Pace & race pace
Swim Race Pace Calculator: turn a goal time into practice paces
If you want a swimmer to race faster, they have to practice at the speed they want to race. That is the whole idea behind race pace training (RPT): instead of swimming sets at a vague “hard” effort, you set the repeats at the exact pace the goal race demands, broken into distances short enough to hold that speed with good technique.
The math is simple once you see it, and a calculator makes it instant for a whole set.
Quick answer: race pace is your goal race time spread evenly across the distance. To set practice paces, divide the goal time by the number of repeats (a 200 goal split into 50s is the goal time divided by four). apxswim’s Race Pace calculator does this from a goal time, race distance, and repeat distance, and also gives target paces at a range of intensities.
What race pace is
Race pace is just the goal race time spread evenly across the distance. Take the time you want a swimmer to hit, and find what that works out to for a shorter repeat:
race pace per repeat = goal time x (repeat distance / race distance)
So for a 200 back goal of 2:13.29, the per-50 race pace is:
133.29s x (50 / 200) = 33.32 seconds per 50
That 33.32 is the number the swimmer has to hold. Repeats of 50 on race pace teach the body what 2:13.29 feels like, one piece at a time.
A worked example
Goal: 200 backstroke in 2:13.29. Here is race pace at a few repeat distances:
| Repeat distance | Target on race pace |
|---|---|
| 25 | 16.66 |
| 50 | 33.32 |
| 100 | 1:06.65 |
Build a set like 8 x 50 holding 33.32, or 4 x 100 holding 1:06.65, and the swimmer is rehearsing the race instead of just getting tired.
Here is the full set in apxswim’s Race Pace calculator, which lays out the pace at every intensity and the race time each one projects to:
Chasing a cut? Train at cut pace
Swimmers who are close to a Sectional, zone, or state cut want to spend practice time at exactly that speed. apxswim has the qualifying times built in, so you can pull the cut for any event and drop it straight into the calculator as the goal. Here a coach grabs the 200 Back Western Zone cut and sends it in:
Set it as the goal and RPT builds the set around it: repeats right at the cut, plus the easier steps that build up to it. A swimmer chasing the 2:13.29 Zone cut trains 50s at 33.32, the cut pace, instead of guessing at “fast.”
(Wondering what each length of the race itself should be, evenly or on a negative split? That is a different job, handled by the Pace / Split calculator.)
Training around race pace, not just at it
Most sets do not sit at exactly 100% of goal pace the whole way. You ease in, then finish at speed. That is why apxswim’s race pace calculator gives you paces at a range of intensities around the goal, not a single number. Enter the goal time, the race distance, and the repeat distance, and it lays out the target paces for the whole set so you are not doing the arithmetic on the deck.
How to use it with your squad
- Set the goal time from a recent best time, a cut the swimmer is chasing, or a season target.
- Pick a repeat distance the swimmer can hold with race technique (often 25s or 50s to start).
- Hold them to the number. If they fade off pace, the set is telling you something useful.
- Pair it with live heart rate to see how hard race pace is costing them, and adjust the rest.
Run it in apxswim
Open the Race Pace calculator in apxswim, enter the goal time, distance, and repeat, and it does the math for the entire set in one tap. It lives alongside your roster, practices, and live heart rate, so the pace you set flows into the rest of your coaching.