How to read the chart
Each row is one pace. Read across for the mile pace, the speed and the finish time at each distance.
Say your last parkrun was about 5:30 per km. That row shows a 27:30 5K, and what the pace means over longer races.
Holding a pace is the hard part. You can hold a pace far longer over 5K than over a marathon.
So one row does not tell you what you can race at every distance. For that, the VDOT chart lines up times that take the same fitness.
Pace per km or per mile
A mile is 1.609 km, so mile pace is km pace times 1.609. The chart gives both.
Most of the world races in kilometres, and most American runners train in miles. Pick one and keep it on your watch.
Switching mid-race is a reliable way to get the sums wrong when you are tired.
Treadmill speeds
Treadmills show speed, not pace. Find the pace you want, then set the treadmill to the speed beside it.
A 1% incline makes up for the lack of air resistance indoors. The effort is then closer to running on the road.
Race pace is not training pace
This chart is for racing, and for checking a run afterwards. Most training should be well slower than race pace.
A couple of harder sessions a week have set paces of their own. The training paces page works them out from a 5K time.
The plan builder then puts them into a week-by-week plan.