How fast can you run a mile?

gp79

My fastest mile for 1 mile is 6:20. For two miles it's 7:05. For 10k I averaged 8:48/mile. Obviously the shorter the distance the more you can squeeze out of yourself. Your body can only work so hard for so long before it needs more fuel or needs to slow down, which I believe is why your HR will eventually elevate to higher levels for lower amounts of work.

The best way to improve your 1 mile time is to continue to train. Without getting to specific / crazy here, I think interval training is going to be your best bet. Short intervals of high intensity running. Personally I gauge "high intensity" by use of a HRM. To give you an idea my intervals look something like this.

Stretch / warm up.
Sprint until my HR is 158
Slow walk until my HR is back to 110
Repeat 10-12 times.

This usually translates into 100 meter sprints. The key here is to get your HR back to the starting point as fast as possible while continuing to walk. As a guideline it should take you twice as long to reduce your heart rate as it did to elevate it. So if it took me 30 seconds to reach 155, then It should take approximately 60 seconds to bring it back to 110.

Do a similar routine and your time will improve, no doubt.

kentstrahlen

I don't run a lot. My basic training is bicycling where I am better. My best running mile is just below 9 minutes.

tlcAK

13-14 mins. But its all good. Back in the day I use to run 7-8 min miles. I'll get there. Just keep working at it. Do some speed work and intervals. You'll get there!

mrivera713

hmmm.... Reading all of the answers, I'm gonna go and step it up a bit.. I'm on C25k program (W3D2). But I'm doing it VERY slow, I just realized... It's taking me about 20 minutes to walk/jog a mile. I'm gonna see what I do tonight and see if I can push myself... I did start adding a 2.0 incline to my routine yesterday...

fteale

I run a km in about 5 minutes, so that is 8 minutes for a mile if I am going fast.

I am not very experienced. I have been running for about 15 months, seriously for the last 9. I am not very fast considering how much training I do. I am not very good at pushing myself. I tend to just run, rather than focus on speed or power.

gingerfoxxx

If i really haul buns, i can run an 8 minute mile, but it's not really sustainable and i tucker out after 2 miles. I usually run about 9:30/9:45 min/miles, unless it is hot out, and then my times get progressively worse

I hope to get much faster in the coming months/years

redhead91

Without dying.....I can't. One of my goals is to be able to run a mile or two without stopping. I have always had runner's asthma and have never been able to run without stopping.

arc918

My $.02 (after running 16,000+ miles in the last 9 years) - get through the C25K and worry about your pace in the future.

Build your endurance and the speed will come naturally.

Eventually you can try some fartleks (Swedish for speedplay). It is simply (totally unstructured) changes in pace during your run. Start out easy, then medium pace to the stop sign, full blast to the oak tree, then easy again, etc. You get the idea.

atsteele

I average an 8 min pace when I run ,havent tried an all out mile time in a long time...the kenyans do 400m sprints to improve their times though..

Sprints do help to improve time!! But the best that I can do is 200 or 240 meters in a single sprint repeat.

Legs_McGee

I've never gone out and timed myself on a mile ....but my fastest mile during a 5k was 8:02 .... and I averaged an 8:46 pace for a half marathon earlier this year. I hate doing speed work but I've made a resolution to go out and do it regularly (after I recover from this weekend's marathon). I want to be faster. A lot faster.

CNParker

I run about 11-12 min mile. Or 5- 5.3 for 20-30 min 4 to 5 days a week.

atsteele

I've never gone out and timed myself on a mile ....but my fastest mile during a 5k was 8:02 .... and I averaged an 8:46 pace for a half marathon earlier this year. I hate doing speed work but I've made a resolution to go out and do it regularly (after I recover from this weekend's marathon). I want to be faster. A lot faster.

I'd love to be where you are right now!!

Liz1dixon

Some days I can run in average under 10 mins per mile. Other days, I struggle and do about 12 1/2 mins per mile. This is always on a treadmill. I can`t run outdoors. I can, but not conisistently, I have to stop and walk for a minute and then start again. Really annoys me.

