Your First 5K - Times?

As you, I´ve never been a runner, I am still obese and after I finished the Insanity workout I gained a lot of endurance and I decide to give jogging a try.

for my suprise I was also able to run 3.5K without stopping (26min) and I could easily continue until the 5k mark, however, given the knee pain I am still suffering (thanks Insanity LOL) I decided to stop,, a week later I ran another 3.5K (this time 22min), and I already registered for a 5K in 2 weeks. I am planning to finish around the 35min mark. I have not tried the full 5k yet, but next monday Ill do it.

I am a "heavy runner" but I have run 3 half marathons, so don't let anyone freak you out about running distance not being for anyone but the elite. I am training with a non-running friend for her first 5km and I am thinking we'll pull in just under 40 minutes, which is a nice "I ran the whole thing" time. You should always have three goals: A finish goal (as in, you finished), a pace goal (as in, I ran the whole thing, or a did my plan of run 4 walk 1 or whatever it is you are working with) and then a time goal. You never know what will happen on race day- weather, feel great, feel terrible, be stressed finding parking or whatever- so you want to just GET OUT THERE AND DO IT- and with three goals, you are bound to achieve at least one of them, which means SUCCESS!!!

I usually run about 1.5 to 2 miles when I run, but I would never concider myself a avid runner (i just don't enjoy it all that much, i'd rather do a hard cardio aerobic/insanity session any day!) But just this past weekend I decided to give a 5K a try, just for fun haha. I came in right at 30 minutes and set my goal for a 10 min mile which was something I felt that I should be able to achieve. It felt great and I realized that I really enjoyed the expirience because it was different from running alone, there was a lot of motivation from the others running along with me. I will def be doing another one here very soon. Good luck on the 5K!!

I just finished my first 10k in 56:45. Unfortunately I somehow missed the 5km checkpoint so I'm guessing it was probably around the 26-27 min mark.

I haven't run a race, but I do 5k a couple times a week alone.

I started in January at 3.8km (thought I would die) for 27:30. Got to 5km a few weeks later for 30:30. By April my 5km was 24:50s

I'm told that when you are in a race it really fires you up and you can take whole minutes off your time.

Good luck - have fun.

17-25 minutes is a pretty damn fast time, so if this is your first time, then I wouldn't worry about hitting those numbers...or even close.

My first race was a Trail Race at 3.4 miles, so just over 5k, my time was 48:04....I was 220lbs then. Placed 112/119

My next race was a 10k, 6.2 miles, I was 200lbs, and did it 75:48, placed dead last in my age groub.

Following this I really picked up my training, and the next race I ran was a night trail race 3.6 miles....was the first time I finished in the first cut off group, 50/112, 32:39.

The next was a Half Marathon in which I finished in 2:12:02

And finally my first OFFICIAL 5k, I ran in 28:40, a 9:15 pace, and I was about 45lbs down from my starting weight.

The next 5k I did was March 18th (was supposed to be a 1/2 Marathon, but my power went out and my alarm didn't go off so I missed the time for the 1/2), and with all the hills that were there, I finished in 28:02.

The moral of this long drawn out boring *kitten* story?? Don't worry about your time, worry about finishing.

My best time is 32min and 47 secs which is probably very slow but hey i dont care. The fact im out doing 5k three or four times a week is good enough for me. I love runninng but would much rather do several 5k's a week instead of doing one or two long runs.

I was somewhat of a track star in high school *sigh* so long ago. But for a long time running wasn't doing anything for my weight loss since my body was so accustomed to it. I took some time off. okay, by "some time" I mean a couple years. I just started back up about 6 months ago and did my first 5k race about 3 months ago. My offical time was 24:15. I was so pleasantly surprised that I have been training to cut some of that time and am actually registered to run a 10k this weekend. REALLY nervous for that so I kind of know how you feel. I haven't set a time goal. I will be happy to just finish without having to walk. Even if I am dead last. You have to keep in mind that even though you are in a race, the biggest competition you have is yourself. I do recommend finishing a 5k before the race, even if it means you do the walk-run method for the last little bit. That way you know what to expect for your race day and can be prepared mentally. My advice: just finish it. Don't worry about how fast you are, when you finish it, you will have already acheived a huge accomplishment. Get your finishing time and THEN you can start getting faster if that is something you still want after you've done the race. I have actually cut my 5k down to 22:45!

Good luck and God's speed!!!
and don't forget to have fun!

I did my first one last week and I did it in 23.5 mins. I do a hell of a lot of cycling though so my cardio is pretty immense as it is and my legs are built as a result. If my knees didn't start to hurt I'd have sprinted the end. I think I need better shoes!

My 5km fun run PB is 32:37. The first time I did a 5km fun run my time was 40:43, which was great for me at the time. I always do run/walk (suffer from fatigue). It's amazing how much you push yourself in a race environment, but just remember not to go out too fast. It's really hard not to.

You'll do fine. I have taken off about 5-6 mins off my average running pace since I started running 2 years ago, but still quite slow compared to others. It doesn't matter though, because I race myself, not anyone else. I am training for a half marathon at the moment. I don't care how many people beat me, as long as I finish in the allotted time. Good luck!

and 17minutes for a 5k run is a seriously fast pace. Very few people would get into the 17minute bracket

I'm in my last week of the C25K program and I'm running 5k in 33 minutes.

I think you just need to focus on being able to run the full 5k. The speed will take care of itself. If you can run the whole thing, then you will not come in last!

I'm in my last week of the C25K program and I'm running 5k in 33 minutes.

I think you just need to focus on being able to run the full 5k. The speed will take care of itself. If you can run the whole thing, then you will not come in last!

THIS

My first ever 5K race was back in September 2011 and I did it in 37:55 and was sooooo pleased with that time, that was towards the end of the C25K program. My current PB 5K now stands at 28:40 that I did about 6 weeks ago. But I reckon I can break 28 minutes now which is a hell of an achievement for me don't worry about doing it in under 25 minutes, cos that is a quick time! You will get faster more you train and progress

I run 5km as part of my cardio almost every other day. Been doing so since I finished C25K back in December.
Ended up improving my 5k time from 34 minutes to 27 minutes within just a month (I also lost 5 lbs in the process) Current best is in my picture... it's from few weeks back.

It can be done if you are committed to it. Run HIITs, especially HIITs on a hill or incline. Try doing them in intervals of 3:1 work,rest ratio or 2:1 if that's easier for you. They've been tremendous for my endurance and speed.