Can ANYONE do a sub 30 minute 10k with proper training?

It is definitely possible, at 17 I was small for my age, skinny and physically immature, I ran but with no specific targets and probably around 40 miles per week. I ran 36.40 for 10k and then with harder training for a 3 month spell 35.20.

Fast forward to being 19, I had grown about 6 inches and weighed about 20lbs more, I still wasn't running great but I was training with a group and probably running 50 miles per week regularly but my lifestyle was rubbish, lots of drinking, late nights, skipped training. I didn't get involved with uni running teams and trained alone, I got down to 33.20.

The following year I was a bit more disciplined, maybe 60-70 miles per week with the odd double and a track session each week, improved to 32.28. around 4 months later I improved again to 31.23.

I then finished uni, relocated to a major city and got involved with some good training groups, started running to and from work and doing a long run. My lifestyle, diet was poor, too many late nights and regular drinking but was running consistently around 31 flat.

Age 24 I decided to run a track season and went from running 15.50's to 15.15 then 14.52 in my first track season at age 23, I was now running 70-80 per week with a long run of maybe 75-80 mins and one session and one tempo per week. Then had a winter of consistent training and some xc.

Age 25 I improved to 14.28 for 5k and was running 80-90 per week with 2 track sessions and maybe 3-4 double days where I would do a morning run of 4-5 miles.

Age 26 no improvement, suffered from Epstein Barr and took 8 months off running and had a very long frustrating return.

Age 27 probably consistently around 85+ miles per week, started adding long repetition sessions of things like 3 x 2 miles, 4 x 1.5 miles etc... and my usual track session of for example 10 x 1k. I only ran 14.40 this season with no improvement on pbs.

Age 28 I ran 14.40 in my first race of the season, then jumped to 14.10 and ran a 29.52 10k within a few weeks, followed that up with a 29.58, and a 14.11.

Age 29 I ran 14.14 in my first track race of the season and then got ill for much of the summer but ran 29.40 at the end of the season and then went on to run a 65.10 half marathon. By this point I was up around 100mpw week in week out and was running 2hrs + every sunday. Sessions would be something like 5 x mile at 10k pace or 8 x 1k at 5k pace etc...

the big thing for me was consistent miles, the introduction of long reps which teach efficiency, concentration and build strength and just waiting until you are physically mature and strong, you have to want it badly too.

Not everyone can run sub-30..and I don't think anyone can just run sub-35 with proper training..but, it is possible depending on where you are training wise and what your coach has you do..you can run 100+ mile weeks but if you do not put in the quality work needed it will be out of reach no matter what..I say look for a great collegiate progrm where you can jump and in and get stronger and see where you are at..or get a personal coach to improve before you step onto a collegiate team..but I did know HS athletes with a 4'48 mile PR, 16'30 5k and could go sub-35 10k..they were just better at the longer distances..and if you cannot break 30 mins, then maybe ur just better at halfs and full marathons..just go out there and do it

Distance Guy 2, I find your post very interesting as I failed where you succeeded. Maybe comparing you and me will help the OP.

At 16, I ran 33:59 and at that point I must've thought I had a shot at a sub-30, but I can't remember it being a real long-term goal. Mileage was low here.

At 18 I was stuck around 32:30 and then ran university cross and track, but only improved to 31:57. Volume was about 60 or 70 mpw.

Enjoyed the freedom of making up my own training after university, and ran a bunch of 31s, just nudging under that mark at age 27. So that was 12 years after I started, and I still had about a minute to cut off. My mileage was still 60 or 70, and hoped to increase that, but then the injuries started to creep in, and the 10-12 year "adaptation period" was ending.

My advice to the OP is to plan to get it done in 10 years. Slowly build volume through that time, and to have any chance you'll need to work the 5k time down to 14:30 at the slowest, but it should be, like DG2, under 14:20.

Sounds easy, eh?

Anyone? No. Dr. Jack Daniels' VDOT tables indicate that you'd have to have the speed of a 4:12-miler in order to run sub-30 for 10K. That's a very gifted athlete.

No!

Interesting to see others progressions...

