Holy hotness. Summer weather has kicked into high gear, so I don't blame you for trading hot and humid runs outside for an air-conditioned gym. The only problem is that running on a treadmill requires less effort than running outside because the moving belt helps propel your feet forward, and there's no wind resistance to hold you back. If you're training for a marathon or just trying to keep up your pace, you can pump up the incline in order to make running on a treadmill compare to the effort exerted when running outside. Below is a chart from Hillrunner.com to show you just how much the percentage of incline affects how fast you're moving.
At first glance, you may be confused as to why the pace on a flat road is not the same as the pace on a treadmill with zero percent incline. Remember that running on a flat treadmill is easier than running on a flat road because of the propelling belt and lack of wind resistance, so that's why the chart lists a slower pace at zero percent incline.
| Treadmill setting in miles per hour | Minutes per mile on flat road | Equivalent paces by incline | |||||
| 0% | 2% | 4% | 6% | 8% | 10% | ||
| 5.0 | 12:00 | 12:31 | 11:05 | 10:03 | 9:16 | 8:38 | 8:07 |
| 5.2 | 11:32 | 12:02 | 10:42 | 9:44 | 8:59 | 8:23 | 7:54 |
| 5.4 | 11:07 | 11:35 | 10:20 | 9:26 | 8:43 | 8:09 | 7:41 |
| 5.6 | 10:43 | 11:10 | 10:00 | 9:09 | 8:29 | 7:56 | 7:29 |
| 5.8 | 10:21 | 10:47 | 9:42 | 8:53 | 8:15 | 7:44 | 7:18 |
| 6.0 | 10:00 | 10:26 | 9:24 | 8:38 | 8:02 | 7:32 | 7:07 |
To see the rest of the chart, continue reading.
