Is sub-5 mile possible without speed work?

i might be dumb wrote:

My friend claims that even the most extreme long-slow ultra guys do some faster work or have track backgrounds, and that if a random person would never get faster than low-5s if they only did long slow runs.

A "random person" probably won't run sub-5 regardless of how they train. There certainly are people who could run sub-5 without speed training, though. Heck, plenty of people have run sub-5 without any track-specific training of any type.

Sub 5 is absolutely possible without any speed training. Its not like the 5 minute barrier is some mystical thing that only the top athletes can run (aka sub-4). Pretty much any high school guy who isn't obese or physically challenged can break 5..I'm more than confident people with some talent could break it with only mileage. Could it take some time? Maybe. But inevitably a surprising amount could do it.

Totally possible. Talented people can run 4:xx with almost no running of any kind! The mile is mostly aerobic, and you get aerobic gains with slow work.

I ran a 5:17 last year with AWFUL pacing in my first and only timed mile. I'm much faster now and haven't run anything faster than 5k pace since April. I'm training for a marathon in October and hope to break 5:00 soon after, based on aerobic gains alone. If I make it, I'll prove you right!

I got down to 4:22 off zero track work. I just ran 6-10 miles after work every day at around 7 pace. Also ran 2:40 marathon off the same training. So it's definitely possible

I ran 4:46 in a road mile the week after Boston two years ago, way before I started doing speed work.

"Pretty much any high school guy who isn't obese or physically challenged can break 5."

No. You way overestimate the leg speed - that's right, the leg speed, ha ha - of the average schlep.

thats a negatory good buddy wrote:

"Pretty much any high school guy who isn't obese or physically challenged can break 5."

No. You way overestimate the leg speed - that's right, the leg speed, ha ha - of the average schlep.

Most young people have the foot speed to make up for any lack of leg speed.

I broke 5 in my pe class October of freshman year with no real training. I played pick up basketball on the weekends.

I wan an 800 runner in high school and college and had a major drop off stepping up to the 1500 and 1600. All that speed work, but not enough distance translated into poor mile distance racing.

compensating wrote:

thats a negatory good buddy wrote:

"Pretty much any high school guy who isn't obese or physically challenged can break 5."

No. You way overestimate the leg speed - that's right, the leg speed, ha ha - of the average schlep.

Most young people have the foot speed to make up for any lack of leg speed.

but only if they look relaxed

I ran a relaxed 4:56 time trial off of a 30mpw summer with absolutely no speed work. It's possible and it's been done by dozens of kids at my high school.

Apparently Snell ran sub 4:10 off base alone.

Given that some talented individuals have run sub-5 with NO training, I would say that it is indeed possible to do so without speed work.

I ran at a low tier d1 school and the 800 guys hardly did anything over summer. I would max out at about 40 miles per week and very inconsistent weeks at that and only do strides a couple times a week. When we would get back to school in the fall i could still pretty easily run a sub 4:40 mile and that was with literally 0 interval or even tempo work. By the end of the year though with tempos, intervals, and pure speed work my mile would be down to around the 4:12 range. There are plenty of people that can run sub 5 without speed work but most of the people that can do it have a lot of talent for running in general.

For the last several years, with my work schedule and a couple of young kids, I usually run 45 minutes on two weekdays and 60 minutes and 75 minutes on Saturday and Sunday, or sometimes less. All I do is run "comfortably hard" on local bike paths or trails near my house. I ran 4:42 for an accurate flat road mile early this year.

Yes it is possible, I ran 4:36 last year while training for a half marathon with no speed work up to that point and it was a PR(yes I am slow)If you have natural speed its possible

i might be dumb wrote:

Settle an argument: can a sub-5 mile be run with only aerobic training?

I think yes, and that guys like Jurek prove it. My friend claims that even the most extreme long-slow ultra guys do some faster work or have track backgrounds, and that if a random person would never get faster than low-5s if they only did long slow runs.

What's the fastest mile possible without any 200/400/800 intervals in training?