5K time for 300 pounder

umer76

Hey guys, I am just curious to know the average time for the 5K jog/walk for the people who are over 300lbs. I started doing my first 5K in 55 min and now I am at 46 minutes. I jog pretty slow but it would be good to know how people in my weight range doing the 5Ks.

numsquat

Really can't compare to others, it depends on your fitness level. I know 300+ people that run sub-30min 5K's. The last time I raced a 5K over 300 lbs (308.2 lbs) I ran a 41:32.

umer76

Really can't compare to others, it depends on your fitness level. I know 300+ people that run sub-30min 5K's. The last time I raced a 5K over 300 lbs (308.2 lbs) I ran a 41:32.

Good to know that. 41:32 is a good time.

Tillyecl1

Like numsquat said it depends on your fitness but when I was my heaviest it took me around 45 minutes to do a 5km. Good luck with your future 5kms :-)

umer76

Like numsquat said it depends on your fitness but when I was my heaviest it took me around 45 minutes to do a 5km. Good luck with your future 5kms :-)

Thanks and I am hoping to come close to 40 mins during this summer.

Unknown

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prosperkat

I am 5' 5" (short legs) and have always been a relatively slow walker. At 300 lbs, I struggled to keep a 3 mph pace. At 260 lbs, I was proud to finish my last 5k walk (with hills!) inside of 53 :40 (about a 3.4 mph pace). I keep on working at it...my old joints tell me I am still a bit too heavy to jog. So, as folks say, it depends on the individual.

umer76

I am 5' 5" (short legs) and have always been a relatively slow walker. At 300 lbs, I struggled to keep a 3 mph pace. At 260 lbs, I was proud to finish my last 5k walk (with hills!) inside of 53 :40 (about a 3.4 mph pace). I keep on working at it...my old joints tell me I am still a bit too heavy to jog. So, as folks say, it depends on the individual.

After building up stamina for the 5K (a mix of jog and walk) the real struggle starts with the joints. I am dealing with the pain in my right knee. I take 4 days break and go for jog next 3 days if possible. Aim is to rest my knees for 4 days.

umer76

BUMP

SonicDeathMonkey80

As long as you are giving it your best effort, any time is a good time. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. Speed is relative.

Smackemdanno

My last 5k I completed the race at 29:48. I was sore for days. Since then I have been slowing my pace to a 15:00 mile due to the fact that I can burn fat at that pace which is needed so I can lose weight before my knees, hips and ankles give way to my excessive weight.

likitisplit

Mid- 30 minutes is a good time for a first 5k. I knew one woman who was in the high 200's after completing C25k who took about an hour. I've seen times all over the map though.

Anyway, the first race at any distance is about the distance not the race. You just don't know how you'll perform in a race environment if you haven't been in one.

And, if you are experiencing knee pain, I'd strongly suggest attending a form clinic. This is the one I used, but check with your local running store: http://www.goodformrunning.com/

davemunger

I ran 5Ks starting at about 225. I'm now down to 185 and I can say that losing the weight makes a huge difference. That said, I've seen people thinner than me finish in the 40s and 50s, so it's really more about cardio fitness than weight.

Regardless of your weight, the keys to avoiding injury are warming up/cooling down, doing runner-specific strength work, and slowing down or stopping if your pain keeps getting worse during a run/walk.

PaytraB

Hey guys, I am just curious to know the average time for the 5K jog/walk for the people who are over 300lbs. I started doing my first 5K in 55 min and now I am at 46 minutes. I jog pretty slow but it would be good to know how people in my weight range doing the 5Ks.

You're doing great. I was approx. 175 lbs when I ran 5K for the first time and it took 50 minutes. It's more about cardio than weight and you'll improve over time. Just keep running.
I'm now down to about 38 minutes. It feels great every time your average time goes down.
Just keep running and giving it your best. Your time will come down naturally. Enjoy your runs. That'll keep you getting out there.

PaytraB

After building up stamina for the 5K (a mix of jog and walk) the real struggle starts with the joints. I am dealing with the pain in my right knee. I take 4 days break and go for jog next 3 days if possible. Aim is to rest my knees for 4 days.

