Running times

King Mallie

Hi Guys

I'm just getting back training and was wondering if any of you guys can tell the times I should be aiming for to run 3km and 5km.
Just average runner not part of any running club

Alf Veedersane

King Mallie wrote: »

Hi Guys

I'm just getting back training and was wondering if any of you guys can tell the times I should be aiming for to run 3km and 5km.
Just average runner not part of any running club

There isn't a generic time you should be aiming for. Go set a time, then train towards beating it. And then beat it.

King Mallie

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

There isn't a generic time you should be aiming for. Go set a time, then train towards beating it. And then beat it.

Thanks for your reply. I was just looking for the average time to benchmark against it

Mellor

King Mallie wrote: »

Thanks for your reply. I was just looking for the average time to benchmark against it

Average for who?
The average time in the Olympics for 5km was under 14mins.
The average person on the street probably couldn't run a full 5km.
Someone who casually runs a bit will be in the middle somewhere.

Without knowing you abilities, pulling a time out of thin air is useless for you. As Alf said, your goals need to be based on you abilities.

What do you currently do 5km in?
If you've never have, then your goal should be to run a full 5km.

LionelNashe

King Mallie wrote: »

Hi Guys

I'm just getting back training and was wondering if any of you guys can tell the times I should be aiming for to run 3km and 5km.
Just average runner not part of any running club

Here are some results from one of last Saturday's parkruns.

http://www.parkrun.ie/stannes/results/latestresults/

You can poke around the site and see lots of these results. If you look at the times for your gender and age-group, you'll probably see a wide range.

mcgiggles

When I started running, it took me AAAAGES to build up to running 5k without stopping! I never ran and sucked at it, and still do.. I maintain I'm built for comfort not speed

Set yourself achievable goals... Don't benchmark on what anyone else can do. If your first 5k without stopping takes you an hour so be it, you keep doing it and the numbers will drop

Just for reference - when I finally got to 5k without stopping it was taking me the guts of 30-35 mins.. I had got it down to 26 I think just from keeping it up. I'm only telling you my times because when I was doing organised 5ks I was coming in somewhere around the middle so they would be average-ish times... do what you can do then the times will improve themselves

Mr. CooL ICE

Back in my running days, I would have done 5k in ~25 minutes on a moderately hilly route without pushing too hard.

GalwayGrrrrrl

In our Parkrun the club runners would be finishing 5k in around 20 mins, the joggers like me around 35 mins (running with short walk breaks) and the walkers around 45 mins.

DvB

I do 4 5k runs a week, its the same course & works out at 6.01km but I can take a short cut which brings it down to just over 5k & when I do the 5k i'd average between 20 & 25 minutes depending on my mood & how I feel.... when I started off after years of being a lazy coach potato I could barely run 1k without stopping to walk & catch my breath but built up to that in about 2 months or so.

After getting runs in regularly & managing to run the 5k in one go without stopping (took about 35 minutes) I started to work on getting the time down as my level of fitness improved, beat I've done is 19 minutes & have progressed onto 10k & 20k runs as well... start small & work your way up, I set goals & when I achieved them, set new ones.

livedadream

its all relative it depends on how you push yourself, training, breathing, fitness, (im also convinced leg length comes into it)

my personal best is 31:47 for a 5km, its a 30 year old woman, carrying an extra stone or two after losing just over 6.5 stone in the past year, i run three/four times a week and cross train started running last year. did my first half marathon a week or so ago. i love running

a guy i work with late 40's a little chubby but nothing major,started running a few months ago PB is 28 mins something. he likes it but isnt too pushed about it.

its enraging to me, that he does effectively nothing, doesn't work out just runs 2-3 miles twice a week but still smashes it when we do the park runs. guurrr

some people it comes naturally some it doesnt, some people doing a 40 minute 5km is a huge achievement, others anything over 25 minutes is a disgrace.

the best way to do it is run 5km and time yourself, then look up the park run results like a previous poster said and check the ages and see what people in your bracket are doing if you want to compare, if not run 5km and keep trying to run faster.

Best of luck!!

ncmc

Are you male or female? I think a benchmark for 5km would be about 30 minutes - that's based on the couch to 5k program where it promises to get you running 5k or 30 minutes in 9 weeks. But it depends on so many variables, it's impossible to give a proper answer. Concentrate on doing the distance, you should aim for a pace that is challenging, but not flat out killing yourself. As your fitness levels increase, you will find your speed automatically increases too. Don't make the mistake of trying to PB every run, training runs are about building up strength and fitness. You will find that if you slow down, you will enjoy running more and are more likely to keep it up. Not running at race pace all the time is something that quite a few new runners struggle with!

mcgiggles

ncmc wrote: »

Are you male or female? I think a benchmark for 5km would be about 30 minutes - that's based on the couch to 5k program where it promises to get you running 5k or 30 minutes in 9 weeks. But it depends on so many variables, it's impossible to give a proper answer. Concentrate on doing the distance, you should aim for a pace that is challenging, but not flat out killing yourself. As your fitness levels increase, you will find your speed automatically increases too. Don't make the mistake of trying to PB every run, training runs are about building up strength and fitness. You will find that if you slow down, you will enjoy running more and are more likely to keep it up. Not running at race pace all the time is something that quite a few new runners struggle with!

+1000 for this!! even if you are training for ages, some days it will just take longer than other days

Brian?

Moved from Fitness forum as it's more suitable here

thesimpsons

thanks for that link to the Park run times. I can't get to them cos of other activities etc but interesting to see the times and compare to mine. I'm on 35mins for 5km - not the slowest in my age group and I did just over 6k this morning without stopping so for me its distance first and then building it up a bit faster.

KielyUnusual

Its a constantly shifting goal post and completely subjective. The only answer that I think most people would agree on is that what a person considers a good time for a given distance is just a little faster than what they are currently able to run

King Mallie

mcgiggles wrote: »

+1000 for this!! even if you are training for ages, some days it will just take longer than other days

Thanks all for replying. I'm male 39 so I will let ye know how I progress. I'm still building up to the 5k.

But I really do appreciate everyone input

lenihankevin

I would suggest joining a club...I did the couch to 5k app myself and did a 5k after that in 27mins....joined a club then and after 6months have done 20.02 as a pb...(did a 4 mile in 24.6 where I did the first 5k in 19.5)...the training and advice I got from others in the club was brilliant.