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What is a healthy 5k time?

Running Level, which calculates running times based on age and ability, says that a good 5k time for a man is 22:31, and a good 5k time for a woman is 26:07.

marathonhandbook.com - What's A Good 5k Time? Average Times To Run A 5k By Age + Sex

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One of the first significant running benchmarks is the all-famous 5k.

There is an excellent variety of Couch to 5k programs out there to get you started on your first running journey.

Still, for those who are more experienced, you may want to ask the burning question, what’s a good 5k time?

According to a study conducted by Run Repeat, including over 70,000 events from 1986 to 2018, running 5k races has become one of the most popular distances in racing.

In 2018 alone, 2.9 million people participated in 5k races.

Based on all of that data, we have a pretty good idea of what a good 5k time is. In this article, we are going to get into the nitty-gritty of 5ks, and everything that comes along with them:

How long is a 5k?

What are the current fastest 5k time records?

What’s a good 5k time?

What are the recent average 5k times by age and sex?

7 tips for training for and improving your current 5k time

Let’s jump in!

How Long Is A 5k?

5k is 3.107 miles , 5000 meters, or 12.5 laps around an Olympic-sized track.

It is also 16,404.2 feet or 5,468 yards.

What Are the Current Fastest 5k Times?

The current world record holder for 5000 meters in the men’s category is Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei, with a time of 12:35.36. On August 14, 2020, this record was set in the Stade Louis II in Monaco. As for a 5k road race, the current men’s record is 12:49, held by Ethiopia’s Berihu Aregawi. This recent record was set on December 31, 2021.

Now, on to the women.

The current 5000-meter world record holder is Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, with a time of 14:06.62. She set this record on October 7, 2020, in the Estadio de Atletismo del Turia in Valencia, Spain. In a 5k road race, the current record holder in Ethiopia’s Ejgayehu Taye with a time of 14:19. This record was set on December 31, 2021, in Barcelona, Spain. If you’re anything like me, I imagine you are sitting there, jaw dropped and in awe at these unbelievable world record times. Let’s move on to something a bit more achievable for most of us and see how we stack up to average 5k times. Related: What’s A Good Marathon Time? Average Marathon Times By Age + Sex

What’s A good 5k Time?

Your 5k time will depend significantly on several factors, including your current fitness level, experience, current training cycle, nutrition, and so on. Running Level, which calculates running times based on age and ability, says that a good 5k time for a man is 22:31, and a good 5k time for a woman is 26:07.

How do you compare to those times?

Let’s break it down more.

What Are The Current Average 5k Times By Age and Sex?

Running Level breaks down “good” 5k times by sex, age, and level, including beginner, novice, intermediate, advanced, and elite. So you have an idea of the definition of each running level according to Running Level, let’s take a look at an explanation of each one: Beginner runners are defined as faster than 5% of other runners and have run for at least one month. Novice runners are defined as faster than 20% of runners and have been running for at least six months. Intermediate runners are defined as faster than 50% of other runners and have run regularly for two years. Elite runners are defined as faster than 95% of other runners and have over five years of running experience, and have dedicated themselves to competing in the sport professionally. We will take a look at the average times for each of these levels in the following tables:

Average 5k Times: Male

Average 5k Times: Female

So, which category do you fit into? Beginner, novice, maybe even advanced?

No matter how you stack up to other runners, running is a very personal sport, and no matter how fast we run our 5k, we always want to run faster. Few runners aren’t interested in constantly beating their current PRs or personal bests. We mainly compete against ourselves and strive to be the best we can be, individually speaking. Or maybe you are getting up there on the podium and want to secure that spot! Either way, you want to get better for sure, so keep on reading to check out these 7 tips to improve your 5k time.

7 Tips to Improve Your 5k Time

#1: Know Your Estimated Race Pace

It’s challenging to improve our race times and paces if we don’t know exactly where we are with our current fitness level and what we should be shooting for. If you are already working on improving your 5k, you have most likely run a few 5k races before and already have a specific race time you are working towards beating. If you don’t already have a previous time to beat but still want to work toward a specific goal, there are other ways to figure out your current potential 5k race pace. To obtain this piece of vital information, you can either take a mile test or 3k test. Not only will these tests give you your estimated 5k race pace (along with 10k, half-marathon, and marathon estimates as well), but they will give you your specific training zones. These training zone paces are what you use for your everyday workouts specified by your running coach. The paces used each day will reflect the specific objective of that particular workout whether it be speed, endurance, recovery, etc. Before we get into specific training details, let’s take a look at how to take the tests to estimate your 5k race pace:

Mile Test:

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If you are not accustomed to taking tests, the mile test is the best one to start with as it is short and sweet. It is easier to judge and distribute your effort level than a 3k test because it is a shorter distance and there is less chance of burnout. The best place to take a mile test is on a standard-sized track. Each lap is 400 meters long, so your full mile would be four laps on the 400-meter track (+9 meters at the end).

