Could anyone run a 5 minute mile?

Sub 16 5k for an average healthy male trained (or very active) from childhood.

WAY OFF

TOO FAST

Not everyone. A large portion of the population just doesn't have the body structure. Do you think the guys who are 6'8 and 250 pounds could train to run a 4:30 mile? No way.

Not even close; the bell curve for human performance, at anything, is amazingly broad. Simply look at the disparity between the fastest time (for say the mile) in a World Championships or Olympic Games and the slowest; and figure that range for what, 20-30 athletes who make it? Then multiply that range by the human population of 7 billion people, knowing that all 6 999 999 980 of them are slower.

7 minute miles are outta reach for many people. 5 minutes? A dream.

funny you should mention that

My schools basketball coach wanted his team to be in the best shape. EVERYONE had to run a sub 5 minute mile before they could be on the team. Funny to see these big guys with basketball shoes run. Most made it in the first attempt. They all made it by the third try. a 6 ft 5 fwd/center had the fastest time 4 39.

oldhalfmileguy wrote:

funny you should mention that

My schools basketball coach wanted his team to be in the best shape. EVERYONE had to run a sub 5 minute mile before they could be on the team. Funny to see these big guys with basketball shoes run. Most made it in the first attempt. They all made it by the third try. a 6 ft 5 fwd/center had the fastest time 4 39.

Geez did he actually do that on the track? Basketball players are notorious for exaggerating their distances, running some mysterious "loops" that add up to a mile. I remember a couple basketball players claiming they did their mile in 5:02. We got one of them to run track and he couldn't break 5:30.

Of course, not everybody is genetically capable of making a basketball team either.

BFJ wrote:

What is the acceptable limit to the human potential in running? I believe that anyone who cared to, could train to run a mile in under 5 minutes. I honestly think that if everyone actually tried their hardest from a young enough age, that anyone is capable of a 4:30 (or so) mile time.

your thoughts?

You are badly mistaken. Not even the average man has the potential to go 4:30, let alone does everyone. Some people lack the speed needed to keep that pace for 800m.

oldhalfmileguy wrote:

funny you should mention that

My schools basketball coach wanted his team to be in the best shape. EVERYONE had to run a sub 5 minute mile before they could be on the team. Funny to see these big guys with basketball shoes run. Most made it in the first attempt. They all made it by the third try. a 6 ft 5 fwd/center had the fastest time 4 39.

I call complete, utter BS on this.

Our local HS has one of the better track teams in our area. I think they have about 70 boys on the team. I can count 8 of them who can break a 5 minute mile currently. Not one of them is on the basketball team, and not one of them is taller than 5 10.

Mojo Jerkin wrote:

oldhalfmileguy wrote:

funny you should mention that

My schools basketball coach wanted his team to be in the best shape. EVERYONE had to run a sub 5 minute mile before they could be on the team. Funny to see these big guys with basketball shoes run. Most made it in the first attempt. They all made it by the third try. a 6 ft 5 fwd/center had the fastest time 4 39.

I call complete, utter BS on this.

Our local HS has one of the better track teams in our area. I think they have about 70 boys on the team. I can count 8 of them who can break a 5 minute mile currently. Not one of them is on the basketball team, and not one of them is taller than 5 10.

2nd that motion! there is NO WAY they could manage that. If they had the lungs for 5 minute mile they'd be low 31 for 10km. Holding a mile and not going lactic before 2 laps who hasn't trained I strongly doubt it.

yes i think everyone (not including those with birth defects/conditions, etc) is genetically capable of running a 5 minute mile for men, 6 minute mile for women. its just about getting the right training, living the right lifestyle, etc. i ran a 5 min mile in 8th grade without ever having gone for a run before. this makes me believe anyone can train to run a 5 min mile.

There are plenty of big boned mf'ers who could not break 5 in the mile. We had tons of kids who ran on the CC team, ran a lot lost a lot of weight but were still "big". None approached 5:10.

I ran two years of track in HS. Could only manage a 5:15 mile.

Then again, my coach had my run 3-4 events at each meet.

Definitely not. I'm built like a runner: skinny, lanky, long-legged, and it took me many years of training to break 5:00 in the mile, and to this day, my PR is closer to 5:00 than 4:30 (by one second). Look at all the people who are mesomorphs or endomorphs; some might be able to break 5:00, but I think most, even after years of training, would be lucky to break 8:00.

If your basketball team had guys running sub 5 minute miles, that does NOT bode well for its performance at playing basketball. Basketball is a series of very short sprints followed by long periods of walking, chilling around.The only NBA player that for sure ran sub 5 was Richard Hamilton. However, he had great stamina and ran around screens all the time but could NOT break down his defender. He wasn't quick enough.

oldhalfmileguy wrote:

funny you should mention that

My schools basketball coach wanted his team to be in the best shape. EVERYONE had to run a sub 5 minute mile before they could be on the team. Funny to see these big guys with basketball shoes run. Most made it in the first attempt. They all made it by the third try. a 6 ft 5 fwd/center had the fastest time 4 39.

chinocochio wrote:

If your basketball team had guys running sub 5 minute miles, that does NOT bode well for its performance at playing basketball. Basketball is a series of very short sprints followed by long periods of walking, chilling around.

The only NBA player that for sure ran sub 5 was Richard Hamilton. However, he had great stamina and ran around screens all the time but could NOT break down his defender. He wasn't quick enough.

oldhalfmileguy wrote:

funny you should mention that

My schools basketball coach wanted his team to be in the best shape. EVERYONE had to run a sub 5 minute mile before they could be on the team. Funny to see these big guys with basketball shoes run. Most made it in the first attempt. They all made it by the third try. a 6 ft 5 fwd/center had the fastest time 4 39.

At my school, you hat to run a sub 6:40 mile to get on the basketball team.

heres the deal yo wrote:

i ran a 5 min mile in 8th grade without ever having gone for a run before. this makes me believe anyone can train to run a 5 min mile.

"I have natural talent, therefore everyone should be able to do what I did with training"

I don't think it works that way.

I feel like if you were training seriously you wouldnt weigh 250 pounds anymore.

515 is pretty damn close, and it takes more than two years to reach your potential. sounds like you had it in one more

I stopped running track when I was 16. I had no talent. When I was 15, the best XC 3 mile I ran was 17:50. My teammate ran in the 4:20s though.

I think part of the problem is that none of us trained right. We basically ran 4-8 miles a day, 5 days a week. Each day we tried to beat each other. No simple running. I ran about 30-40 miles per week.