You're running 3 days in a row? If so, this may be causing some of your knee pain. It's hard on the body to run more than one day in a row. Have you tried running on alternative days and giving your knees & body a chance to rest & repair on alternative days?

PaytraB

As long as you are giving it your best effort, any time is a good time. Sounds cheesy, but it's true. Speed is relative.

+1. Great advice.

scraver2003

A few weeks ago, at 255 lbs, I did a 5k in 43 mins and about 20 seconds. The one I did in March at closer to 260, I did in 48-ish minutes. As I lose, my times will get faster. I know my weight is holding me back. We will see what I do on Saturday at 249.

Eric_DeCastro

my brother in law ans sister in law are in that weight bracket and they do a 5K walking in about an hour.

weird_me2

I am 5' 5" (short legs) and have always been a relatively slow walker. At 300 lbs, I struggled to keep a 3 mph pace. At 260 lbs, I was proud to finish my last 5k walk (with hills!) inside of 53 :40 (about a 3.4 mph pace). I keep on working at it...my old joints tell me I am still a bit too heavy to jog. So, as folks say, it depends on the individual.

After building up stamina for the 5K (a mix of jog and walk) the real struggle starts with the joints. I am dealing with the pain in my right knee. I take 4 days break and go for jog next 3 days if possible. Aim is to rest my knees for 4 days.

Do you have joint problems with walking, too, or just jogging? I ask this because if walking isn't a problem for you, I'd recommend working on building up your stamina and fitness with walking only and then add back in jogging later. Find yourself a course that gives you plenty of hills to go up and work on increasing your walking speed and endurance. If you use a treadmill, regularly change up your speed and incline. On the treadmill I would go at 3.5 mph with low incline, then jump the incline up to 10, then reduce the incline but up my speed to 3.7 then up the incline then up the speed, etc. Your 5k time will improve because of it and you will probably have less injury risk.

Last year I was upper 200s and was walking daily and constantly aiming to improve my speed/fitness. I would walk up hills and all over and could walk a 5k in under 45 minutes. Then, I started running, but I'm not the fastest runner. I ran a full 5k in just over 38 minutes. After slacking off for 9 months, I'm getting back in the swing of things and just working on my walking for now. I know the running will come later.

iplayoutside19

My 5K time has been consistently around 36:00 whether I've weighed over 300 or not.

umer76

I am 5' 5" (short legs) and have always been a relatively slow walker. At 300 lbs, I struggled to keep a 3 mph pace. At 260 lbs, I was proud to finish my last 5k walk (with hills!) inside of 53 :40 (about a 3.4 mph pace). I keep on working at it...my old joints tell me I am still a bit too heavy to jog. So, as folks say, it depends on the individual.

After building up stamina for the 5K (a mix of jog and walk) the real struggle starts with the joints. I am dealing with the pain in my right knee. I take 4 days break and go for jog next 3 days if possible. Aim is to rest my knees for 4 days.

Do you have joint problems with walking, too, or just jogging? I ask this because if walking isn't a problem for you, I'd recommend working on building up your stamina and fitness with walking only and then add back in jogging later. Find yourself a course that gives you plenty of hills to go up and work on increasing your walking speed and endurance. If you use a treadmill, regularly change up your speed and incline. On the treadmill I would go at 3.5 mph with low incline, then jump the incline up to 10, then reduce the incline but up my speed to 3.7 then up the incline then up the speed, etc. Your 5k time will improve because of it and you will probably have less injury risk.

Last year I was upper 200s and was walking daily and constantly aiming to improve my speed/fitness. I would walk up hills and all over and could walk a 5k in under 45 minutes. Then, I started running, but I'm not the fastest runner. I ran a full 5k in just over 38 minutes. After slacking off for 9 months, I'm getting back in the swing of things and just working on my walking for now. I know the running will come later.

Thanks for the good points. I dont have knee pain while walking I only feel it when I run and after few minutes when it warms the paid reduces. It is on the outer part of the knee.
I usually run outside on the pavement. For 5K I use treadmill but for longer walk and runs I go outside over the weekends.

WonderWhitney11

Any time for a 5k is better than not doing one!

I have run 5k's the last two weekends, and I have another this weekend. I finished the first in 0:36, the second in 0:34 (which was much hillier than the first), and I'm shooting for 0:33 this weekend! Granted, I'm a 5'1" woman with super short legs, but I weigh around 180 currently (a bit heavier a few weeks ago- all this running is melting pounds off of me).

