Most runners, at the beginning of their running career, wonder, “How fast should I be able to run a mile?” While there is no one definitive answer to the question, there are some general guidelines that can help you gauge how much work you need to do on your mile time.
Don’t get too hung up on your current time, however. It isn’t how you begin, it’s how you finish.
“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.”
-Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder
In this article we will cover:
- Mile Times by Age and Gender
- Mile Times for Longer Runs
- Training and Conditioning For Faster Mile Times
- Tips for improving your time when running a mile
- The best way to track your progress
How Fast Should I Be Able to Run a Mile: Age and Gender
Average Mile Time: Men vs Women
Running speed, especially in a long run like the mile, depends on several factors: your age, gender, and conditioning. Gender, unfortunately, does play a role.
Men are generally faster than women, however, that is certainly not always the case. Sifan Hassan ran a blistering world record speed of a 4:12.33 mile. That is faster than 99.9% of men in the world.
However, the fastest mile time in the world was set by Hicham El Guerrouj at a stagger 3:43.13. That is around 29.5 seconds faster than the fastest woman ever.
The fastest mile times have increased by 12.2% and 32.3% for men and women, respectively, since they began keeping stats. That’s incredible! Women have really started to close the gap.
If you are just embarking on your running journey, it’s important to temper your expectations. Expect to run a bit slower than if you were already in good running shape. Try not to compare your time to others; focus on your improvement and enjoy the process.
What Are Good Mile Times For Distances Longer Than 1 Mile?
A mile is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but many people run much further than that regularly. Naturally, running more than one mile will have a detrimental effect on what is considered a “good” mile pace.
Elite runners have an incredible fitness level that doesn’t line up with most of us mere mortals, however, it is interesting to compare their times as well.
For instance, the world record holder in the marathon finished in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 40 seconds. That is around a 4:40 mile time which is slower than the best ever of 3:43.13, but not by much.
The average pace in the marathon is slower than the one-mile time but that is to be expected. As the distance gets reduced, the average mile times would get closer and closer to that record time for the one mile.
Average 5k Times by Gender (with average mile pace)
What If I Run A Bit Slower Than The Average?
It’s no big deal if your mile time is a bit slower than average. That’s fine! Many a great runner was picked last in gym class. If you weren’t an all-state high school athlete, you can still be a great runner. In fact, I wrote an article on some tips on how to run a mile without dying – a far cry from setting world records.
But…
Remember, these are averages, which means there are plenty of people on both sides of the average times. If you are just starting, it’s perfectly normal to run a bit slower than average.
The important thing is to focus on your improvement and how you feel while running.
There are plenty of things you can do to help increase your average mile times in the mile distance. Working on increasing your average pace for the full mile, for example, will give you an overall faster average time.
Also – remember to only compare yourself to your age group. People of the same age should compare themselves to each other when running one mile since there can be so much variability as we age.
Tip: It’s important to remember that an outdoor mile time and a treadmill mile time will be different. Remember to compare apples to apples when tracking your training.
Training and Conditioning For Faster Mile Times
Runners can do a few things to help improve their mile times. While running is one of the best ways to get better at running, other exercises and drills can help a runner become more proficient, stronger, and better as well.
A few examples are:
- Running with proper form
- Doing speed work
- Incorporating hills into training
- Strength training
- Cross-training
- Stretching and foam rolling
All of these can help improve your overall running time for the mile. Everyone is different. What works for one person might not work for another. The best thing to do is to experiment and find what works best for you.
1. Run with proper form
This includes keeping your head up, shoulders down, and arms at a 90-degree angle.
2. Do speed work
This includes sprints, tempo runs, and interval training.
Sprinting is running as fast as you can for a short distance, tempo runs are running at a consistently hard pace for a longer time, and intervals are periods of fast running followed by periods of slower running.
3. Incorporate hill workouts into training
This will help build strength and power. Hills increase intensity, improves speed, and helps improve your running form. Hills aren’t fun, but they are great for helping you advance as a runner.
4. Strength train
This will help improve your form, increase your speed, and prevent injuries. Lower body exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, and even loaded carriers all help work the quads, hamstrings, hip flexors, and other muscles critical to pushing your runs even further and faster than before.
5. Cross-train
This will help to improve your overall fitness level and can be used as active recovery days. Examples of cross-training include biking, swimming, or elliptical.
6. Stretch and foam roll:
This will help improve your flexibility, which can prevent injuries. It is important to do a proper warm-up before stretching or foam rolling. A proper cool-down after your run is also critical.
All of these things can help you improve your average mile time. One other thing that may help is to get a good pair of running shoes. While this isn’t as important as training, obviously, a good pair of shoes does help for sure. We have a few running shoe reviews for various different conditions here.
Try incorporating some of these things into your training and see how it goes!
Wrapping It All Up
Mile times are highly dependent on many factors including distance, age, gender, and level of conditioning. That being said, there are a few key things that runners can do to help improve their mile times. These include running with proper form, doing speed work, incorporating hills into training, strength training, cross-training, and stretching/foam rolling.
Without stress, muscles (and wills) don’t get stronger. Don’t be afraid to push yourself hard. Always remember to be safe, but a solid workout will pay dividends the next time you line up and race to the finish line.
