Average time for 5K

rduhlir

The average time you should be running a 5k in is the average time that -you- can run a 5k in. Never judge yourself among others, run for yourself.

alice179

I ran my first 5k yesterday in 32.35, which I was really pleased with! Unfortunately I think I picked a race that attracted very fit people because I was one of the slowest runners there.. But I was still really excited with my score, I think the key is to ignore everyone else's times and just focus on your own. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to finish in under 30!

jar1854

There is no average time for a 5k. Best advice I can give you is to figure out what time you are currently running for a 5k and work to improve your time to meet your own personal goals. Don't compare your times to others

Duck_Puddle

In my area "average" 5k times are between 14 and 75 minutes. Aim for something in that range and you'll be fine. It really is about you and what pace you can run. You are racing against yourself (unless you're in the 14min category). Just go out, run, have fun. That's the pace you should be working for-whatever that pace happens to be.

HypersonicFitNess

The average time you should be running a 5k in is the average time that -you- can run a 5k in. Never judge yourself among others, run for yourself.

^^ This; compete against yourself not others. There are going to be runners that are faster than you and runners that are slower than you. Always put forth your best effort and if you are racing...try to beat your last best time. If you put forth your best effort...you're a winner.

scottb81

The overall average in most local races is around 30 minutes.

amybg1

My first 5 I trained for in 2 months and finished it in 34:04 - suffered a few knee injuries a few months later and my times were between 40-42 minutes. My latest 'easy" run at a 5K distance was done in 37:41 - with my guide having us walk a few hundred meters for lack of motivation so could have been faster...

If you run/walk it and do shorter intervals like say 8 min walk, 1 min run or whatever feels comfortable to you you will have a faster time than if you run it straight through as the walk break will give you time to recharge a bit. If you do a walk/run stick with that for your training and try going straight-through when training after the race for next time.

And if you can; assuming you have so far been doing all of your training indoors go run outside rain or shine (running in the rain is pretty fun!) Treadmill running and road running are VERY different from one another so if you have 2 months or so before race day is a perfect time to transition to outside.

Any run can be slower or faster...Depends on if you prepared for conditions, how you're feeling that day, if the course is hilly and you didn't prep for that etc. just have fun, and set yourself a goal. If you don't reach that goal then use the time you got and strive to get a better time than the one you just did. Just enjoy the experience...The people, the cheering, birds singing, etc!

In running/racing you may think you're competing against others...But unless you're in a SUPER competitive program such as Olympics of some kind or whatnot...You're really just competing against YOURSELF so don't focus on others...just focus on YOU and you'll do great!

tanetti

Oh yeah, times are all over the place. My first 5K about a year ago was 34 minutes (though when it's really hot/humid here in Houston, it can be a struggle to finish in 37 minutes!). Through speedwork and a little weight loss, I did 30:32 yesterday. But a friend started running a few months ago and immediately was at an effortless 9-minute/mile pace; she easily could do a sub-30 5k. I would say average is probably 25-35 minutes. Good luck! The first one is a great place to start--you can always get faster!

canelly

My first 5k on October of last year I ran it at 47min. Today I ran it at 27 min!!! So it depends on you.

amanda_ataraxia

Around 30 minutes is average and definitely respectable, especially when being a beginner.

mimicj81

I had a baby 10 months ago and would also like to run my first race (5k) this summer. I just tried it at the gym on the treadmill (3.1 miles which is 5k). My time was 37 mins. I was getting tired at the end but could have gone faster. That will be my goal next time. Ultimately I would be happy with 30-35 I think...

mimicj81

I had a baby 10 months ago and would also like to run my first race (5k) this summer. I just tried it at the gym on the treadmill (3.1 miles which is 5k). My time was 37 mins. I was getting tired at the end but could have gone faster. That will be my goal next time. Ultimately I would be happy with 30-35 I think...

rllewell

Just run your first 5K for fun and see what your times turns out to be. Everybody has their own talents and abilities so you will not be able to predict that first race time. However race after race that follows you can train to improve your time.

I've taken a few groups through a Run For God program which is similar to a couch to 5K. These are also folks that have never run a 5K and many have never jogged in their life much less in the last 5,10, 20 years! If my memory is correct their best times were around 28 minutes with many finishing in the 30's and a few in the 40's.

Truly what I love seeing are those same folks running the same race a year later and improving their time by 4-5 minutes!

imtrinat

Just for reference, my first 5k was 32:59 and I was really happy with that. My hubby completed his in about 22 minutes. Like everyone else said, it really just depends on you. My idea of "good" is anything under 30 minutes.

