Easy jog · 4.6 mph
13:00 minutes per mile
Photo by Isaac Wendland on Unsplash
13:00 per mile equals 4.6 mph or 7.4 km/h on a treadmill, and 8:05 per kilometre. Held for a full 5K it gives 40:23. A 30-minute run at this pace covers 2.31 miles (3.71 km) — you would need about 11 more minutes to reach 5K.
13:00 and 13:30 per mile, converted
| Measure | 13:00 / mile | 13:30 / mile |
|---|---|---|
| Pace per kilometre | 8:05 | 8:23 |
| Treadmill speed | 4.6 mph | 4.4 mph |
| Treadmill speed (metric) | 7.4 km/h | 7.2 km/h |
| 5K (3.107 miles) | 40:23 | 41:57 |
| 10K | 1:20:47 | 1:23:53 |
| Distance in 20 minutes | 1.54 mi · 2.48 km | 1.48 mi · 2.38 km |
| Distance in 25 minutes | 1.92 mi · 3.09 km | 1.85 mi · 2.98 km |
| Distance in 28 minutes | 2.15 mi · 3.47 km | 2.07 mi · 3.34 km |
| Distance in 30 minutes | 2.31 mi · 3.71 km | 2.22 mi · 3.58 km |
| Minutes of running to reach 5K | 40:23 | 41:57 |
speed = 60 ÷ pace · distance = time ÷ pace · 1 mile = 1.609344 km
Distance covered in 30 minutes, by pace (mi)
Is 13:00 per mile too slow?
Thirteen minutes per mile is the first row of the site's Easy jog band. It is a relaxed pace, and that is the point. Your 5K finishes in 40:23. A half-hour covers 2.31 miles, or 3.71 km. The plan's own distance figures use 13:00 as a reference, so a week 1 session of eight 1-minute runs with walking in between comes to about 1.84 miles including the walks. This pace suits every week of the plan.
On a treadmill
Use 4.6 mph or 7.4 km/h. Going up to 4.8 mph matches a 12:30 mile and a 5K of 38:50, about a minute and a half faster. Going down to 4.4 mph matches a 13:30 mile and a 5K of 41:57. At this speed the belt is moving at a jog, not a walk, so keep your stride short and light and let the belt do some of the work.
How many minutes past 30 to reach 5K at 13:00
| Continuous run | Distance | Still to go |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 2.31 mi (3.71 km) | 1.29 km |
| 35 min | 2.69 mi (4.33 km) | 0.67 km |
| 40 min | 3.08 mi (4.95 km) | 0.05 km |
| 40:23 | 3.11 mi (5.00 km) | — |
The plan ends with 30 minutes of running. At 13:00 per mile a full 5K needs 40:23, which is 10:23 more. Adding 2 to 3 minutes a week to one run, as the guide on finishing the plan short of 5K describes, covers that gap in about 4 to 6 weeks.
What 13:00 looks like across the plan
| Session | Run minutes | Distance run | Whole session |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 Day 3 | 8 | 0.62 mi | 1.84 mi |
| Week 3 Day 3 | 9 | 0.69 mi | 1.75 mi |
| Week 4 Day 3 | 16 | 1.23 mi | 2.09 mi |
| Week 5 Day 3 | 20 | 1.54 mi | 2.09 mi |
| Week 6 Day 3 | 25 | 1.92 mi | 2.48 mi |
| Week 7 Day 3 | 25 | 1.92 mi | 2.48 mi |
| Week 8 Day 3 | 28 | 2.15 mi | 2.71 mi |
| Week 9 Day 3 | 30 | 2.31 mi | 2.86 mi |
To cover 5K you would run 10.4 minutes past the 30-minute week 9 run, so about 40 minutes. That is a third more time than the plan ends with. Spread it out: add about 3 minutes to your longest run each week for three or four weeks. Keep 13:00 as your pace throughout and let the minutes grow.
13:30 per mile: the half-minute step
13:30 per mile is 4.4 mph (7.2 km/h), 8:23 per km and a 41:57 5K; 30 minutes covers 2.22 miles.
A 13:30 mile is an easy jog, comfortably normal for someone starting from zero. Over 5K it adds up to 41:57, so a little under 42 minutes. Run for the full 30 minutes of week 9 and you cover 2.22 miles, or 3.58 km. This is a pace you can hold during the longest runs in the plan without changing it as the weeks go on, which makes weeks 5 and 6, where continuous runs first appear, much less daunting.
Set 4.4 mph, which is 7.2 km/h. Moving to 4.6 mph (a 13:00 mile) brings the 5K to 40:23. Moving to 4.3 mph (a 14:00 mile) takes it to 43:30. So 0.1 mph slower costs about a minute and a half here, while 0.2 mph faster saves about the same. Small changes at this end of the table matter more than the display suggests.
Frequently asked questions
Is a 13 minute mile good for a beginner?
Yes. A 13-minute mile is an easy jog, and easy is what a run/walk plan is built on. At this pace the 5K takes 40:23. The plan's own distance estimates use 13:00 as their middle reference, so the numbers on each workout page match what you will actually cover at this speed.
How long does it take to run 5K at a 13 minute mile?
40 minutes and 23 seconds. Per kilometer that pace is 8:05, so each kilometer takes just over eight minutes. After the week 9 runs of 30 minutes you will have covered 3.71 km, and the remaining 1.29 km takes about ten and a half minutes more at the same speed.
Is 13:30 per mile a jogging pace?
Yes. On this site it falls in the Easy jog band, which covers 13:00 to 14:30 per mile. It is clearly quicker than the walking reference of around 17 to 20 minutes per mile that the site uses. At 13:30 your 5K time would be 41:57, and a 30-minute run covers 2.22 miles.
Data sources
Data as of October 4, 2026
- FirstFiveK calculations (distance ÷ time)Own work · 2026-10
- CDC — Measuring Physical Activity Intensity (talk test)Public domain (US federal government) · 2026-10
- HHS — Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd editionPublic domain (US federal government) · 2026-10
- How ranks and averages are calculated