How fast can you run a mile?

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).