Warm up for 15 minutes by jogging at an effortless pace.

Perform 5 minutes of dynamic stretching such as Frankensteins, butt kicks, tabletops, hurdles, and walking on your tiptoes and then heels. Run one mile as fast as you can without burning out. I suggest negative splits, meaning run each 400-meter lap a little bit faster than the last.

Take your total time and plug it into this pace calculator.

If you are a bit more experienced as a runner and have taken tests before, you can go ahead and take the 3k test.

3k Test:

Running a 3k test is a bit trickier but more accurate. It’s harder to judge and distribute your effort level without burning out or, on the contrary, finishing with too much gas left in the tank. My advice is to start out a bit slower than you think you can run the 3 kilometers and increase your speed as you finish each lap, running your last lap all out! On a standard 400-meter lap track, you need to run 7 and ½ laps to complete the 3 kilometers.

Warm up for 15 minutes by jogging at an effortless pace.

Perform 5 minutes of dynamic stretching such as Frankensteins, butt kicks, tabletops, hurdles, and walking on your tiptoes and then heels.

Run 3 kilometers as fast as you can without burning out.

Take your total time and plug it into this pace calculator.

Of course there are other tests, such as the 5k test, that you can take. The longer the test, the more accurate your results will be, as long as you can take the test properly and distribute your energy efficiently. You can also use a race as a test, if the distance is well-measured out, and the terrain flat. Let’s take a look at an example of the results of an intermediate level 3k test, the estimated 5k race pace, and training paces: 3k total test time: 17:00 (5:40 pace per kilometer or 9:07 pace per mile)

This would mean the estimated total 5k race time would be 29:05.

3k total test time: 17:00 Pace Per Kilometer Pace Per Mile 5k Race Pace Estimate: 5:49/km 9:22/mile Easy Pace 6:53-7:33/km 11:04 – 12:08/mile Marathon Pace 6:31/km 10:29/mile Threshold Pace 5:55/km 9:31/mile Interval Pace 5:18/km 8:32/mile Repetition Pace 4:58/km 8:00/mile Now that we have our estimated 5k race time and training paces, let’s improve our 5k time using this data for training purposes.

#2 Include Fast Intervals In Your Training Plan

As a 5k is usually run at an intense effort level and pace, it is imperative that parts of your training include intervals faster than your estimated 5k race pace. 8 x 400 meters at repetition pace with 3-4 minutes of complete rest in between each. 6 x 600 meters at interval pace with 2-3 minutes recovery jog between each. 5 x 1 kilometer at interval pace with a 5-minute recovery jog between each. Remember to warm up thoroughly before each of these workouts with at least 10 minutes of easy jogging followed by dynamic stretching exercises. You never want to begin interval training on cold legs as you can risk injury.

#3 Work Your 5k Race Pace

When training for a marathon, most runners include bouts of race pace into their long runs or workouts during the week.

We can do the same with a 5k.

Increase the quantity of time in race pace as your training progresses so that you feel more and more comfortable running at that specific pace. Remember, 5k races are run a bit faster than your Threshold pace, so no, it never feels easy; it just becomes a bit more tolerable! Here is an example of a long-run race pace progression you can use while training for your 5k. Each week, increase your 5k race pace bouts by about 30 seconds. 60-minute long run at Easy Pace with 10 x 30 seconds at 5k race pace. 60-minute long run at Easy Pace with 10 x 1 minute at 5k race pace. 60-minute long run at Easy Pace with 10 x 1:30 minute at 5k race pace.

#4 Improve Your Cadence

We’ve heard a million times that 180 steps per minute are the “ideal” stride rate or cadence for your running.

More realistically, anything over 170 will help improve your running economy.

When running, we can work our turnover by using a metronome or music with 180 beats per minute, hitting each foot to the pavement on each beat. Be careful with playlists, as some are named 180 BPM but are not always accurate. You can check the songs with this BPM counter app. Include small bouts of cadence work into one of your easy runs, just a few minutes here and there to get those feet moving. Focusing on your cadence is tiring as you will tend to speed up without even meaning to, so just add it in every once in a while. You can work your cadence by adding strides, or gradual accelerations and decelerations, into one of your easy runs per week. For a closer look at strides, check out our guide here.

