1% of adults can run a mile: One of the running... - Couch to 5K

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1% of adults can run a mile

BaddieThePirate profile image
BaddieThePirateGraduate
โ€ข22 Replies

One of the running group last night pointed out that only about 1% of adults are capable of running a mile. Welcome to a very exclusive club everyone!๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ๐Ÿƒ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

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BaddieThePirate profile image
BaddieThePirate
Graduate
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22 Replies
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SleepyAsh profile image
SleepyAsh

That's a scary figure! Though until very very recently I was one of the ones that couldn't.

Goforitmama profile image
GoforitmamaGraduate

Yay! Iโ€™ll be a member of that club thanks.

UnfitNoMore profile image
UnfitNoMoreGraduate

Iโ€™m in a 1% club? Wow. Cool!

Ang33333 profile image
Ang33333Graduate

I like being in that club!

AlMorr profile image
AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate in reply to Ang33333

Agree with you Ang33333, as I say we all joined that club on week 5 of C25K, I thought it was a bit more than 1%, but who can argue with the experts.

AlMorr profile image
AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate

1 mile is to be exact:-1.60934 kilometres, just more than a kilometre and a half. That means that once anyone here doing C25K runs week 5 day 2, certainly the 3rd run of week 5, they are among that 1% of adults who are capable of running a mile.

Languid_Lil profile image
Languid_LilGraduate in reply to AlMorr

That's me! Me! I could run a mile! I might have actually run a mile! I have just started crying at this revelation.

BaddieThePirate profile image
BaddieThePirateGraduate in reply to Languid_Lil

I didn't mean to make you cry, but I know what you mean.

Crawlhome profile image
CrawlhomeGraduate

Hmmm really? It seems a low number? Judging by the amount of people I see running, clubs, parkrun, races and all those people in gyms it seems like it would be more.

Do you have any source? Sorry to be cynical, I'd love to be one of the 1%! ๐Ÿ˜

BaddieThePirate profile image
BaddieThePirateGraduate in reply to Crawlhome

No source I'm afraid, just hearsay. But judging from the number of people in the office who could run a mile I bet it is a small percentage.

Mayanow profile image
Mayanow

Incredible! I NEVER EVER thought i'd stand on THIS side!! Thank you for making me feel proud again!

Jelon profile image
JelonGraduate

Love it Iโ€™m in ๐Ÿ˜Š

Robert_IS_a_Runner profile image
Robert_IS_a_RunnerGraduate

That's interesting. I was in the 99% until this summer too. It's been a revelation to run 3 times a week and feel my health just keep improving.

I wonder how many people have graduated since the forum was launched. Does anyone keep a record?

Robert_IS_a_Runner profile image
Robert_IS_a_RunnerGraduate

Can't find the stat but found this. m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/...

cheryl_couch_tatty profile image
cheryl_couch_tattyGraduate

1%.....wow, just wow!

theoldfellow profile image
theoldfellow

This may be 1% of American adults. Probably about the same percentage in Europe. But I'll lay a pretty big bet that more than 1% of Africans can run a mile. It's a lifestyle thing, not a race thing.

It's my contention that Humans evolved as pack-running killer-apes. It's in our genes. The whole clan (young, old, male, female) runs down an antelope by attrition, that's why we all can run long distance, then the young males do the actual killing - which is why young men are better at sprinting. Not a perfect exposition of my theory, but it'll do for one paragraph.

Being a runner shouldn't be an exclusive club. Everyone here is proof.

Some days when I review my thoughts and look at some of my posts, I feel like some weird proselytizer. this has just been such a life-changing experience for me, I want more people to experience it.

So my first reaction to this is: let's get that percentage up!

Unfortunately while my enthusiasm is high, my sphere of influence isn't large. Haha. Mostly I've been too shy to really tell people what I've been up to.

Runningnut profile image
Runningnut in reply to

Maybe these stats are just for the UK and explain why we suck at sports and canโ€™t win any of our own sports or athletics like the yanks

AlMorr profile image
AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate in reply to Runningnut

Look at the shape of some of the non-athletes in North America, all those burger bars they have at every street corner, I think the percentage of males and females in the USA who are over 20 stone is more than here in the UK. As far as that 1% statistic of the population that can run for a mile is a bit questionable, the number of people who participate in park-runs, 5k, 10k, 10 miles, half and full marathons, I would think would surely be more than 1% of the population of the UK. Even BaddyThePirate who started this interesting discussion admits it was only hearsay, my guess about the number of people in the UK that can run a mile is 2%.

Runningnut profile image
Runningnut in reply to AlMorr

I think the yanks over do everything there fat people must just be fatter and more of them just like their elite athletes-a bit off topic but we all know it is the richest country in the world and has more millionaires per capita then any other country, considering itโ€™s relatively small population count in comparison to places like India ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ or China could be a reflection of those stats, and why the the rack up so many medals and golds. The last Olympics I watched 3-4 Olympics ago I think the UK got 1-3 gold medals a few silver and a few bronze whilst the yanks racked up around 300 canโ€™t remember exactly if it was 300 gold medals or a collection of the top three but still, maybe itโ€™s cause their athletics programmes are out of this world ๐ŸŒ, certainly when I look at the Nike plus running apps running programmes I am blown away

BaddieThePirate profile image
BaddieThePirateGraduate in reply to

I've told everyone, but only a couple of people have said they might give it a go...

AlMorr profile image
AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate in reply to BaddieThePirate

That is true Baddie, unless you know anyone who is a member of an athletic club or is a keen jogger, it is unlikely that any of them can run for a mile or more, unless of course, they have participated on the C25K program.

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