I ran 9:58 3200/ low 16 5K as a HS freshman, was sub 9:10, 15 and 31 as a HS senior. Ran in DI with a crappy coach, had a tough major, and couldn't stay healthy (got sick more than injured, mono, etc.). Never did break 30 for the 10K - although I always felt I should have.

A lot depends on coaching and ability to stay healthy for a prolonged period of time. Just told the story to point out people with much faster times than you at your age didn't make your goal.

One last bit of advice - find something outside running you'd love to do (career-wise) and do what it takes to get there. You'll have a much happier life, because when it comes down to it, track times are just numbers that have no meaning when you're done- and though it is easier than having everything come together to run sub 30, is still takes discipline and dedication. Having a profession that you love and is rewarding is much more important!

Hey bud, my first ever race was a road 5km (in Danville Kentucky). I was 18, a freshman in College and I ran 17:44.

I ended up running 2:23 for the marathon my senior year of college (had a chance to go sub 2:20 but went out way too fast in 1:08:00). I later ran sub 30 twice (both times in Bangkok) and 2:18:27 for the marathon.

If I can do this, then YOU can do this.

Jason

MAYEROFF wrote:

Hey bud, my first ever race was a road 5km (in Danville Kentucky). I was 18, a freshman in College and I ran 17:44.

I ended up running 2:23 for the marathon my senior year of college (had a chance to go sub 2:20 but went out way too fast in 1:08:00). I later ran sub 30 twice (both times in Bangkok) and 2:18:27 for the marathon.

If I can do this, then YOU can do this.

Jason

Are you one of those idiots who is a very good runner but thinks he is not talented?? Your first race ever was at 18, and then less than 4 years later you are going thru the 1st half of a marathon in 1:08 (!!) , and surely could have run 2:20 that day, and you don't see that as exceptional talent??! You've actually improved very little over that 1st marathon. You started training hard in college and immediately became an excellent long distance runner. YOU ARE VERY TALENTED. Anything else is a lie.

Mediocre HS runner wrote:

I'm 17 and I want to run a sub 30 minute 10k someday, but I'm just not talented. A lot of very hard work has gotten me down to an 18:15 5k, but I'm a senior and I get beaten by people with no mileage at all and lots of talent. I want to know if even without any talent, it is possible to achieve a sub 30 minute 10k. I am not afraid of 100+ mile weeks and working my butt off.

I've known lots of guys that put in solid 100mile weeks year after year and could never even break 33 for 10K. So, unfortunately the answer is clearly NO.

In a word, no. A person must be genetically predisposed to run that fast and not everyone is so gifted.

"Anyone? No. Dr. Jack Daniels' VDOT tables indicate that you'd have to have the speed of a 4:12-miler in order to run sub-30 for 10K. That's a very gifted athlete."

I was a 4:12ish miler once- really an 800/1000 guy, but there's no effing way I could have broken 30. Probably just too big for it

What was your height/weight when you ran 4:12?

Absolutely not!

That is like saying the average person is capable of a 4:30 mile.

What's the ANYONE cut-off? My guess is that any high schooler who's run around 16:00 for 5k, 10 min for 2-mile or 4:30-4:35 for the mile has a shot at a 30 minute 10k. It would still require exceptional progression over a college running career- comparable to the 4:30 high school miler knocking it down to 4:08 in college. Rare, but not an impossible statistical outlier.

So a good intermediate goal is to think about banging out 75 second quarters for 8 laps- finish high school in a blaze of glory!

Answers provided so far are in response to this basic question: "I want to know if even without any talent, it is possible to achieve a sub 30 minute 10k."

Sans talent = highly unlikely

You are not getting the full story. I wasn't able to run a mile without stopping in the 7th grade. My first timed mile, when I was able to finish was 9:47. That 2:23 was not my first marathon. My first marathon was 2:44, during my sophomore year in college. My second marathon was 2:40.

I ran 6 marathons while in college.

If you are going to call me an idiot then tell me your real name and where you live.

Jason, this is not the place, but what the hell, did you ever end up running the Pyongyang Marathon?

