How long did it take you to actually run 5k?

[DiogoC]

I graduated last week. I've run the full 30 mins, but the furthest I've gone, according to my watch, is around 4.3K. I know that the app/programme's name is not meant to be an indication of length and Laura did say to focus on time rather than distance, but I'm curious how long it will take to get to an actual 5K. As well as, if I can get faster and make it to 5K within the 30mins.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Many congratulations on your graduation, fellow runner.

This poll of graduates from this forum will give you an idea healthunlocked.com/couchto5....

It varies considerably, but then so does the age and fitness of forum members. I would think, in time that you might well be able to run 5k in 30 minutes if you train with that in mind. We recommend that you consolidate first, though.

This guide to post C25k running may be helpful healthunlocked.com/couchto5...

Keep running, keep smiling.

[Sara60 in reply to IannodaTruffe]

I see everyone referring to age and fitness. How far you Run also depends on height - ie length of stride - I’m 5 foot tall - my son is 6 foot. When he was 13 I realised I needed to walk twice as fast as him to keep up. I graduated at about 3.5km - and wasn’t surprised I didn’t make 5k - not bad for a 60 year old with short legs. Please remember you are all individuals

[Voldatort Graduate in reply to Sara60]

This is a good post. I'm 5ft and struggle to keep up with my hubby at 6ft. I'll never make 30 mins 5km, pleased with current 3.2km and improving.

[Sara60 in reply to Voldatort]

His stride is always going to be longer than yours - simple logistics 😀

[Tasha99 Graduate in reply to Sara60]

Shorter stride is better as higher cadence. Little runners can be much faster.

[John_W Graduate Ambassador in reply to Voldatort]

Never say never. You're putting limits on yourself. What is *physically* stopping you from going sub-30 for 5k?

[Voldatort Graduate in reply to John_W]

Hey I'd have said I'd never enjoy running but was proved wrong despite a torn knee cartilage, however piriformis, and simple physics 😜 (short legs) and a slow jogging style, means I need to aim for the attainable! Happy just to slowly improve, but thanks for the encouragement.

[nowster Graduate]

Don't try to get faster just yet. Pushing for speed is a good way to get injured.

Get the 30 minute habit under your belt for a few weeks, then try running for a longer time.

At your current pace you will be able to do 5km in about 35 minutes. Gradually work up to it over a couple of weeks.

The more you've been running the fitter you'll get. You'll probably find yourself getting faster bit by bit over time. If you are going to do some sprints in a few weeks, keep them short and as part of a longer run. Look into Fartlek running.

But don't go over 30 mins for a few weeks.

[DiogoC Graduate in reply to nowster]

that's great advice, but what about the 10% rule. shouldn't you increase each week?

[nowster Graduate in reply to DiogoC]

Not in consolidation. You need to get your body used to running for half an hour for a few weeks.

Then you can apply the 10% per week rule: 33mins, 36 mins, 40 mins, etc. But even with that it's a good idea to pause at certain points and consolidate that for a couple of weeks.

And if you're not running for more than two weeks, you may need to drop back in time/distance and build back again. For example, I did 10 miles in the middle of last month. Problems have reduced my running for the last couple of weeks, and now I'm resting until I get an opinion from a physio. There's no way I'd try a 10 mile run as my first run after recovering. I'd need to start small and work back up to it again.

The 10% rule allows for a doubling of time or distance every two months, assuming no setbacks.

[Dexy5 Graduate]

I achieved 4k in week 9 in 2018. I still can’t run a sub 30 5k, but I will continue trying at Parkrun when it returns! 😂

Speed isn't everything though. By slowing down you can run longer distances.

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate in reply to Dexy5]

Me neither Dexy5 ...fastest 5k I’ve done was 32 mins but I think Garmin was having a blip because I’ve never done it since...I’m on my 4th year of running now but I’ve learnt to be happy with distance, how ever far and however long x

[Dexy5 Graduate in reply to Mummycav]

Me too, although a certain young man does give me a push every now and then.

[Mummycav Administrator Graduate in reply to Dexy5]

😉

[aplw83]

I was the same it takes me about 40/45 mins to run 5k my aim is to now go faster to try and improve speed wellDone for finishing

[Oldfloss Administrator Graduate]

Just follow the excellent advice on staying safe and injury free as you move forwards, and then, just run for yourself... what do you want to achieve, if you want to be speedy, that is fine, but as Dexy5 says ... by running slowly, we can cover greater distances and weirdly, with lots of long slow runs, speed often evolves also :)This is interesting, and I have found so true

Check out some articles which may be useful

mensrunninguk.co.uk/top-fea...

[Katnap Graduate]

For my graduation run I did parkrun (5k) non-stop and it took me over 34 minutes. You sound keen to move forward with your training so maybe consolidate on 30 minutes for runs 1 and 2 then 33 minutes on run 3. Next week 30m 1&2 then 36m run 3.

🐱 Katnap 🐱

[Yesletsgo Graduate]

Apparently age and gender influence how long it will take to run 5k. For a woman my age (63) a really elite runner will take just over 33 minutes. Initially I found this discouraging but on reflection it’s made me more realistic and forgiving of what I might achieve. The fact that I can now run for 8 minutes is a huge achievement in itself for me.

[alpacagirl Graduate in reply to Yesletsgo]

That’s actually quite encouraging, I’m 63 too and it takes me 40 minutes to cover 5k or a bit longer if I run further and pace myself according - so to know an average elite runner of my age has an average 33 min time feels ok to me😊 (I’m also short which doesn’t help in the speed stakes)

[Yesletsgo Graduate in reply to alpacagirl]

I'm short too, we have to work SO much harder than the long legged !

[Kevin41 Graduate]

I completely agree and would recommend taking the approach nowster and Katnap are advocating. After graduating I slowly increased time to get to 5k (it took about 34 mins) and consolidated at that distance. Faster (under 30 mins) 5ks came a fair bit later.

[nowster Graduate in reply to Kevin41]

The two times I went out to do a 5km run in 30 minutes or less (graduation and the end of December) I hurt myself in some way.

Several months later I was doing a different longer run (some hill climbs, some fast bits) with no intention of doing a fast 5km, and I beat both of the "pushing hard" times not realising I'd done so until much later I noticed Strava said "New 5k PR".

[Wawacito Graduate]

Did the 5k in W9R2 and R3, but I ran a bit longer than the 30 minutes. The first time it took me 35 minutes, the second time 37. Took my time as I wanted to go for distance, not speed.

[DiogoC Graduate]

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions. I will focus on the time, rather than the distance going forward. In time, I will build up to a sub-30 5K.

[ckp82 Graduate]

I'm 6'4" 38 years old and male. I jog slow, but I jog. When I graduated I was doing about 4k. I found a route that was 5k after the warm up and cool down and concentrated on just jogging the whole 5k without stopping. I started at 38 minutes and I'm now down to 32 minutes. Its not fast but I can do it and that means more to me than the time it takes

[Wawacito Graduate in reply to ckp82]

Same here. My 5k time is between 35 and 37 minutes. I would like to be able to do it in 30 minutes but the joy of being able to run 5k prevails. For me (at least for time being) it is distance rather than speed.

[Tasha99 Graduate]

I just carried on until I got to 5k. It was about 34 minutes. It took me 4-5 months after graduation to get sub 30.