New to Running - What is a good "time" for a 5k?

Ultimately, the C25K program think u will be able to do a 5K in 30 minutes, so that should be ur goal....any time under that should just make u feel VERY PROUD of urself :0)

You can EASILY do a 5k! I promise! Just start slow and walk when you need to. Just keep it at a pace where you feel comfortable and every day you run, try and run a little farther. I promise you can do this! My bet is that if you stay dedicated, you can do one this fall/winter! Feel free to add me if you would like! :flowerforyou:

My fiance and I did the couch to 5K program and ended up deviating from the program because we liked running so much!

Our original goal was a 5K under 30 minutes. The first real 5K we ever ran I came in at 33 minutes, he did it in 34. After a month we were running them in 25 minutes or less.

My best 5K ever was 22:55, his best 5K ever was 22.

Keep in mind we got a little crazy about running and now we run 6 times a week so it might not come that fast. When I was running without a buddy I was happy with 3 miles in 35 minutes because i had no one to push me.

There's no good/bad time- finishing it is all that matters! My first 5k was 38:00, my most recent was 32:39. I never actually finished the C25k, I'm asthmatic and still have to walk some. Just find your own groove and make it work for you

Any time is a good time as long as you are out there doing it!! You are doing better than most of the population that is sitting on the couch (or still in bed, as most races start early)!! I've see runners knock it out in 17 minutes and I've seen people take close to an hour. A lot of people believe that a "good" time is around a half an hour. That's the ballpark that I'm in. Just sign up for a race and do it. It will give you motivation and you will have a ball. I was "hooked" at my first race!! I didn't start running until I was 44 years old and was battling breast cancer. I'm 52 now and doing ultra marathons on trails!! When I ran that first race I had no idea I would be where I am today!! Good luck and happy trails!! :drinker:

Don't shoot for a target time for your first race, just pick one, sign up, and go out and do it - take whatever time you get - that will give you a baseline and you can then compete against yourself in future races. At 48, times in your age group will range from 25 minutes up to an hour. The time doesn't really matter, you are really competing against yourself when starting out. Eventually, if you get hooked on racing, you can work on more serious speed work and training, but at first, just go out and have fun and be proud of yourself for getting out there, which most people aren't doing :-)

There's no such thing as a "bad" time.

Just completing a 5K makes you a winner in my book!

A lot of people would say don't run for a time, but if you're competitive like me, that's just not going to fly.

I'd say for your first 5k any time under 30 minutes is good. To keep up with the fastest, though, you're going to have to be pushing right at or under 18 minutes.

I wanted to keep it under 30 for my first 5k, and 25 was my next goal which I (just barely) met. I'm going for under 24 next time. It's kinda how the game's played.

It's taken me longer, but I started on the treadmill and running on the hard ground seems to take more out of you...lol I also had a hard time with the running times so I kind of readjusted it to fit what I needed. I started over and worked my way up to now running 5 to 7 mins with 2 min walk breaks. My first 5K (in two years) is on July 4th.

When I started over I was running 10 seconds at a time, then worked my way up. My 5 to 7 min. runs were actually accidentally ran, I was suppose to be running 3 mins and looked down at my watch and it was at 4:45 mins so I kept going to 5 mins and it felt great. I am in no means fast, I run at around 4 mph.

Start slow, add time as you see fit, add speed as you see fit. This is what I have been doing and have been working at it since the end of April and I have been injury free

Good luck to you whenever you decide to start.

The C25k program is about running continuously for 5km OR 30min, not 5km IN 30min. Lots of people dont get that then feel all let down when they dont make that goal.
Any running is great running, so be proud of that fact.
Also, aim for distance first then build up your speed. If you run too fast just to make someones idea of a good 5km time you are going to hurt something and not be able to run at all. Slow runs are just as important as fast ones.
It took me 10 weeks to complete the C25k as I got a cold and took a week off, I was also 33 and had 2 x 6mth old babies so running on no sleep lol.
You can do this.

There's no such thing as a "bad" time.

Just completing a 5K makes you a winner in my book!

This.

Just sign up......I have a torn ACL that my doctor refuses to operate because of my weight which in turn caused me to be even less active making matters worse. I signed up for my first 5k and it inspired me to train for it. I started at 54 minutes...oh the shame. But I kept going....on race day I did 49. So on a trip to Dallas I got up one morning and signed up for another. 47 minutes .......so now I'm going to meet the kids at the Vampire 5k .....and this mornings training session had me at 43:18......look out. Wait I forgot the best part of the story........I lost 25 pounds. Yea me! Jump in the water is fine

I'm a freshman athlete at William Peace at WPU, 18 year old male. I run four or five times a week... I usually complete a 5k into 21:00-21:30 minutes. I like to think I'm above average physically, considering how often I train. I would say a good time would be between 24:48 and 26:18. You would average an 8:00/8:30 mile.

I think there are several things that will determine your time. I run a lot, but I run slow. Call it genetics. I don't know. I am happy if I run a 35 minute 5k. When I tried training to get faster, running wasn't fun anymore. So I run slow and that's how it is. Most people that I know have a time between 35 and 40 min for their first 5k.