Mediocre HS runner wrote:

I'm 17 and I want to run a sub 30 minute 10k someday, but I'm just not talented. A lot of very hard work has gotten me down to an 18:15 5k, but I'm a senior and I get beaten by people with no mileage at all and lots of talent. I want to know if even without any talent, it is possible to achieve a sub 30 minute 10k. I am not afraid of 100+ mile weeks and working my butt off.

that better be a troll post.

assuming it's not:

i would say the extreme overwhelming majority of humanity could not break 40 minutes if they trained. so no, no way in hell can "ANYONE" run a sub 30 minute 10k.

in regards to talent - no matter what you may hear in movies in like rocky or without limits, YOU HAVE LIMITS. dream and strive for things beyond your wildest imagination, but know that there will pretty much always be people who do not care as much as you or train as hard you and will still beat you. it is a cruel fact of life. it happens even on the semi-pro level, definitely on the college level, is the norm on the high school level. in middle school i trained 40 miles a week and ran a 5:20 mile - i was our third fastest guy, behind two soccer players who hid out in the woods instead of running at practice. sophomore year i ran 4:43 and they were nowhere to be found. persistence will pay off a lot in this sport, and you CAN beat people by sheer determination, eventually. but you can't beat everyone that way, and you can't beat the clock only that way. and it takes a lot more than determination to run a sub 30 10k.

you never mentioned how much you are training right now. you're not going to be able to run very many "100 mile weeks" and see any results, if you aren't building up to it. that said - you're only what, 17, 18 years old? you have a tremendous amount of growing and physical maturing still to do. your best years are ahead of you and barring misfortune, hard training will vastly improve your time. 18 minutes is still well above average for a HSer. and there are a lot of late bloomers. i can't count the amount of guys i trashed in high school who stayed healthy, worked hard, and got a good coach, and suddenly were faster than me, despite me doing all the same things. 1 example - a buddy of mine ran 4:52 in high school, and dropped a 52:19 10 miler last month (he's 2 5 now). don't expect magic and miracles but don't give up either.

one of the greatest myths of our sport is that of justice. oprah coined this ridiculous phrase and it's been circulating the running world ever since i've been around. after she finished her first thon she said, "running is great, because what you put into is what you get out of it." or something to that effect.

now, as true as that may be on a spiritual level, it does not apply to improving your personal bests. it simply doesn't. people somehow confuse great success with great determination and mental toughness - and yes, they are often intertwined, but not as a rule. i know for a fact i trained harder and with more "determination" than teammates of mine that broke 14 minutes. but that's not going to change what's written in my genes. in college i had four years that probably averaged 80-110 miles per week. the most tangible result of that was dropping by high school 2 mile PR of 9:38 to 9:09 by my senior year in college. meanwhile, kids who ran 9:50 in high school are running 8:18s for 3k and low 14's for 5k, after summers that max out at 70 mpw, and winter breaks where they complete none of the assigned track workouts. there is no justice - genetics play a much bigger role than we want to give credit. take it from a lifetime of observation and embittered first hand experience.

it's why i always find it funny (and i guess kind of annoying too) when atypical letsrunners and running fans in general ascribe genius to every word uttered by a successful athlete. "he MUST know what he's doing, he's run xx:xx for the 10k." great genes - even great determination - does not make a great coach, or someone who is knowledgeable about the sport.

i'm not writing this to make you depressed. quite the opposite actually. despite not becoming the olympic caliber athlete i thought i was going to become, i love running and serious training more than so many things in the world. don't let arbitrary time cutoffs (like the nice round even happenstance number of 30 minutes for 10 k) get in the way of you appreciating yourself for reaching your potential. i had the gall in college to be pissed off after every single one of my PR's, either because someone beat me that i used to better than, or because it wasn't the improvement i expected. OP, if you train your butt off, know that you have done everything you can, and only run 34:00 for 10k, please do not think of yourself as a failure. the only judge of your performance should be YOUR OWN honest appraisal of your talent and the hard work you put in - not arbitrary times, and not the relative success of other genetic freaks over whom you have no control. take some joy out of going nuts and improving yourself - and yes, you have to be hard on yourself sometimes, that is part of being an athlete. but don't let myths interfere with your happiness.