What is considered GOOD mile time?

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musicmint
musicmint Posts: 469
in Fitness and Exercise
I am a female so what is a good mile time for a female?
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  • mnstrpc
    mnstrpc Posts: 109
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    That's going to vary a LOT! I think most people can manage about a 10-11 minute mile when they are starting out, some maybe a bit slower. The more you run and work at it, the faster you will get, up to a point. I am slow. I am always going to be slow. I'm not even worried about being slow. :) But, I AM faster than I used to be. I have been running off and on for over 15 years but only started approaching it more seriously in the last two years, and I have gone from averaging a 10 minute mile to averaging about a 9 minute mile, with my fastest, giving-it-all-I've-got, all-out mile at 8:24. But, like I said, I am slow. I would think a fit, faster runner, a good time for women aged 25-40ish would be 7-8 minute miles. Then of course, there are the truly fast who are at more like 5-6 minute miles, but those are like Olympic caliber people. :)
  • tobielauren
    tobielauren Posts: 184 Member
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    Are you wondering for a specific distance? Or just a straight out mile?
  • ebaymommy
    ebaymommy Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Too variable to answer.

    It depends on your age, gender, how long you've been running, how hard you've been training and how many miles you're talking about.

    I haven't (recently) gone out to run a mile all-out to see what I can do but my marathon last month I averaged 8:48/mile over 26.2 miles. I ran a half-marathon in April and my pace was 7:50/mile. Did a 5K in the freaking hot weather last week and ran 7:26/mile. Pretty sure if I just did one mile I could get it down to 6-something without killing myself. I'm female, age 34, been running on & off for a decade and have done 5 full marathons, so I run quite a bit. A few years ago I was firmly in the 10:00/mile camp but I've trained harder, smarter and gotten faster with age. :)
  • bettertracie
    bettertracie Posts: 196 Member
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    However long it takes you :) Running is an individual sport, and even though my average pace is usually between 10-11 min mile (carried over long distances) if I'm only doing a 5k, I can get into close to a 9 min.

    Just get out there and do it, and if you want to go faster, train to get faster!!

    I am in the back half of our running group most of the time in our long training runs, but 7 months ago I wasn't even on the road so... take it how you want, but don't try to stack yourself against the rest... YOU'RE NOT EVERYBODY ELSE :)
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    Whatever was better than your previous mile times. Seriously, you only need to outdo yourself (well, unless you are training for the Olympics).
  • justjenn1977
    justjenn1977 Posts: 437 Member
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    depends on where you are!

    my first goal was under 20 min mile... (walking) I can now average 15 mins and my goal is currently under 12...
    hiking... we usually do very uneven terrain... and my goal is 30 min miles...

    biking my first mile goal was again 20 mins... but now I can do 4-5 min mile consistently... depending on terrain
  • cabosse
    cabosse Posts: 6
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    Doesn't matter you're still lapping everyone on the couch! lol But it's more about the calories you're burning rather than speed.
  • JennaM222
    JennaM222 Posts: 1,996 Member
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    However long it takes you to complete it :)

    I just completed my first half marathon averaging a 12:00 mile - and i am DAMN proud :)
  • Laceylala
    Laceylala Posts: 3,094 Member
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    A good mile time is any one that you feel happy about completing. It varies per person, per day, per weather, per attitude, per a lot of different things.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
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    I just started running 2 months ago and I average a 10 minute mile. However, I'm not necessarily going for speed...I'm going for distance because I'm still building up to a 5 - 10K
  • FitCurves444
    FitCurves444 Posts: 169 Member
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    I am going to assume that you can complete a mile without having to stop and walk.... that is the first goal... endurance and then we work on time.

    I don't know what is considered GOOD mile time, but the police department in my city requires that cadets in training complete their mile in 8 minutes. That sort of stayed with me and now that is my goal. That is what I have adopted as a a goal to work for.
    I think an 8 mile minute is a good goal to work towards. :happy:
  • MikeyD1280
    MikeyD1280 Posts: 5,257
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    http://www.apft-standards.com/run-female.html

    thats the army standard for 2 miles for women...
  • Cocochickdeleted
    Cocochickdeleted Posts: 343 Member
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    I feel REALLY slow now. I ran a five miler on Sunday and averaged 11:30 per mile. And here I thought I was doing so well, LOL! I will probably NEVER run 8 minute miles, but I'm hoping to get to around 10 MM on long distance runs at some point. Right now, I am just thrilled to able to run five miles without dying--especially in this oppressive Nebraska heatwave.
  • NikkiSixGuns
    NikkiSixGuns Posts: 630 Member
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    Whatever was better than your previous mile times. Seriously, you only need to outdo yourself (well, unless you are training for the Olympics).

    Well said! We're all different and need to stop comparing ourselves to each other... mostly. Unless you're in serious competition.

    That said, I've wondered the same thing. My mile time is about 9 - 10 min. It might be comparatively slow, but I don't care!
  • musicmint
    musicmint Posts: 469
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    Are you wondering for a specific distance? Or just a straight out mile?

    straight out mile
  • classictoaster
    classictoaster Posts: 197
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    My rule of thumb is beating my previous PR. ;)
  • vick9180
    vick9180 Posts: 144 Member
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    That's going to vary a LOT! I think most people can manage about a 10-11 minute mile when they are starting out, some maybe a bit slower. The more you run and work at it, the faster you will get, up to a point. I am slow. I am always going to be slow. I'm not even worried about being slow. :) But, I AM faster than I used to be. I have been running off and on for over 15 years but only started approaching it more seriously in the last two years, and I have gone from averaging a 10 minute mile to averaging about a 9 minute mile, with my fastest, giving-it-all-I've-got, all-out mile at 8:24. But, like I said, I am slow. I would think a fit, faster runner, a good time for women aged 25-40ish would be 7-8 minute miles. Then of course, there are the truly fast who are at more like 5-6 minute miles, but those are like Olympic caliber people. :)

    I definitely don't want this to feel like I'm picking on you, but wanted to point out that Olympic caliber women run around 4:20...I believe the world record is around 4:15. I competed in the mile in high school and college and ran a 4:55....this was decent for a division 1 athlete, but I wasn't anywhere near qualifying for NCAAs. I'm certainly a has-been and couldn't get anywhere near my best time right now, though.

    To the OP, depending on where you started out, making any improvements on your mile time is exciting! It's all relevant. That's the beauty of running...If you're looking to be competitive in the mile, I'd say that depending on your age, running around 6-6:30 is great. But, I have a very good friend who struggled to run an 11 minute mile and she recently ran a 9:30 and I definitely celebrated with her because that is a huge drop in time.
  • musicmint
    musicmint Posts: 469
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    I am going to assume that you can complete a mile without having to stop and walk.... that is the first goal... endurance and then we work on time.

    I don't know what is considered GOOD mile time, but the police department in my city requires that cadets in training complete their mile in 8 minutes. That sort of stayed with me and now that is my goal. That is what I have adopted as a a goal to work for.
    I think an 8 mile minute is a good goal to work towards. :happy:

    cool thanks :D Right now I am at 10 minutes
  • montana_girl
    montana_girl Posts: 1,403 Member
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    For me... any mile I can run! LOL

    Like all the previous posts have mentioned, too many variables and running is too individualized to say what is a good mile for someone.

    When I started running my only goal was to anything under a 15 min/mile. My first half marathon was a 13:38 pace per mile, my best half marathon pace was 10:48. Awesome pace for me... but others may think that was slow! :laugh:
  • DoingitWell
    DoingitWell Posts: 560 Member
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    My agency requires new correctional officers to run a straight mile in 12 minutes before they even interview!

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