I graduated end of December and kept up the 30 minutes consolidation although not very often for various reasons. In 30 mins I manage about 3k or a bit more. Today I kept going until Edmonondo told me I'd done 5k. I'm awfully slow. Is there a way of comparing. I'm 62 female, 5'2" and 3 stones overweight. EDIT: I worded this badly and was looking for the age graded result which I now realise compares to world class runners. Also I'm interested if its common to be so slow and steady.
EDITED: First 5k @ 43:51. Not a park run, on... - Couch to 5K
EDITED: First 5k @ 43:51. Not a park run, on my own. How does this compare with other 62 year olds.
Circle_On_LegsGraduate
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Circle_On_Legs
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AlMorrAmbassadorGraduate
Congratulations on completing running a full 5K distance in 43.51.
This site of C25K does not compare times and pace with each other who run the 5K distance, certainly we will congratulate people as I have just congratulated you on your achievement. We won't comment on what weight you are but again congratulate people who have lost weight while doing the C25K course. 😊 🏃
Thank you. I am feeling rather useless tbh. B4 I started this program I can walk. the same distance in that time. Suppose I'll get faster.
Running is better for you, the impact on your legs strengthens your bones, great news for those of us in our sixties.
UnfitNoMoreGraduate
Congratulations on that first 5k. You’re not “awfully slow” you are running 5k at your pace. There’s going to be a lot of 62 year olds in the world who’ve run all their lives and so can beat that time... there’s many more 62 year olds who can’t run even a mile. So, I’d say you’re certainly in the top 10% of 62 year olds in the world... and you’ve been doing this less than 6 months. How’s that sound for comparisons?
We run for fun and fitness, and every now and then we race. No matter how many people are stood on the start line, in your race it’s just you and the previous you.
Celebrate every achievement. Great running.
Thank you UNM. It was a foolish question written without enough thought as to what I really wanted to know. I'm definitely a determined plodder.
You got up you went out and finished the course ,I would say that is a great achievement in itself. If you keep going at your pace you’ll be surprised how much fitter you will feel, the weight takes a bit longer at our age. You’ve done the hard bit well done to you 👍👏👏
Buddy34Graduate
Dont compare yourself to anyone else you are doing great and you even ran 5k that is excellent 😊😊
Thank you
GranspeedGraduate
I’d say compare how much you could run (and how fast) at the beginning of last November with how you run now. That’s a short time, it seems to me, to have moved so far. 👏🏼🏃🏼♀️👍 Wouldn’t want you to be smug 😂; we can all go further as we go on. But you sure are a lot faster than if you had stayed on the couch! 😄 Feel glad about your 5k. I will when I get there, for sure. 🎉
Hi Gran,I wasn't looking for praise. I had planned a park run yesterday, but didn't go. Park Run provides an age related score and perhaps I didn't word my question well. You are correct 6 months ago I couldn't run 1k. In 2002 I did Race 4 Life and haven't run again until this program. Up until today I've stopped at 30 mins but today I thought at the 30 min mark , oh what the hell, I'll keep going to 5k and see how long it takes, or even if i can do it. I was pleased I did. I've not got any faster tho than when I graduated but thinking about it, I've got more stamina.
Wishing you success on achieving your first 5k and huge congratulations on your graduation too
No, no I didn’t think you were praise seeking at all! Joke gone wrong there. I was actually worried that you would start feeling insecure, as many slow runners do, and might go away & hide your light under a bushel somewhere! All clear now. I’d love to do Park Run but other commitments make the timing hard, so do let us know how you get on. 😄
Aww bless you. I'll not give up the running and I will try a park run and of course I'll let you know. Getting up early enough to get to the 9am park run is a challenge in itself. I'm not a morning person unless obliged to be.
MarkyDGraduate
Well done C-o-L for your 5km run. That is some achievement and considerably better than most of the population.
