--- title: "800m Interval Pace - Two-Lap Split Guide | TrainPace" description: "Work out 800m interval times from pace per km or mile. See two-lap examples, pacing advice, and why Yasso 800s do not guarantee a marathon time." url: https://trainpace.com/calculator/800m-interval-pace --- # 800m Interval Pace and Two-Lap Splits Work out 800m interval times from pace per km or mile. See two-lap examples, pacing advice, and why Yasso 800s do not guarantee a marathon time. An 800m repetition covers two laps in lane one of a standard outdoor track. These longer repetitions make a rushed first lap costly: choose a workout-appropriate pace you can hold evenly, rather than treating the first 400m as a sprint. - Convert seconds per kilometre to an 800m time by multiplying by 0.8. - At 4:30/km, run 800m in 3:36 with 1:48 laps. At 5:00/km, the split is 4:00 with 2:00 laps. - For mile pace, multiply seconds per mile by 800 / 1609.344. At 8:00/mile, 800m takes about 3:59. - The appropriate pace depends on the session and recovery. An 800m race effort is not a sustainable target for repeated aerobic intervals. ## How to pace 800m repetitions Turn a training pace into a controlled two-lap effort. 1. Choose the effort: Use a recent race result and your workout instructions to select an appropriate training pace. 2. Calculate the target: Multiply seconds per kilometre by 0.8 for the full repetition and by 0.4 for each lap. 3. Run evenly: Check the first lap, avoid banking time, and keep the prescribed recovery between repetitions. ## Frequently asked questions ### How do I convert min/km to an 800m interval time? Convert the pace to seconds and multiply by 0.8. For 4:15/km, 255 × 0.8 = 204 seconds, or 3:24 per 800m. Even laps would be 1:42 each. ### Do Yasso 800s predict my marathon time? They are a workout, not a reliable standalone prediction. Running 800m repeats in 3:30 does not guarantee a 3:30 marathon. Long-run endurance, weekly training, fueling, weather, and the course all affect marathon performance. ### How much recovery should I take between 800m repeats? Follow the purpose of the session and your plan. Short jog recoveries make the work more continuous; longer recoveries allow faster repetitions. If you cannot hold controlled, consistent splits, reduce the pace or number of repeats rather than forcing the workout. - [Find Training Paces for Your 800m Repeats](https://trainpace.com/calculator) ## Training pace reference **Training paces by recent 5K time (min/km)** | 5K time | VDOT | Easy | Marathon | Threshold | Interval | Rep | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 15:00 | 69.6 | 3:45–4:30 | 3:23–3:42 | 3:15 | 2:56 | 2:32 | | 17:30 | 58.2 | 4:20–5:12 | 3:54–4:17 | 3:46 | 3:23 | 2:56 | | 20:00 | 49.8 | 4:54–5:53 | 4:26–4:51 | 4:16 | 3:51 | 3:19 | | 22:30 | 43.4 | 5:29–6:34 | 4:57–5:25 | 4:46 | 4:18 | 3:43 | | 25:00 | 38.3 | 6:03–7:14 | 5:28–5:59 | 5:16 | 4:45 | 4:06 | | 27:30 | 34.2 | 6:37–7:53 | 5:59–6:33 | 5:46 | 5:13 | 4:30 | | 30:00 | 30.8 | 7:11–8:32 | 6:30–7:06 | 6:16 | 5:40 | 4:54 | | 32:30 | 28.0 | 7:44–9:10 | 7:01–7:39 | 6:46 | 6:07 | 5:17 | | 35:00 | 25.6 | 8:17–9:48 | 7:31–8:12 | 7:15 | 6:34 | 5:41 | ## More pacing guides - [Recovery Run Pace Guide](https://trainpace.com/calculator/recovery-run-pace) - [400m Interval Pace and Track Splits](https://trainpace.com/calculator/400m-interval-pace) - [Negative Split Marathon Pacing Guide](https://trainpace.com/calculator/negative-split-marathon) ## Method and sources The numbers on this page are computed with the same code as the TrainPace calculators, from these published methods. They are training guidance, not medical advice. - Daniels, J. Daniels' Running Formula. Human Kinetics — VDOT, training zones, and equivalent race times. - Daniels, J. & Gilbert, J. (1979). Oxygen Power: Performance Tables for Distance Runners — the oxygen-cost and %VO2max equations behind VDOT. ## Other TrainPace tools - [Pace Calculator](https://trainpace.com/calculator) — training paces from a recent race result - [VDOT Calculator](https://trainpace.com/vdot) — fitness score and equivalent race times - [Training Plan Builder](https://trainpace.com/plan) — week-by-week 5K to marathon plans - [Race Fuel Planner](https://trainpace.com/fuel) — carbs per hour and gel counts - [Elevation Finder](https://trainpace.com/elevation-finder) — GPX route and climb analysis ## For AI agents Every public page on this site has a Markdown mirror at the same path with a .md suffix (for example /calculator.md), and honors an Accept: text/markdown request header on the HTML URL. The calculations here are also available as callable tools through a free public MCP server — no account or API key. - [llms.txt](https://trainpace.com/llms.txt) — site index for agents - [llms-full.txt](https://trainpace.com/llms-full.txt) — every page's Markdown in one file - [MCP server docs](https://trainpace.com/mcp) — endpoint, tools, and client setup