I hadn`t run on a treadmill for well over a year due to an operaton. I had put masses of weight on and hit my heaviest weight ever. In June this year, I started Zumba and also started running on treadmill again. Initially I could only run at 4.5 mph for a couple of mins, so I feel I have come a long way in 3 months. Also bought some Nike+ trainers with sensor and use it with my i-phone. Really motivates me. However, the sensor always says I have run further and burnt more calories than the treadmill or even MFP log. I`,m not sure which will be most accurate. Can anyone help?

dsjohndrow

I run almost everyday. I started walking the distance I wanted to run, then I did 30 seconds bursts with 1:30 second walks in between. Finally I would run 2 minutes and walk a minute. Then it was walk 10 minutes run 5, walk 10 and then I was up to a 5K in 32 minutes. I had an injury to my knee, so I have had to back off to 1.5 to 2 miles days. In high school I was 6:44 for a standing mile. In the service I was 16:57 for a 5K with a 60lb pack. Lately I am at about 8 minutes per mile after a good warm up. but if you are my age you can be happy with 10 minutes.

summertime_girl

Just one mile, my fastest was 9.5 minutes. But typically I'm running for exercise and distance, so I'm closer to 12.5 minute miles.

shonasteele

Just downloaded a new app the other day. It's Jeff Galloway's Ultimate 5k and it actually speeds up your music when you're running to increase your pace. If you keep up with the pace of the tunes, you go faster. You can adjust it to whatever you like. Your fave songs sound a little different (but not as weird as you would think) and it REALLY WORKS!!!

godblessourhome

my fastest mile is 6:24. i walked a half marathon in june and the lead runner completed the marathon portion averaging 4:50 minute miles. i found that so impressive that he could keep that pace for 26 miles. he completed the marathon before some people finished the half marathon.

my husband has me doing ladders and i think it has really helped.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkSnl0xRBW8

Amysgetnfit

8. Min mile if im going for just mile/ mile & half. Average 9:30 min miles at 3-4 mile distance. Always try to finish stronger than I started. & at least once a week I do sprints. Go as fast as I can for 2 minutes. Then walk to recover.I never stop I go from walking to sprinting.usually walk 1 minute. Sprint 2. & try to keep going faster longer. If I need to walk longer to recover that's ok.then the next time/day I run at distance at a normal pace my time increases & it feels easier to go farther.good luck!

SHBoss1673

my fastest mile ever was 4:35 as a senior in high school about 300 years ago. Over the last 5 years in a single mile my fastest is about 5:45, and my average when doing 5 miles is about 7:30 or so. My fastest 5K was 20:46, so what's that somewhere about a 6:50 mile or so?
I'd like to get my 5K under 20 minutes, professionals do them in 15 or 16 minutes usually depending on the course. Love to come in top 10 in one of the big races one of these days. My knees and feet won't allow me to do road races over about 5 miles or so, my knees start to bark at me around 4 miles.

I've been running since I was about 8 though, as to increasing your pace, really there's all kinds of ways to do it, do tempo runs, do distance runs, do speed runs. I'd go to either runnersworld.com or coolrunnings.com and check their tutorials sections out, both sites usually have some pretty good information for newer runners.

stormieweather

Pffttt....I am doing good if I run a mile in 12 minutes. Once I ran one in 10 minutes, but maybe the stopwatch was wacked? If I push faster than 3 minute quarter miles, I end up panting, and have to walk to catch my breath. Which of course means my time is even slower. Oh well, five months ago I couldn't even run a single 1/4 mile lap around the track. Last week, I ran 5k. :bigsmile:

Quanoe

I put the pedal to the medal today in a mile run and clocked in at 4:45. my absolute fastest yet!

mjudd1990

5:30 was probably my fastest ever. My advice would be to work on increasing your anaerobic threshold with intervals and sprints. Long slow runs get your endurance up but don't work well for improving speed.

Graelwyn75

Fastest so far is an 8 minute mile, but that is when running 5k. I have no idea how fast I could do a mile alone. I might try and find out one day soon.

mobrien0527

my fastest ever is 6:04 but I was a cross country and winer track runner
hoping to break 6 this summer!

Lyadeia

Not sure what just 1 mile would be...but I run a 5k in just under 30 minutes. I could probably go a lot faster for just 1 mile, though.

I've been getting faster each week by doing Fartlek track sprints, tempo runs, plyometrics, and weight training every week.

samamps88

My fastest race mile is 5.36 but I generally run 6-6.20 in 10k races

Going to test my 1.5mile treadmill time after circuits this morning see how I get on.

DangerJim71

About 6:30 for one mile, avg 6:50 over 3.1 and 8:15 over 13.1.

