How fast can you run a mile?

handyrunner · April 2014

My fastest has been about 8:30..and i wanted to toss cookies when i was done

But thats a huge difference in 16 months...i was running at 13:30 when I started..

Losing weight and runing miles slow and steady with some fast intervals thrown in and the speed will come

thankyou4thevenom · April 2014

I can't, not yet. I will get there though.

KetosisTina · April 2014

At the height of my fitness when I was in the Army, I ran 2 miles in 17 mins. (so 8.5 min mile). I am not fast even with military training. My Sgt who was training me finished in 11 minutes and came back to push me to the finish.

These days I can't run (missing part of my right leg) but I can walk a 1 mile in like 17 minutes if I push it.

One thing to remember to is genetics. Look at any marathon.. who comes in at 2 hours, the guys from Kenya. They tend to have longer calf muscles and great for sprinting. Look at pro bodybuilders with short calf muscles. They calf's look awesome but they can sprint worth a darn. (this is of course just in general, there are always exceptions to the rules)

SonicDeathMonkey80 · April 2014

Oops wrong forum. Mile, fast, umm 5:40. Not that it matters. Speed is relative.

tappae · April 2014

My PR is 6:23, but I usually run between 9:00 and 10:00 minutes per mile. Back in school, I went from around 11:00 down to 7:30 in a few years without really training much at all.

At this point, OP, if you want to get faster, you should just slowly increase how much you run regularly (and at a slow pace). By the time you're running 30+ miles per week, you'll likely be surprised at how fast you can go.

fast_eddie_72 · April 2014

When I started running I could barely run for 30 seconds. Even after I got distance, I was sloooooow. I ran a half marathon in Oct. and finished at 2:30:00.

Today - one mile? I MIGHT be able to manage it in 6:40 ish if I ONLY had to run ONE mile. But it would hurt. Hoping to do my next half marathon next month in under 2:00:00.

How do you do it? This sounds funny, but it's not a joke. A big part of it is just - run faster. I asked a friend that question and she said you have to be willing to be uncomfortable. You can push harder than you think you can. Do some intervals at the fastest pace you can run. Hold that pace for 30 seconds. Then go back to a comfortable pace for a minute. Repeat until you're about to drop. That really helped me. Using a treadmill helped too. Doesn't matter if you get tired, the treadmill keeps churning out the pace you dial in.

If you're doing a training schedule, pick a day to be "speed day". Do intervals, or just push yourself to go real fast on a short training run. Not your long run. Long runs are normally at a pace less than target race pace. The idea of long runs is building the ability to do distance.

Oh! the biggest thing I learned about going faster - lose weight. Dropping 20 lbs. is by far the single biggest thing in making my half goal 30 minutes shorter in 7 months.

ModoVincere · April 2014

depends on who or what is chasing me.....and all I have to be is 1 step faster than the person next to me.

sjaplo · April 2014

I'm 52 - my average pace is 9:00 min mile. Start at 10 min mile and finish at 8 minmile or sometimes faster. :happy: I run once or twice a week lately. Lifting has cut into my running and my yoga. I'm hoping as time goes by I can balance it out.

CarsonRuns · April 2014

Mile race PR is 5;25, set last summer.

My everyday, easy run pace ranges from 8:30 to 10:30 per mile.

easjer · April 2014

I can walk a mile in about 18 minutes.

Depending on what was chasing me, I could run it faster. Probably.

Eric_DeCastro · April 2014

I don't run just one mile but when I run 4.8 miles my time per mile is about 11:00

Melissa26point2 · April 2014

7:05 is my PR

work on distance before speed. Once you can run 3 miles in under 30 min, I'd say start working on speed.

BTW, a 5 min mile is FAST! not many people can do that

KetosisTina · April 2014

Well before I got stuck in a wheelchair for 6 months my PR was 8:45 and that was a while ago. Now I am probably 18 to 25 minutes.

But as others have said you need to run further to build up your endurance. My PR of 8:45 was during a 5k run and it was my second mile. My total time was 27:03 so my other 2 miles were slower like 9:00.