Keep up the great work!

rm33064

I can't run yet, I'm still to heavy but I walk it in 55:00.

dinos

I run 5K in 33 mins and I weigh 260 lbs (118 kg)
Roughly speaking you should shave a minute off your 5K time for every 10 lbs you lose. Say you weigh 300 lbs and you run it in 46 mins, if you go down to 240 lbs all things being equal you should run it in 40 mins.

umer76

I run 5K in 33 mins and I weigh 260 lbs (118 kg)
Roughly speaking you should shave a minute off your 5K time for every 10 lbs you lose. Say you weigh 300 lbs and you run it in 46 mins, if you go down to 240 lbs all things being equal you should run it in 40 mins.

If I ever get to 240 lbs weight I can surely do the 5K in 33 minutes, I wish:) May be 2 mins off every 10 lbs is a good target to achieve. With 2 mins at 240 I should be able to run in 34 mins.
The main reason is I am only running 3 Kms and walking the rest of the 2 Kms.

trijoe

At my heaviest, I was 250. So I don't fit into the 300 pounder group. But I wanted to talk about the joint pain part of this:

When I was 250 and doing treadmill every day, I found the pain could get pretty intense. So I added bicycling to my workout regimen. I bought a bike and a used stationary bike. I cut down my walk/running days to about half walk/run, half bike. What I found was, not only did the stress on my knees decrease from the cycling, but I could do hard/long cycling workouts and build up my endurance that way. Then when I ran/walked I was actually more fit than if I was only doing walk/run.

You may want to consider a stationary bike, or bike trainer, or just hit the great outdoors all the time with your bike. It's great exercise, builds spectacular amounts of endurance, can help you shed pounds by burning big calories, and can make you a better 5K racer than you think.

likitisplit

I run 5K in 33 mins and I weigh 260 lbs (118 kg)
Roughly speaking you should shave a minute off your 5K time for every 10 lbs you lose. Say you weigh 300 lbs and you run it in 46 mins, if you go down to 240 lbs all things being equal you should run it in 40 mins.

That's the theory. I've gained 8 pounds and saw my 5k time come down by a minute just due to more experience.

pyrowill

I know its tough not to, but I really wouldn't focus on what others consider a good time. I know its tempting to see how you must compare, but at 300lbs you can get amazing times and rubbish times and it won't help you really. Best thing you can do is set your own personal target and aim for that.

umer76

At my heaviest, I was 250. So I don't fit into the 300 pounder group. But I wanted to talk about the joint pain part of this:

When I was 250 and doing treadmill every day, I found the pain could get pretty intense. So I added bicycling to my workout regimen. I bought a bike and a used stationary bike. I cut down my walk/running days to about half walk/run, half bike. What I found was, not only did the stress on my knees decrease from the cycling, but I could do hard/long cycling workouts and build up my endurance that way. Then when I ran/walked I was actually more fit than if I was only doing walk/run.

You may want to consider a stationary bike, or bike trainer, or just hit the great outdoors all the time with your bike. It's great exercise, builds spectacular amounts of endurance, can help you shed pounds by burning big calories, and can make you a better 5K racer than you think.

I have got a bike and prefer to cycle outdoors than in the gym. I agree with cycling there is no/less stress on the knees. I have done few times Spinning classes and they are good workout. I will try to bring more cycling into my routine this summer. Only thing is I dont like cycling that much running outdoors is Awesome:)

numsquat

Umer, something to think about http://running.competitor.com/2014/03/training/slow-is-a-state-of-mind_70265

umer76

Just to update on my running progress. I have finally run full 5K in 43 minutes, thats a sudden jump from 3K to 5K in two weeks. I had been doing 2K and 3K but never tried going over. This last Sunday I wanted to improve my 10K time and along the way not only I improved my 5K time but I also managed to reduce 10K time from 100 mins to 94 mins.

I have been reading great advice on various threads and website and it is helping. The anti-blisters socks have proven to be a great help, previously I would do one run and due to blisters wont run for a week but now no blisters and within one month I have managed to improve a lot. I am just having pain in my right knee though.