international races, I'd figure out what my goal pace and time equated to in terms of .62 miles.

Metric man wrote:

Elso Baddiman wrote:

Think in kms, always.

Mile don't exist outside of the US/UK bubble and nobody care about it.

Km is the worldwide reference. All the races are counted in kms. What would you even think about min/miles in a 10k time trial? It means nothing.

Miles should be banned and the metric system used everywhere.

Well, I happen to live in that bubble and only leave that bubble a few times in a lifetime. And even high school 5k XC races are marked in miles.

Is there an actual running benefit?

If you were going to race outside the US where splits are given in kilometers it would be useful to have taught yourself to understand them. I can see no benefit at all if you're racing in the US but also can see no harm. You'll still understand the mile splits that you hear in US races.