1.5 Mile Running Test on Treadmill

I have been asked to run 1.5 miles as part of an entry test on a treadmill. The treadmill measures speed in km/hr which is 2.4km for 1.5 miles.

What speed on the treadmill would I need to maintain to complete the test around 10 minutes or less?

I don't want to misjudge the speed and fail.

Answer by Dominique:

Hi there,

Thanks for your question about your 1.5 mile test.

You are lucky, I am not only a runner, but also a mathematician... :)

It's interesting that you are only interested in the conversion of mph to kmh, as running 1.5 miles in 10 minutes is a reasonable challenge. You must be a pretty good runner already.

Anyways, I might just give you a bit of info on:

1. How to calculate the right treadmill speed
2. Important ingredients in achieving your 1.5 mile run test

How to Calculate the Right Treadmill Speed

You need to run 2.4k within 10 minutes.

Multiply by 6 and you get 6 x 2.4k = 14.4k per 60 minutes, so 14.4k/hr.

In miles it is 9 miles / hr.

Keep in mind that the treadmill takes a while to get to the right speed, so don't set it to 14.4k/hr as you will just fail it. Set it to 14.6k/hr and you should just be alright.

Important Ingredients in Achieving Your 1.5 Mile Run Test

As I mentioned before, achieving 1.5 miles in 10 minutes is a reasonably big challenge for most people. You need to have a strong endurance base as well as have sufficient speed in your legs. The combination of being speedy and being able to hold that speed for long enough will be the key to your success.

If you still have some work to do to reach your time goal, I can highly recommend looking around my website a bit more. Especially check out the following pages:

Base Running - About the importance of building an aerobic endurance base.

Tempo Running - About tempo runs, which will be a useful introduction to faster running (if you need it).

Interval Running - High intensity work will improve your body's ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles. This is very important in a short run like the 1.5 mile.

Goal Pace Workouts - About the importance of doing some goal pace work closer to your race day. This helps you get used to the pace and can serve as a useful reality check to make sure that you are ready for that pace. You could do 6 x 400m at goal pace for example.

Training for the 1.5 Mile Run

Different Running Workouts Explained

Also check out all the other 1.5 mile questions and answers. They provide a wealth of information.

Kind regards,
Dominique