5'2"-5'3" Women's Running Times

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Trishkit
Trishkit Posts: 290 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm still in the beginning stages of becoming a runner, but have found my current ideal pace and am steadily making improvements in times for miles and 5ks, currently only on a treadmill. I plan on adding in street time as the days get longer (and dryer here in the Pacific Northwest) and I have an actual 5k in my sights at the beginning of May which I plan on signing up for. Right now my mile is around 15:00 without totally wiping myself out, and my treadmill 5k last night was 48:00.

I'm very curious as to what kinds of times women in my height range (I'm 5'2.75") get as seasoned runners. I realize that everyone is going to be different due to a multitude of factors, but I'd just like to get an idea of a rough range that I might aspire to reach. Does height have much of an effect on times, or does a smaller/lighter body make up for reduced stride length?

I also have a goal, someday, of wrangling some of my coworkers into a local relay race (5.5 mi greenways run, 6 mi mountain bike, 18 mi road bike, 3.4 mi trail run, 3.6 mi paddle, then 0.65 mi team run to finish). They're all tall, lanky, extremely active guys, so I'm wondering if my someday-times might be good enough to be a team asset, or if I'd be a hindrance. I doubt they'd really care, as it's all for fun, but I want to make sure my goal is realistic, because this is something I really, really want to do. The estimated times for the two runs are 45 and 30 minutes respectively, so I definitely have more work to do and as long as I keep trucking, I'm sure I'll get there eventually.

Anyway, feedback appreciated. :)

Replies

  • peleroja
    peleroja Posts: 3,979 Member
    edited March 2016
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    Honestly, your height doesn't matter that much. Desiree Linden, one of the top female long-distance runners in North America, is only 5'2" and she just qualified for the US Olympic marathon team again. I don't know much about the science of it but I do believe the smaller/lighter factor helps offset a possibly shorter stride as you suggested.

    Some other short runners:
    • Tsegaye Kebede (M), Ethiopia, 158cm (5’2’’), 50kg, 02:04:38 (broke the Chicago Marathon record in 2012)
    • Rosa Mota (F), Portugal, 157cm (5’2″), 45kg, distinguished as the Greatest Female Marathon Runner of All Time on the 30th Anniversary Gala of the Association of International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS) on 09 Nov 2012 (former European, World and Olympic Champion (won 14 of 21 marathons started including Olympic Games, World Champs, London, Boston, Chicago and Rotterdam))
    • Tegla Loroupe (F), Kenya, 4’11”, 40kg, 02:20:43 at the 1999 Berlin Marathon to break the women’s marathon world record
    • Samuel Wanjiru (M), Kenya, 163cm (5’4’’), 52kg, 02:06:32 (2008 Beijing Olympics marathon winner and Olympic record)

    I think for sprint-type events it might be different, but not so much for distance.

    ETA: I couldn't find much from legit sources on it, but here's one hypothesis from a blog:

    Running speed (per minute) = stride length x number of strides per minute. To increase your speed therefore, you can either increase your stride length, or increase your cadence. It would seem that studies have shown a convergence towards a cadence of 90-95 (measured on one leg) or 180-190 steps per minute for elite runners. If we assume then, that this factor remains relatively constant, the other factor to consider is the stride length.

    The main thing to remember when discussing stride length whilst running is that it can be vastly different to your walking stride length. This is because walking stride length is limited to the length of your legs as you always need to have one foot on the ground, compared to when you run, where there will be a period of time when both feet are off the ground. In other words, running stride length is dependent on your ability to push yourself off the ground and forward.

    So how does this relate to a runner’s height? Taller runners, due to their longer legs, tend to be able to push off harder compared to their shorter counterparts. Weight however, also has to be taken into account. A taller runner may push off with more force, but they may also be heavier and thus, may not travel as far forward compared to a shorter, lighter runner. Also, the more you weigh, the harder your body has to work to lift itself. Another point to consider is that taller runners need to lift themselves up higher, to get their longer stride in before landing on the ground again – this vertical motion detracts from forward motion. All of this goes some way to explaining how the previously mentioned examples of marathon runners could triumph despite being relatively short – it is clearly the height-weight ratio that is of more importance not just the height.

    This is clearly just one theory / factor and there are surely a lot of other things at play here. It does give me confidence to know though, that height is by no means a limitation.
  • chaney3000
    chaney3000 Posts: 261 Member
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    No 2 runners are the same. So you can't really say what normal times are for someone your height. I have seen some ladies that height blaze it up on a run and others snail pace it up.

    Weight and height do affect your running. The less you weigh the easier it is on your body with impacts and moving less weight will make you faster. Height affects stride so the taller you are the longer your stride will be which will in turn help you cover more ground per step.

    As far as seasoned runners your height, times can range greatly because what you called seasoned may be Olympic status compared to someone that has been running for a few years.

    Shoot for 10 min miles as a baseline and work from there.

    In time your pace will get better as your endurance builds.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    Unless you are talking about Olympic caliber runners, your height is not going to be your limiting factor in how fast you can run, and even then, it might be a factor for sprinters, but has little effect for distance runners. I am only 5' tall and I usually finish in the top 10% of my age group for most races from 5K to marathon distance. Keep working on it and you will get there!!
  • Trishkit
    Trishkit Posts: 290 Member
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    Thanks for the feedback, guys! Weight is definitely still a major factor for me -- 21 lbs down and 76ish to go. I'm not one to use a limitation as an excuse for not achieving something, but it's good to know that height isn't really a limitation, provided I continue to bring my weight down and build my endurance and fitness level. I'm first and foremost doing this for me, but I'd love it if the shortest and most unassuming person in the company left everyone in her dust. ;)
  • Trishkit
    Trishkit Posts: 290 Member
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    lporter229 wrote: »
    Unless you are talking about Olympic caliber runners, your height is not going to be your limiting factor in how fast you can run, and even then, it might be a factor for sprinters, but has little effect for distance runners. I am only 5' tall and I usually finish in the top 10% of my age group for most races from 5K to marathon distance. Keep working on it and you will get there!!
    Definitely not talking about Olympic caliber, more like 5k, 10k, and half marathon. Gotta start small! But thank you for the input -- it really helps!
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
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    I am 5'2", 128lbs and can comfortably jog at 5.5mph or so, which puts me at about a 34min 5k.

    Stride length makes a huge difference, yes, but if you put me at my pace next to someone a foot taller running at 7-8mph, we look as if were moving a similar speed because were taking almost the same amount of strides, if that makes sense.

    This comes up a lot on my fitbit- Boyfriend and I go for a hike, our fitbits have the same distance, but I get about 2500 steps/mile to his 2000. Lucky us!
  • meglet2202
    meglet2202 Posts: 35 Member
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    I'm 5'1" and my average run speed outside is 6 mph. When I started running, 40 pounds heavier, that speed seemed laughable to me. Now I run that without thinking about it. I'm hoping that as I get stronger and better at running, I'll get even faster. I started out at 4 mph running. Whatever you do, only try to beat your own time, not anyone else's.
  • Trishkit
    Trishkit Posts: 290 Member
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    meglet2202 wrote: »
    Whatever you do, only try to beat your own time, not anyone else's.
    Absolutely!
  • Lazz5k
    Lazz5k Posts: 251 Member
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    I'm 4'11 and typically run at about a 10 min pace. But I wasn't always like that - start small !! I've been running 4 years now and still fluctuate pace.

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