Here are some examples of workouts where you can include strides:

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30-minute easy run with 10 x 10-second strides

45-minute easy run with 8 x 15-second strides

Be sure to leave enough time in between each stride to ensure your heart rate lowers and you recover, before adding in the next burst.

#5 Lift Weights

As a running coach, I am a stickler for gym time for my runners. While cross training exercises like yoga and cycling are great for your fitness, if you want the best bang-for-your-buck as a runner….hit the weights. There are endless benefits such as improving strength, mobility, balance, reaction time, power, speed, and I could go on and on. It also decreases the risk of injury, therefore definitely worth the time and effort. All you need to do is to add two short strength training sessions a week into your training program , and you don’t even need to go to the gym. You can do running-specific functional training from the comfort of your own home using just your body weight or some resistance bands. You’ll be amazed at how much you can do with little equipment. Of course, if you have access to some more exercise implements, such as kettlebells, dumbbells, or a suspension device even better. This can allow you to add more variety to your strength training workouts. Some of the exercises runners should include in their strength training plan are:

Lunges (bodyweight, front, reverse, side, weighted by adding dumbells)

Squats (bodyweight, goblet, isometric, weighted by adding dumbells)

Glute Bridges (bodyweight, single-leg, resistance bands)

Calf Raises (bodyweight, on stairs, both legs, single-leg, weighted by adding dumbells)

Deadlifts (bodyweight, both legs with kettlebell, single-leg, weighted by adding dumbells)

Planks (full, elbow, side, up-downs, shoulder taps, spiderman)

Push-ups, pull ups, rows, pull aparts, shoulder presses and chest presses

These are just a few exercises to get you going.

You can check out our complete runner’s guide to weightlifting for more ideas and workouts! The most important thing is that you add it to your routine and that you focus on compound, functional exercises that will specifically help you run. Strength training will make you a better all-around athlete and help shave down your 5k time. In addition to adding strength training exercises to your training plan, plyometric exercises are also an excellent addition to improving your power. The benefits of plyometric exercises include improving your stability, coordination, muscle and joint strength, cardiovascular conditioning, Vo2 max, speed, endurance at faster paces, and of course, power!

It can also help improve your running economy in general.

Plyometrics are exercises that involve fast, explosive movements, usually involving some sort of jumping. You can add a short circuit of these exercises at the end of your strength training sessions every so often, which will also give you a metabolic finish to your workout.

Some plyometric exercise examples include:

Jumping jacks

Scissor jumps

Skaters

Box Jumps (single-leg, double leg)

Lateral jumps

Long jumps

Frog jumps

Jump rope

Jump squats

Jump lunges

Lateral lunges with runner’s jump

Star jumps

Tuck jumps

Squat jacks

Plank jacks

Burpees

High knees

Bounding

After adding these to your workout, you’ll feel yourself getting more and more powerful, which will translate to improvements in your fast running.

#7 Improve Running Form

If you have good running form, you will, in turn, have better running economy, which will help you run faster with less effort expended. There is a long list of things to think about when it comes to proper running form, making it a bit overwhelming if you have already created some poor habits. Therefore, it’s a good idea to try and work on one facet of running form at a time to not get overwhelmed and see improvement. Let’s take a look at some of the important details to pay attention to when you are running:

Keep your body stacked in a straight line from head to toe.

Lean slightly forward, but do not bend at the hips. Your body should be as straight as a board, simply leaning slightly forward. Keep your shoulders back and relaxed at all times, trying to avoid tension and ultimately shrugging them up toward your ears.

Keep your gaze forward, always looking 3-6 meters ahead.

Keep your arms at 90 degrees and swing them back and forth. Do not let them swing across the front of your body. Hold your hands in a very light fist, relaxed. I try to think I am holding a baby chick in each one, so I don’t want to hold them so loose that I may drop them, but I don’t want to squish them either! Keep your legs underneath you. You want the weight of your body falling directly underneath you. Try to either fall on your mid-foot or forefoot as your footstrike to avoid injury. Practice your running form during your easy runs, so you don’t need to focus on other details such as pace or effort level. For a complete rundown and more detail on proper running form, you can check out our full article focused specifically on that. Now that you’ve got all the tips and tricks and know the answer to what’s a good 5k time, let’s get training and achieve your next 5k personal record! Check out our 5k training guides to start out or shave down your current time: