How far can the average person hold 5 min mile pace?

Interesting philosophical questions raised here re the mindset of the hobbyjogger vs the mindset of the "average" person.

I'd contend that quite possibly that the average non runner could match (or certainly be close to) the time of the average hobbyjogger. The problem is that the average hobbyjogger only really jogs and rarely, if ever, runs.

That's why reading something like "The average person could not reach a speed of 12 mph even for 1 second." is mind blowing. Of course they could. It's only hard to image that as a hobbyjogger, as when the common hobbyjogger attempts to "run", what they are really doing is breaking into is a fast jog. That is why the average post college LRC 5k runner has no ability to envisage guys struggling to break 20 mins say for a 5k. Because they have never come to that discipline from a background in jogging.

There's no reason to assume that your average person, i.e. a non runner, hobbyjogger or otherwise, would attempt to tackle running as a fast jog rather than just running.

If you are talking every single person, the young, the elderly and everyone in between, I think the only ones who could manage 100 meters or longer would be those between (roughly) 12 and 50 something. Some younger and some older, but most would fall in that range.

And of those who could, it's hard to say. I would say 20% could go 100 meters. Maybe 10% or less could go 400 meters or longer.

And 20% of all people between 12 and 50 something going 100 meters is probably a bit high of an estimate.

The younger ones, i.e. 25 and under are far more likely.

I think the median peak 100 meter pace for humans during their lifetime is above a five minute mile pace. Heck, I’m old (61) and slow now, but I could certainly “sprint” a hundred meters faster than that. I also remember some fat kids could move faster than you might think for short distances. I would expect that, as defined above, 100 meters is a more reasonable answer than 0 meters.

1% or less of adults could go 400 meters or longer at 5 minute mile pace

That's my new guess

I'd better get training.

Ran a 5:47 mile the other night.

First time trial in years.

Am 34.

Sub 6, sure, but I was on 6 minute pace through 1200.

Last lap wasn't even sub 5 pace!

I shouldn't be on this thread. I couldn't even do 5 minute mile pace for the last lap of my time trial.

400 meters at 5 minute mile pace is not easy for me and I consider myself to have an average to slightly above average level of fitness as an adult male.

I.E. I could bench press my body weight. I can walk a few miles without getting short of breath. I can touch my toes.

I still could stand to lose a few pounds. I am a product of North American society and the luxuries that come with it.

You will get fat and lazy unless you make a point of training your mind to focus on fitness and healthy eating.

Maybe 50-60m.

The average person, both male & female, of any age. That's a lot of people that don't exercise at all.

Less than .01% of the world population could do it for 20 meters. Yes, less than 1 in 10,000.

Count me in on the group that says zero. There are probably responding in here with skewed perspectives, like people still in school surrounded by young and healthy teens and young adults, or you guys that just work in running shops and only hang out with your local run club. Take a walk through the grocery store or something and just look at the people around you. Most people can't hit that 12mph to start with. Most people don't even go out of their way to exercise, and the ones that do usually pick something else besides running. The answer is zero. The average person can't hold a 5 minute mile pace to start with.

Just because someone is a distance runner doesn't mean the can't sprint faster than an average person. The reality is that a distance runner will beat an average person in any kind of distance from 10 meter to marathon, just more so for the longer distances.

That video was dumb AF. No, no one is going to come close to an olympic sprinter, let alone the fastest man in the world. But to also have them do it in casual/dress clothes, round a corner in the middle of it, and jump from concrete to grass is just stupid. They literally just walked outside their office on a work day and threw this trash together. What's even the point if you're going to put zero effort into it? I get it that they probably only had Usain booked for like an hour, but take time out of your day and meet him at a track at least. Garbage clickbait content. Glad I use ad block.

msb__ wrote:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01ZOXady5aQ

What I’m most confused about is what male track athlete would be allowed to compete in college with 14.7 second 100m speed?

About like Ryan Bradley did on his TM in "Spirit of the Marathon", which is better than I could do when I was his age, by far.

Greg wrote:

(...) I think the only ones who could manage 100 meters or longer would be those between (roughly) 12 and 50 something.

(...)

Maybe 10% or less could go 400 meters or longer.

I am 60 next year and did 8 x 300 meters at 57-60 seconds this morning, and a last 400 at 70 seconds (4:42 /mile).

Naturally, not many my age does that but your initial sentence is wrong.

It amazes me how many posters wildly overestimate the running ability of the general population.

The answer is 0. Here's why.

The average American is 37, 197 pounds, 5'9" tall, and leads a sedentary lifestyle.

While this person MIGHT be able to run a very short distance (20 meters) at 12mph, THEY COULD NOT ACCELERATE UP TO THIS PACE without a running start.

Thus, the answer for the "average" person is zero.

I just walked down the street because I want to survey the public on this topic.

It's very interesting to me.

I told someone about the survey and asked them how long they could hold 5 minute mile pace.

They said they aren't into running but they figure it wouldn't be hard. Probably at least 20 minutes. Maybe longer.

That was the first response I've gotten.

The early data is showing that people can actually hold this pace much longer than we have initially believed.

A lot of the difficulty is how we're defining the average person - I see a lot of differences in this thread - some people saying it's only men, no one old or young, no one not interested in athletics (?), etc.

For me the average person is EVERYONE in the population who is an adult - i.e. 18 - 113 or however old the oldest person is in the USA.

I'd say it's going to be around 10-20 metres. I think the average person could just about reach that speed, and hold it for a very short period of time. I don't see the average person running a 18.75 second 100m. The average would be higher than that.

I expect a lot of people wouldn't be able to reach that speed, but some could. That means the mean average is above zero, but not by much.

A lot of people won't be able to actually run.

BTW agree about that video, it was a shame they didn't do it at a track, straight 100m, in sports clothes. Would've made more sense. I reckon that corner at 90 degrees made a big difference in a flat out sprint.