RGv2

In the two I've participated in, the fastest was between 18 and 22 mins (crazy fast!) and the last person usually finished around 60 minutes. My treadmill time is always slower than my road-running time... not sure why but that is always the case.

I don't think 18-22mins is crazy fast for a fastest 5K time at all. My PR is 19:15 and I didn't even place in that one. Most of the top runners were between 15-17min in most of the 5K's I've run (one 5K I ran, the winner was in the 14:50's).

Average time depends on the runners in the race. The more serious runners that show up, the faster the average is.

bostonwolf

Did one in March that was fairly hilly in about 39 minutes. Did one last week that was flat but warmer in 37 minutes. Have one Sunday that will be cooler and mildly hilly. Hoping to be under 37.

I was about 295 for March, 293 for May and will be about 289 this Sunday if all goes according to plan. Funny thing is that the lighter I get the easier these runs become.

Kickinkim418

Set your own goals for your first 5k. I think a good goal for you might be to be able to run/jog the whole time with no stopping. There will be plenty more 5ks to run and you can worry about beating your first 5k time later on down the road. Don't sweat it...just get out there and do it. Good Luck and congrats to you for being able to complete a 5k!

HappyElizabeth

Bump! Interested in this too. I just started running a few months ago and have signed up for my first 5k in June. I'm 42 years old, and I ran the race course yesterday in 33 minutes, which I thought was pretty awesome. Then I went online and looked at last years results for the race I'm doing that's in the bottom half! But, hey, I'm thrilled and I think the goal for anyone should be whatever they are capable of.

RunnerElizabeth

Let's put it this way, in 5ks I particpate in, with times at 28 mins, I'm usually in the middle.

In half marathons with my times at about 2:11, I'm in the bottom 20-30 percent.

The good thing about 5ks is that there are generally people of all ability levels, so you should be one of them.

quadbravo

Someone collected times and averaged them over thousands of races by time. "Average" is slower than you think.

http://www.pace-calculator.com/average-5k-pace-by-age-sex.php

Up until the mid-50 age bracket, the average is about 9-10 minutes per mile.

justbecause2014

I've run several 5k's ranging from 35-45 minutes. I never trained very hard and plan to do better on my next run!

callumbrooks54

i have just done my 22nd 5k run, and i got a PB of 19:53.

jogy

I just did 3k in 20 minutes. 3 days ago I did 6k in 40 minutes. Just average it out. I run outside and the distance is calculated with my gps equipped watch.

jim9097

I run them in 27-28, but I am old slow and fat. So I would not worry about times, just do what you can do. If you want to increase your time work in some sprint training.

Greywalk

Pick your race...go to the website that they are hosted on...look at last years results. often they are age grouped so you can see what most people are running the course at. My time in the mountains is significantly different from my time along the coast. But my training runs until this week were all outside and included a hill that is a 1/4 mile long going up so I got 1/2 mile of hill...up and back. To pick up speed you need a faster leg turn over and the lungs to support it for at least 30 minutes. Multiple sites will help...good set of tools can be founds at
www.runnersworld.com

Good luck

LoudmouthLee

My first 5k was 32:13. My second was 28:29. My most recent? 22:13. Lots of variance.

scorpio516

I've never actually run the numbers, but by my eye, mean +/- 1 standard deviation is about 30:00-40:00.

LoosingMyLast15

my PR is 31:15. i'm pretty darn short (4' 11-3/4") with short legs however i beat most of my running friends and they're 5'4" or taller. oh and my favorite is i'm 5-7 years older than my running friends. now i feel like i'm pretty darn slow want to get under 30 - this is my goal for next year.

rllewell

My first 5k was 32:13. My second was 28:29. My most recent? 22:13. Lots of variance.

I've lead a few Run For God groups (like a couch to 5K) and this is typical. Your first race just try to jog the whole 3.1 miles and see what time it is. Many first timers finish in the 30-40 minute range. Each race after that train a little harder and you can easily shave 2-3 minutes off each race because you start to understand the pace your body can take without burning out.

For me I'm in my 50's so I try to compete with the other 50 year old men and nobody else (except my 17 year old son!). I normally run a 22 or 23 minute 5K which often puts me in the top 3 for the local, small races I enter. I'm sure the larger races in big cities, involving thousands of runners that time might not even make the top 10 in my age bracket.

brunotolosa

When I started running I was doing a 5K in 32 minutes- this was some years ago. I found that it took me one year to cut it down to 25 minutes but then it got hard to shave any further minute- not sure why that was the case. It took me a LONG time to get my time to sub 20 minutes and my fastest one to day was 19m22secs.

Each one of us are different and, although it's good to see how other people your age and build are doing, you should focus on setting some achievable targets and on having FUN whilst you're out there running.