The world of running uses an "Age Grade" system to give a number (actually a percentage) so that you can quantify your achievement and compare it to others. Your gender, age and 5km time of 00:43:51 gives you an Age Grading of 43%.
Obviously you are not as fast as an 18 year-old male. But by comparing both of your age grading scores, you can get an idea of relative performance. An age grading of 43% would see that 18 year old male run 5km in 30 minutes.
Every finisher at parkrun is given an age grading score, and this allows us to get an idea of everyone's achievements regardless of age and gender.
Thank you so much for the answer and working out what I really meant to ask. My male partner is same age and he gets in just over 5k in the c25k 30 mins. He is kind enough to say that if I were his weight I would be faster.
Totally understand where you are coming from. I’m 46 and about 3 stone overweight. My first 5k was 46 minutes and running 3 times a week for a few months I have got it down to just under 40 minutes. My partner (also 46 and overweight) runs faster than me and I also find it quite disheartening even though I know that I shouldn’t really compare myself to him, it is just natural!
Like others have said, we are ping this for ourselves. To be fitter, healthier, happier, and we are still doing better than all those people who are still sitting in the couch!
ArthurJGGraduate
As others have said we're not here to compare ourselves with others. But since you ask about most 62 year olds - I don't have the stats to prove it but I reckon most 62 year olds don't run 5k at all so any time will compare favourably. The age grades Marky refers to are derived from world records, not average performances. After all, you can't calculate an average for a whole population if the majority don't even run 
Thank you Arthur. I hadn't really thought about it sensibly and how you've put it. I was beating myself up for being so slow.
IannodaTruffeMentor
Comparison is human nature, but with the diversity of our membership, futile.
Do you want others similar to you to tell you that your pace is slow..........fast.......
Your pace is your pace........be proud.
Thank you. I am proud of the achievement. I guess I am expecting my speed to be considered slow. I can walk almost as fast as I jog. It was a badly worded question. I was looking for the age grading. How I feel a twit. Apologies.
in reply to Circle_On_Legs
You are not a twit at all. People are here to support and answer any questions you might have👍
IslesrunnerGraduate
I don’t care about my pace yet. 😁
It’s important to me that I’m doing it. That I’m completing the runs. I’m on week 6 run 3 next.
Once I’ve graduated, I will maintain it with regular runs and then I will look at my times and book myself in for a 5k official run. I’m almost 50.
You’ve done brilliantly to complete 5k - it shows a great deal of mental strength, resilience and determination. If it’s important to you to improve your time, you will. Over more time, at your pace.
Thank you islesrunner. Congratulations and super well done getting to end week 6. Only 10 more runs to graduation!
I followed the program to the letter and I promise that you will have such a sense of proudness when you finally get the graduation badge. I have an enormous sense of achievement every time I actually get off my ass and complete a run. I suffer from depression which seems to manifest itself into what feels like utter laziness. Therefore there is always an enormous tussle going on in my head with regard to motivation.
Good luck with the Park Run.
hallamfattyGraduate
Hi. I found this board after I'd done the C25K but still couldn't run 5K. I can now but it typically takes me about 48 minutes to do it. I want to run faster and my hubby, who runs parkruns regularly said to run faster I have to do a short distance faster. So now I am alternating between a long slow run one day and a shorter faster run later in the week. I do 1.61km for my shorter runs - this is approximately one mile.
Thank you replying. It's very reassuring to know someone else does 5k at similar speed. My partner is slim and started C25k about 6 weeks after I did. He is swift enough to cover 5k in 28 minutes. My marathon running chiropractor friend advised that weight comes off when clocking up more miles. My partner pointed out that I'm a lot heavier than he is so it's not surprising I'm slower. There are 'after graduation' programs on here. One is building up to run for longer time and another speed increasing. If you hop to the grad board someone usually posts a link to them.
Good luck and really well done and thank you so much for the speed advise.
runwithdogGraduate
you done great !
i am 60 and done my first pr in 37.51 but i walked a lot and have a fast arm swinging walk,faster than my run.
my aim is to run all the way,which i know will be a slower time but doesnt matter.
it is not a race,it is the fact that you go and do it and complete it.
