Average time for 5K

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  • mimicj81
    mimicj81 Posts: 2
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    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
    mimicj81 Posts: 2
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    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
    rllewell Posts: 234
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    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
    imtrinat Posts: 153 Member
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    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
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
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    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
    bostonwolf Posts: 3,038 Member
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    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
    Kickinkim418 Posts: 257 Member
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    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
    HappyElizabeth Posts: 231 Member
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    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
    RunnerElizabeth Posts: 1,091 Member
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    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
    quadbravo Posts: 2
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    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
    justbecause2014 Posts: 371 Member
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    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
    callumbrooks54 Posts: 1
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    i have just done my 22nd 5k run, and i got a PB of 19:53.
  • jogy
    jogy Posts: 77 Member
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    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
    jim9097 Posts: 341 Member
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    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
    Greywalk Posts: 193 Member
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    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
    LoudmouthLee Posts: 358
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    My first 5k was 32:13. My second was 28:29. My most recent? 22:13. Lots of variance.
  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
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    I've never actually run the numbers, but by my eye, mean +/- 1 standard deviation is about 30:00-40:00.
  • LoosingMyLast15
    LoosingMyLast15 Posts: 1,457 Member
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    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
    rllewell Posts: 234
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    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
    brunotolosa Posts: 18
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    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.

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