Ever wondered how you compare speed-wise to other runners? While some may say it’s not worth comparing yourself to others – ‘comparison is the thief of joy’ and all that – when it comes to races, many of us are still focused on our speed.
How fast you run depends on a whole host of factors, including (but not limited to); your age and sex, your current fitness levels, nutrition strategy, experience, training schedule and environmental factors. Of course, there are lots of ways you can improve your speed – from adding interval training and fartlek sessions to your weekly runs to choosing carbon-plated running shoes and working on your strength – but the average runner is going to differ speed-wise from that of an Olympic or elite-level runner.
Still curious to see how your running speed (and 5K time) compares to others? Keep reading to learn the average running speed and times.
What is the average running speed?
According to data from Strava – looking at the average mile pace from public uploads over the last 12 months between 1 August 2022 and 30 July 2023 – the global average mile pace is 10:25 minutes (that’s roughly equivalent to a 6:28 min/km).
The global average mile pace for men is 10:02 min/mile (6:14 min/km), while the global average mile pace for women is 11:17 min/mile (7:01 min/km).
In the UK, we’re actually a little speedier than the average global pace – coming in at 9:48 min/mile (06:05 min/km). The UK average mile pace for men is 9:19 min/mile (05:47 min/km), and the UK average mile pace for women is 10:40 min/mile (06:37 min/km).
What is the average time for a 5K?
The figures below are based on 35 million results, collected by the website RunRepeat, in the last 20 years from more than 28,000 races.
The RunRepeat data shows that if you want to be an above-average 5K runner, you should aim to have a finish time faster than 35 minutes. Running a sub-30 minute 5K could be another goal as only 30% of the participants in running races are faster than that.
If you want to be among the fastest 10% of 5K runners you should have a faster finish time than 25 minutes.
To be among the best 1% you should aim to be faster than 18 minutes 40 seconds.
What is the average 5K time for males?
For men, to be an above-average runner, you should be faster than 31:28 minutes, as per the data from RunRepeat. If you can run a 30-minute 5K, then you’re faster than more than 65% of men.
To be among the fastest 10% of men, you should have a finish time faster than 23 minutes. And to be among the fastest 1% you should be faster than 17:30 minutes.
What is the average 5K time for females?
According to the RunRepeat data, for women, to be an above-average runner, you should be faster than 37:28 minutes. If you can run a 30-minute 5K, then you’re faster than more than 70% of women.
To be among the fastest 10% of women, you should have a finish time faster than 28 minutes. And to be among the fastest 1% you should be faster than 21 minutes 39 seconds.