I started running about a year and a half ago and have been doing it very consistently as well as a lot of cycling and swimming. My first attempts at running were an epic disaster and I was horrible but I was more determined than horrible and I've become a decent runner

SingingSingleTracker

How fast can you run a mile? And how experienced are you? Do you have any tips for improving time?

Way back when (like the 1970's) I ran the mile in track. A sub 4 minute mile was considered a fantasy at that time for the high school level where I ran. It was, at the time, not as near to a full out sprint like it later almost became.

Nowadays, what is amazing is that we are very, very close to having an entire marathon winner run a 4:35 mile for the entire duration of the event (that would break the record and be the first sub-2 hour marathon winning time).

History of the Record for the Mile Run—Under 4 Minutes

Time Athlete Country Year Location
4:36.5 Richard Webster England 1865 England
4:29.0 William Chinnery England 1868 England
4:28.8 Walter Gibbs England 1868 England
4:26.0 Walter Slade England 1874 England
4:24.5 Walter Slade England 1875 London
4:23.2 Walter George England 1880 London
4:21.4 Walter George England 1882 London
4:18.4 Walter George England 1884 Birmingham, England
4:18.2 Fred Bacon Scotland 1894 Edinburgh, Scotland
4:17.0 Fred Bacon Scotland 1895 London
4:15.6 Thomas Conneff United States 1895 Travers Island, N.Y.
4:15.4 John Paul Jones United States 1911 Cambridge, Mass.
4:14.4 John Paul Jones United States 1913 Cambridge, Mass.
4:12.6 Norman Taber United States 1915 Cambridge, Mass.
4:10.4 Paavo Nurmi Finland 1923 Stockholm
4:09.2 Jules Ladoumegue France 1931 Paris
4:07.6 Jack Lovelock New Zealand 1933 Princeton, N.J.
4:06.8 Glenn Cunningham United States 1934 Princeton, N.J.
4:06.4 Sydney Wooderson England 1937 London
4:06.2 Gundar Hägg Sweden 1942 Goteborg, Sweden
4:06.2 Arne Andersson Sweden 1942 Stockholm
4:04.6 Gunder Hägg Sweden 1942 Stockholm
4:02.6 Arne Andersson Sweden 1943 Goteborg, Sweden
4:01.6 Arne Andersson Sweden 1944 Malmo, Sweden
4:01.4 Gunder Hägg Sweden 1945 Malmo, Sweden
3:59.4 Roger Bannister England 1954 Oxford, England
3:58.0 John Landy Australia 1954 Turku, Finland
3:57.2 Derek Ibbotson England 1957 London
3:54.5 Herb Elliott Australia 1958 Dublin
3:54.4 Peter Snell New Zealand 1962 Wanganui, N.Z.
3:54.1 Peter Snell New Zealand 1964 Auckland, N.Z.
3:53.6 Michel Jazy France 1965 Rennes, France
3:51.3 Jim Ryun United States 1966 Berkeley, Calif.
3:51.1 Jim Ryun United States 1967 Bakersfield, Calif.
3:51.0 Filbert Bayi Tanzania 1975 Kingston, Jamaica
3:49.4 John Walker New Zealand 1975 Goteborg, Sweden
3:49.0 Sebastian Coe England 1979 Oslo
3:48.8 Steve Ovett England 1980 Oslo
3:48.53 Sebastian Coe England 1981 Zurich, Switzerland
3:48.40 Steve Ovett England 1981 Koblenz, W. Ger.
3:47.33 Sebastian Coe England 1981 Brussels
3:46.31 Steve Cram England 1985 Oslo
3:44.39 Noureddine Morceli Algeria 1993 Rieti, Italy
3:43.13 Hicham El Guerrouj Morocco 1999 Rome, Italy

Pretty amazing times developed over the years and to see the pace that marathoners run the mile induces even more head scratching from most. Tips for improving time are power to weight ratio, structured training to build a big base, increase intensity through intervals, proper nutrition/hydration, and good form/stride.

scorpio516

Since you asked.
6:10 in an open mile.
5:20 as a split in a 5k, 19 years ago.
I've got at least 24 years of running competitively.

Today, I could easily do something in the 6:15 range - my last 5k, I had a 6:25 split.

fleetzz

Just timed myself 2 weeks ago: 8:55 for one mile. I was sedentary until about May of last year, started running, ran too quickly, got knee pain, had to recover from that, then in September started running regularly. When I was in college, I was able to run one mile in 7:20 with much less effort than I am doing now (read->hardly any preparation).