How fast should I be able to run10K?

 

Following on from my previous post  How to run your first 10K, a number of readers have been in touch to ask how long it should take them to be able to run this distance?   The fastest world records for a 10K road race are 26:44 minutes for men (Leonard Patrick Komon, 2010) and 30:21 minutes for women (Paula Radcliffe, 2003).   Leonard’s record time is 11.9% faster than Paula’s.

Let’s be honest – the rest of the world’s population will never run this fast!   So, in order to find out the average time for non-athletes to complete a 10K, I analysed the results of a popular road race:

• The race attracts around 3500 runners every year
• The race is a flat course, and times are measured by a chip system so the results are very accurate
• The race attracts runners of all capabilities – from very strong club runners to people doing a 10K for the very first time
• I removed the results from participants that took longer than 1 hour 20 minutes as I assumed they must have been mainly walking the race, and would therefore skew the results

Based on 3166 results from female runners in 2012 and 2013, the average time to complete a 10K was 1 hour 38 seconds

Based on 4203 results from male runners in 2012 and 2013, the average time to complete the 10K was 53 minutes and 3 seconds

The difference between the men’s and women’s times is 7  minutes and  35 seconds.  In other words, men are about 12.5% faster than women, which as you will notice is about the same difference achieved by the world record holders.

OK, so if we know the average scores and we know the world record scores, the table below is estimates what a good time to complete a 10K is

Time to complete a 10K road race
>1 hour 5 minutes	Poor	Below Average
1 hour – 1 hour 5 minutes	Below Average	Average
55 minutes – 1  hour	Average	Above Average
50 minutes – 55 minutes	Above Average	Good
45 minutes – 50 minutes	Good	Excellent
40 minutes – 45 minutes	Excellent	Outstanding
35 minutes – 40 minutes	Outstanding	Professional Athlete
<35 minutes	Professional Athlete

As previously mentioned, getting fit enough to run a 10K can take as long as six months.  A great way to start (especially over the winter months) would be to invest in a good quality treadmill such as the Lifespan Fitness TR3000i and follow the training guide discussed in my previous post How to run your first 10K.

Good luck, and happy running!

Sheona