Wow RWD. Congratulations. I agree its not a race against others but it is one with myself. It's reassuring to have times from others of a similar age. In 2002 I did Race 4 Life in 31 minutes. I thought at the time that was slow. I wasn't part of a group online or physically so had no idea about speeds. In those days there weren't podcasts. I had a sheet of paper printed from the Tesco site with the 5k program. My memory of week 1 is run 1 min, walk 1 min, repeat 10 times. I had to keep check via watch second hand. Good luck. I run with the dog too.
on sunday my gps didnt start because we were in a cutting/under a bridge to start,it narked me throughout my run and although i completed the run i felt disappointed when i should have been really pleased.i will never be fast because my stride is like pidgeon steps 
i think i take more actual steps than other people.
every1 is different and we are lapping the ones still sat on the sofa
Slow what’s slow. You are out there keeping fit. Be proud and keep running whatever pace. Doesn’t matter. The doing is the important thing. Many congratulations 🎊🎊
Thank you and all the best for your running too.
GibsonBBKingGraduate
You have done great. I'm 64 and male with dodgy knees and arthritis in my hips and 4 stone overweight so I look up to you as my heroine as you have finished the programme and I'm only starting week two this morning. THE most important thing must be to keep on keeping on. Well done on what you have achieved.
Aww thank you. You will keep on keeping on. Determination was key going through the programme. Fortunately I dont have hip problems but I do have with both knees. I had MRI on both knees in October. Both have torn meniscus and osteoarthritis. By the time I saw the consultant I had graduated. I told him that my knees didn't hurt when i run but they do when i walk! That was December. After a chat it was decided to carry on doing what I enjoy and take anti inflamitaries judiciously. Amazingly the pain from the meniscus that I tore in September has more or less evaporated. The other is years old. Didn't know about the arthritis until the scans. I believe the running will actually help to lubricate.
Wishing you all the best and don't stop after graduation.
RealfoodieclubGraduate
As you can see pace is an emotive question. I understand wanting to ask though. For me it depends on The run I have just had to how relevant that question is to me. I am a slow runner and most of time I couldn’t give a fig how fast everyone else runs but then there are those runs when I come home and it hasn’t gone to plan, I’ve tried to pick up my pace or Ive been overtaken too many times 😀 and I then look around for Something to make me feel better about my pace and being over 50 that is what I try to console myself with, when that doesn't work I tell myself that I’m running running full stop, be proud.
The thing that helped me was to set a pace goal for myself to work towards. I needed something to feel accomplishments from. I will never be as fast as some on here so I needed a more manageable goal. I have little ones for distances and every now and then I go out for a fast paced run but my big one is a sub 3 hour HM, I have managed 3 hours and 8 mins 36 seconds. For me knocking off that 9: 36 is so very hard but it keeps me training. I have been trying for five years, but I am determined, while I am working on this I rarely feel the need to compare myself because I know I am doing the very best I can and it makes me feel happier about my running,
Oh wow. I'm in total awe of anyone that can run HM so your time is amazing to me. I read somewhere about the man who was trying to be first to beat the 4 minute mile. I wish I could remember the details but I do recall he gave up as not succeeding but returned to it and did manage a sub 4 minute although he wasn't the first.
Yes my question does seem to have been emotive and it wasn't intended to be. Despite knowing in our heads the goal is run for 30 minutes many of us feel we should be achieving 5k in that time. However, having slept on it I'm now proud that I jogged a complete 5k. I need goals also so i will try to go a little faster consistently for longer. According to Edmonondo my pace varies considerably.
Wishing you all the best for your sub 3 hours HM.
Thank you 😀.
PlodplodGraduate
Well I’m 64 and hadn’t run for decades. I can do the 3km in about 24 mins but haven’t braved a park run yet. I started well, and finished C25k in the Autumn, but in the process popped a ligament in my right knee and it still gets painful if I run more than about 4K. I’ve been trying to balance between keeping fit (fit for me at least) and looking after that knee by not over-doing it. I think youve done really well, and you are running for the great feeling of having done it.Times matter if you want them to but are secondary. Loads of really good people on here post times that are brilliant, but I suspect may put off the silent majority. But who am I to speak for us more plodding ones!! Just do it for yourself. My wife is faster than me and I’m pleased by that!
It's natural to compare ourselves with others. I encourage you to do Parkrun, because then you will not only find others to run with (and against), but also the same kind of support and encouragement that we get here.
gallopinghairpinGraduate
I know we are not supposed to compare ourselves to others however, I am 62 and my first park run was virtually the same time as your yours. Well done to us! As other people have commented....we are 62 years old and run we should be so proud.
RumourGraduate
About right I would guess. My wife did a 38 minutes last july (last time we both ran for medical reasons) and she was 64. It will improve. Our first Parkrun was before we started C25K and my time as a 66 year old male was just over 45 minutes. After we had completed C25K it was 38. My best now (july) was 35:17. Just keep going. 5K in 45 minutes is as far as a 5K in 30!
johnt46Graduate
Well Done C_O_L, I'm 72 and started last year, having not run since I was at school. I too was Nordic Walking faster than I could run, but I Have managed to do 5 Park Runs and set a PB each time. my aim is to do a sub 30, but it doesn't matter if I don't. The atmosphere, encouragement and friendliness at these events is what it is about, you race against yourself no-one else. Enjoy🤗🤪
Hello I thought the same question, as to roughly how long it should take me to do the full 5k. I am nearing 60 and was curious also. I am about to complete W6 today so today it will be 25 min jog, which I am not looking forward too. My time is improving with each session and like you I decided to continue until I reached the 5k mark, and came in just over 40mins. I feel proud that I did it and still lived 😂. So that will be my marker to improve upon. Well done for getting out there and doing this. And never be afraid to ask questions on this forum, that is what it’s here for x
Well done on doing the 5k! That’s a great achievement.
I always wonder when people put what time they took to do their 5k, are you including the 5min warm up/cool down walks, or is that in addition to the time you say?
I’ve not done 5k yet although I’ve come close, but i’m looking at the total distance including the walks - is that what everyone else does?
And COL well done for completing 5k! I would suggest your partner might still be quicker than you even if you lost weight, as he may have a bigger stride, stronger legs etc.
We should try to only compete against ourselves and our own times; now you have a time to try and beat on future Parkruns. And that’s really all the time means!
Good luck with your continued running x
Thanks - it includes the warm up, the full session and when it tells me its time to cool down I do a brisk walk and little ploddy jog until MapMyWalk tells me I have done 5k then I cool down. And yes look at the distance for the whole thing. I wanted to test myself as I was not sure by W9 that I would be covering the 5k distance. As the title Couch to 5k implies you will, but given that I jog rather than run, I am not sure I will. X
Thanks for your reply.
I’m doing just over 4k at the moment in 40 mins (5 mins walking at each end and 30 mins running), so I thought if people don’t count the 5 min walks i’m still way off 5k! Doing 1k extra feels very achievable, i’m currently building up the amount of time I run at a faster pace, and reducing the time I run at a slower pace. Hopefully i’ll soon be running 5k in 40 mins, then I can look at increasing my pace to improve my time.
Thanks again for your reply.
Hi KB. I only count my running time. All the days have the 2 x 5 minutes warm u up and down walking so i dont include then in the 30 minutes distance. I start sand stop Edmonondo at start and end of my run. I really pushed myself w9 r3 and I did about 3.5k but need to check that. I really wanted to do 5k but i must be kinder to myself and allow for age and weight.
Thank you for adding to this thread, it's really encouraging discussing this and learning many of us are similar.
