Calculate loaded-march pace, finish time, or distance and optionally quantify the carried load as a percentage of body weight.
Ruck March Pace Formula
Ruck pace is elapsed time divided by distance. The same identity can calculate finish time by multiplying pace and distance, or distance by dividing time by pace. The calculator normalizes all distances to meters and times to seconds, then reports both minutes per mile and minutes per kilometer.
The optional carried-load fields do not alter pace. They calculate a separate ratio: load percentage = carried load / body weight x 100. Keeping that ratio separate prevents a pace forecast from pretending to know how a particular person will respond to a particular load.
| Pace per mile | Speed | 3 miles | 6 miles | 12 miles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | 4.286 mph | 0:42:00 | 1:24:00 | 2:48:00 |
| 15:00 | 4.000 mph | 0:45:00 | 1:30:00 | 3:00:00 |
| 16:00 | 3.750 mph | 0:48:00 | 1:36:00 | 3:12:00 |
| 18:00 | 3.333 mph | 0:54:00 | 1:48:00 | 3:36:00 |
Average Pace Versus Moving Pace
If the entered time includes stops, the result is overall average pace. If it excludes stops, the result is moving pace. Use the version required by an event or training record. The split table assumes the same average pace continues across every segment; it is a planning projection, not a fatigue model.
Worked Example
Twelve miles completed in three hours is 180 minutes divided by 12, or 15:00 per mile. That equals about 9:19 per kilometer, 4 miles per hour, and 6.437 kilometers per hour. At a constant pace, the projected three-mile split is 45 minutes and the six-mile split is 1 hour 30 minutes.
Using Load Context Carefully
Army FM 7-22 describes ruck marching as progressive training. Its example guidance says to progress one factor at a time among load, distance, speed, gradient, or terrain roughness, and says loads above 30 percent of body weight should be increased with caution. Those principles do not create a universal prescribed load or pace. They explain why this calculator reports the load ratio without converting it into a personal recommendation.
Planning Limits
Actual pace can change with elevation, surface, footwear, heat, route finding, stops, load distribution, and accumulated fatigue. For a course estimate, calculate terrain-specific segments separately and add their times. Preserve seconds internally and round only the displayed split.
Sources
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Handbook 44, Appendix C: General Tables of Units of Measurement, 2026.
Headquarters, Department of the Army. FM 7-22, Holistic Health and Fitness, Chapter 7, 1 October 2020.