What's a good 10k time?

I am currently running 10k in about 1hr 20 mins (at around 5am before work). I'm aware this is slow and want to work on my time before I have a few 'official' runs coming up in October. Can you guys let me know how fast you do it/what you think is a good time so it can give me an idea of a good target.

A good time is whatever time you can finish it in.

My first 10K last year, I did it in 1:22:00. I still haven't gotten under 1 hour.

My goal is to run 10K in less than an hour. I can do it... barely. For me, I think that's a "good time", but some faster, more seasoned runners might consider that barely a workout! It's just going to be kind of subjective depending on fitness level, experience, etc.

Generally, for official races, as long as my finish time is my personal best to date, I feel awesome. Because I know I ran faster than I ever did before. There is just something about it, beating your own personal record, so that is my goal. As long as I know I'm improving!

You could also look up the "average finish time" for the race you're doing, and set THAT as your goal (that's what I did for my first 5K... I just wanted to be slightly faster than "average"! As long as I beat 34 minutes, I was good!)

It completely depends on your age, how long you've been running etc.

My PB is at 59:03 but last week I ran a 1:04:21 - I've been suffering with an injury and it was very hot!

So totally depends on your circumstances. You're doing great though, just keep going and your speed will come eventually

Lol, I can't even run 5k so I think you are doing awesome My first goal is to run a non stop 5k. I did it last year and then kind of gave up. Just work on trying to shave a tiny bit off of your time each run, even just 10 seconds and it will eventually add up.

For serious runners a sub 40min is considered a good 10k time. Obviously age, genetics,weight, dedication etc play their part.
Decent club runners will be in the low 30's.
I am running around 44 mins so have a way to go yet.
Any 10k time is a good time in my opinion.

A good time is one where you have given it your 100%. In your race you'll find you'll be able to go faster then you normally run, all that adrenalin and other runners really push you to go harder and faster

I think anything under an hour is pretty darn good. I ran my first last month and finished in 50:40. Really wanted to be sub-50 but with thousands of runners in front of me I didn't get off to a fast start.

it's hard to say what is a good time.
my best time is 50:03 but I was running everyday then.
I've not been running for a year-due to injury and work commitments and there's no way I could run 10k in 50 mins right now.

it's not about comparing yourself to others, it's about pushing yourself and improving on your times.

aim to get to the hour mark, that way you have something to swing toward, but honestly just completing 10k should be motivation enough!

keep up the good work!

I think the idea is to run your race the best you can. My times vary, but some days I finish a race knowing that there is no way I would have been even a few seconds faster that day because I gave it my all. I've only run 1 10k (I perfer half marathons). It was 88degrees and I ran 1:01:27. I do faster Iin training, but I gave it everything that day so I was pleased.

I did my first 10K a couple of weekends ago. My time was 1:12:37. I was pretty damn happy, especially considering my left knee done left me around the 4.5 mile mark! If you finish, your time is good. That's honestly my opinion. 10K is no walk in the park, and finishing it is impressive. If you want to improve your time (something I've not really been able to accomplish yet), Do some sprint work in one of your runs as well as adding mileage to one of your runs. I think both those things can help to improve time.

To get under an hour what worked for me is just doing more miles per week. I very rarely do any speedwork / intervals. I split up between doing 10k at about a 5.5 / 6 minute kilometer (i.e. around an hour for a 10k), slower longer runs (10 - 20 miles @ 6+ min / km) and slightly faster shorter runs (5-5.5 min/km for around 5-6km). That seems to work OK. My very first race was a year ago, and I did 10k in 1 hour and 3 minutes. This weekend I did the same race in 45:28, so that training plan seems to have worked out. I started out running three times a week, now it's nearly every day.
Like most things, the more time you devote to it, the better you will get. It depends on your priorities I guess. One thing that I found enormously helpful was joining a running club. Most places have them, and will love beginners - some even have special beginners training sessions. You also get a nice feeling of being part of something, and there are generally cheaper race events for clubs etc.

I ran my first 10k in May and my time was 1:09:58.

beginner- under an hour

intermediate- under 50

advance- under 42

beginner- under an hour

intermediate- under 50

advance- under 42

How about a 51yo 200lb beginner? I plan to participate in my first 10K in April 2014. At this point, with 5 months to train, my goal is a 80min (13min/mile pace) run.

What about other novices? How was your first time?