Racing
Mile, 1500 m and 1600 m converter
Convert a time between the 1500 m, the mile and the 1600 m. It also converts between the 3000 m, 2 miles and the 3200 m.
How it is calculated
A mile is exactly 1609.344 m, so it is 109.344 m longer than a 1500 m and 9.344 m longer than a 1600 m. A longer race is also run at a slightly slower pace. The converter allows for both with the Riegel formula and its exponent of 1.06.
That gives one factor for each conversion:
| From | To | Multiply by |
|---|---|---|
| 1500 m | Mile | 1.0774 |
| Mile | 1500 m | 0.9281 |
| 1600 m | Mile | 1.0062 |
| Mile | 1600 m | 0.9938 |
| 1500 m | 1600 m | 1.0708 |
The same factors work for 3000 m, 2 miles and 3200 m, because the distances are in the same ratio.
Many coaches multiply a 1500 m time by 1.08 to get a mile time. The formula gives 1.077, so the two agree within about a second for most runners. The Same pace column is the distance ratio alone, 1.0729. It makes the longer race too fast.
Worked example
A 4:10.00 1500 m is 250 s. For the mile: 250 × 1.0774 = 269.4 s, which is 4:29.4. At the same pace it would be 4:28.2, about a second faster. For the 1600 m: 250 × 1.0708 = 267.7 s, which is 4:27.7.
As a check against real races: Hicham El Guerrouj ran 3:26.00 for 1500 m in 1998 and 3:43.13 for the mile in 1999. The formula turns his 1500 m into a 3:41.95 mile, 1.2 s faster than he ran.
Limits
- It is an estimate. Race tactics, the weather and the shape you are in move a real time by more than the conversion does.
- The factor is the same for everyone. A runner with more speed than endurance loses a little more over the extra distance than the formula says.
- It converts between distances only. It does not turn an indoor time into an outdoor one.
Sources
Riegel, P. S. (1981). Athletic records and human endurance. American Scientist, 69(3), 285–290. jstor.org/stable/27850427. The international mile is defined as exactly 1609.344 m.
Questions
How do I convert a 1500 m time to a mile time?
Multiply the 1500 m time by 1.077. A 4:10.00 1500 m becomes a 4:29.4 mile. The common rule of multiplying by 1.08 gives almost the same answer.
How much slower is a mile than a 1600 m?
About 0.6%. Add about 1.5 seconds to a 4:00 1600 m, or about 1.9 seconds to a 5:00 1600 m.
Why not just keep the same pace?
A longer race is run at a slightly slower pace. Keeping the same pace makes the mile about 1 second too fast for a 4:10 1500 m runner.
Can I convert a 3200 m time to 2 miles?
Yes. Choose 3200 m. The same 0.6% applies, so a 10:00 3200 m is about 10:03.7 for 2 miles.
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