Time to run a mile

Running Bing

Just wondering what would be a respectable time for a fit person to run 1 mile in.



I ask because I want to start training to run a mile as fast as possible and I need a realistic goal.

I no around the 4 minute mark is pretty elite and 11 minute is a pretty comfortable pace for newcomers, so I imagine somehwere in between there.


I know Im gonna get at least one "how long is a pice of string" but I am just looking for a general idea.

thirtyfoot

Babybing wrote: »

Just wondering what would be a respectable time for a fit person to run 1 mile in.



I ask because I want to start training to run a mile as fast as possible and I need a realistic goal.

I no around the 4 minute mark is pretty elite and 11 minute is a pretty comfortable pace for newcomers, so I imagine somehwere in between there.


I know Im gonna get at least one "how long is a pice of string" but I am just looking for a general idea.

I'd say sub 5 if you are man and fit, probably 5:30 for a fit women. Depends of course what you call 'fit'. These times may not be realistic for you but thats what I would regards respectable for a fit person.

Racing Flat

Babybing,
4 minutes is more than pretty elite - the list of Irish athletes to have run a mile in under 4 minutes is'nt to lengthy and comprises a fairly talented bunch. I would refer you to the spar mile challenge website http://www.sparmilechallenge.com/
Last year for the first time spar organised this event all over the country where people were to run a mile. They came up with a rainbow grading system...

Red 4-5 minute miler Orange5-6 minute miler Yellow6-7 minute miler Green7-8 minute miler Blue8-9 minute miler Indigo9-10 minute miler Violet10+ minute miler

So the best thing for you to do might be to just get to a track, or a field or path that you know is a mile or even a treadmill and see how long it takes you to do the mile, even if you have to walk for bits of it. Then you would have an idea and would be able to track progress.

Have you ever done a 10k or any other distance to give you some indication? Generally poeple will have a target - break 5 mins, break 7 mins etc. but without knowing you hard to say. I would say for a male not used to running, to get under 6 would be a good level of fitness, under 7 for a female, but it is a little 'how long is a piece of string' without further information.
Good luck.

Gavin "shels"

I can do a mile in about 8 mins. I'd be a average fitness and an active 17 year old:D

estebancambias

Your only 17? I thought you were older to be honest. What is 1500 metres? I can do that in just over 7 minutes.

redved

i think if you can manage 6 - 6.30 mins you'd be doing very well

Racing Flat

1500m is just short of a mile which is 1609m. So typically an elite runner should add 15-20secs to their 1500 time to get their mile time, for everyone else add 20-30secs.

There are lots of formulae out there to predict how fast you could run a distance based on performance at another distance. Off the top of the head www.mcmillanrunning.com - go to the running calculator or www.runningforfitness.org The latter also tells you how you rate for your age compared to the world record (percentage wise) and ho wfast you would go if you lost or put on weight etc.

Gavin "shels"

estebancambias wrote: »

Your only 17? I thought you were older to be honest.

Why's that?


BTW I've only been jogging/running for about one month and a half.:p

Reyman

Any guy in his twenties should be easily able to do a sub 8 minute mile assuming he doesn't have major weight problems or similar.

A sub 7 minute mile is fairly straightforward for anyone who runs a couple of times a week.

Hanley

I think my best time for 1k was about 3mins 17 seconds when I was about 18 or 19 and playing soccer and gaelic 6x a week. This came out to be around 5 mins 30 secs on the calculator. Dunno how accurate that is but I'm confident I woulda stayed under 6 mins for the mile. I was training very hard at the time tho. I'd be lucky to last a mile now that I'm about 20kg heavier.

Supercell

When I was 17 but "didnt do anything" and could eat whatever I liked and didn;t put on any weight..must have been my metabolism....

I cycled 5 miles to school over hilly ground as fast as i could because faster was fun
I ran around playing scocer during my lunch break for an hour
More often than not i messed about playing soccer in the local field for another few hours before cycling home (as fast as i can because its more fun).
Several times a week I went training with the school rugby team - that was "proper" fitness training...running sprinting, jumping around cones..followed by a game of touch rugby then I cycled home....

I then ate til i was stuffed , my mother saying she doesnt know where I put it.

Next morning i got up and cycled 5 miles.......

The metabolism does slow with age but most active school kids do a fitness regime that would seem brutal to those a few years past their leaving cert or even uni years!

xebec

Just as a reference, I'm 23 and carrying about a stone of extra weight (I've lost 2 stone in the last 4 months, working on the last one) and I can comfortable to a mile in 7:30. If I'm running any kind of distance my pace is closer to 9:00, but if I pushed myself I guess I could get just under 7:00. Long way from my school days when I could do it in about 6:00, but I'm just getting back into running so happy with where I am at the moment

BossArky

6mins 49 seconds tonight for the mile.

Shrimp

6mins 23seconds is what I clocked up on the GOAL mile on christmas day.