Thankk you TW. Congratulations getting to W6 and covering 5k in total. I too wondered how on earth I'd be able to complete those longer runs, but I did, and you will too. During the program i didn't exceed the times as I followed it religiously as so many people warned in this forum about overdoing it and I was afraid of injury. Also I hated every step of running so didn't want to do more than i had to.
Keep on keeping on and W9R3 will be done before you know it.
StormyMondayGraduate
You’re amazing! You are running 5k! A slow mile is still a mile. There’s plenty 20 year olds can’t run a mile let alone 3! I’m 44 and still find it tough. Comparison is the thief of joy - don’t compare, just enjoy and know you’re getting fitter and stronger every time you run.
Comparison is the thief of joy I really like that. I'm going to borrow that phrase and use it often.
Thank you SM. I am pleased now that I was actually able to jog 5k on Sunday. I'm no longer a couch potato, not that I ever was with a dog to walk.
I too love your thief of joy expression. I shall quote you often, I'm sure.
StormyMondayGraduate
It’s so very true! Can’t take the credit for the phrase unfortunately- I nicked it from Roosevelt.
SybilwGraduate
You’ve had so many encouraging replies but thought I’d add my thoughts too. I started this journey at 63 too (I’d NEVER been a runner!). Your time for your first 5k is just a benchmark. You will get faster I’m sure but please be aware early on that some runs might not go quite so well! Don’t get upset if you have a slow one as a slow run is better than no run. You may have spent time admiring your surroundings or just taking time to think through what your week has in store. I know my times vary a lot so just be prepared for that. Congratulations on your success so far.
Thank you for replying Sybilw and very kind and wise advice. I wasn't upset but more interested if my trotting speed is similar to others my age. Seems that, of course, I'm not alone. I need to exercise will power over eating habits. Being overweight is probably my greatest barrier to speed. A shire horse cant gallop as fast as a thoroughbred (unless it's an injured TB) nor can a hippo out speed a gazelle LoL.
ArthurJGGraduate
Since you ask about age grade: 43% means (not exactly but close enough) that 43% of your time is the world record for your age and sex. Bear in mind that the world record does not take into account route and weather conditions.
Parkrun offer the folowing approximate guide:
90% is a 'world class' performance for your age and sex.
80% is an 'international class' performance.
70% is a 'national class' performance.
60% is a 'local class' performance - I take this to mean the level of a good club runner when they are racing not training.
FWIW I started C25k last May, graduated in July and at my lovely, flat but often windy local parkrun I have scraped an age grade of over 50% exactly once so far.
So while it really doesn't matter much, I would say that 43% is around what you'd expect for a beginning runner who hasn't run the distance very often. Lots of people would get less and be happy with it.
Thank you Arthur for the information. After MarkyD advised my 43% I googled age grading. If i understood it correctly, a world class runner of my age would do 5k in 19 minutes. That's amazing.
Today I walked the dog 2k which is a short walk for us. i walked fast as usual. Compared the times to yesterday 5k jog. I was pleased that my jogging is faster as I had thought it wasn't.
Congratulations on your 50% I guess it means Mo Farrah is twice as fast. That puts 50% into perspective as very good. As a teenager I couldn't run fast enough to represent the school.
Well no, Mo Farrah is rather better than twice as fast as he’s in a much younger age group than me!
Unsurprisingly, I've misunderstood the statistics then.
No you’ve understood it I think. It’s just that the world record they use is the world record for your age group and sex. If I were in the same age group as Mo Farrah your argument would work.
Still good though. I have a friend in her 70s and she swims for Holland still, in the Masters competitions. She has a stack of gold medals. She amazes us.
seaspanielGraduate
Your time equates to about the same as 31min for a 30 year old so not too shabby.
Thank you for this seaspaniel. That's good to know. Oh to be 30 years old again. I did the Race 4 Life in 2002 (still have the medal) in 31 minutes. There were so many runners going past me. I was so exhausted at the end I vowed I'd never run another step. I didn't until end of October 2018.
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