What is the average mile time of the GENERAL population for a 30 year old male?

I Had To Be The One wrote:

whatthehell wrote:

There are some really stupid answers on here.

I am in good shape, can run a 21 minute 5k, and run 30+ miles a week. I could make myself vomit and run a 6 minute mile. To say that the average 30 year old (which means fat and not a runner) could "gut out" a high 6/low 7 is just dumb. I know this is LetsRun where everybody is a 4:05 miler, but come the freak on.

Average running 30 year old maybe 6:30 minutes (10% of population)

Average athletic but not running 30 year old maybe 7:30 (20% of the the population)

Average 30 year old maybe 9:00 (60% of population)

Really fat 30 year old maybe 12++ (10% of population)

If you can run a 21 minute 5k, a 6 minute mile should not be a vomit-inducing effort. That's just weird. You should be able to run at least a 5:30.

He could be highly slow twitch orientated. You never know.

Feelz. Ran ~5:15 mile this year and 20 ish min 5k. Former 3:50 1500 ???. Obviously out of shape. Had a 10 year sub 5 going. Can’t imagine the average is less than 9

So if a whole town had to flea and the nearest rescue was a mile away most 30 year olds couldnt run under 9? Bullshit. Very obese 30 year olds can run a 9 minute mile even if it kills them. Most people would run between 7-8 min.

Average for 30 year old men is 7 minutes end of story.

The average vo2 max if you look up the tables, the 50th percentile is 42 for men aged 30. And a 42 vo2 max is the same as a sub 7 mile (6:55).

So explain that????? The tables are based on real science and dont lie.

The only reason you all sayin an 9 minute mile is average is to make your slow minute miles look good. Im in the “average is 7 min” crew”. Even people who dont do cardio can kick your asses.

I Had To Be The One wrote:

whatthehell wrote:

There are some really stupid answers on here.

I am in good shape, can run a 21 minute 5k, and run 30+ miles a week. I could make myself vomit and run a 6 minute mile. To say that the average 30 year old (which means fat and not a runner) could "gut out" a high 6/low 7 is just dumb. I know this is LetsRun where everybody is a 4:05 miler, but come the freak on.

Average running 30 year old maybe 6:30 minutes (10% of population)

Average athletic but not running 30 year old maybe 7:30 (20% of the the population)

Average 30 year old maybe 9:00 (60% of population)

Really fat 30 year old maybe 12++ (10% of population)

If you can run a 21 minute 5k, a 6 minute mile should not be a vomit-inducing effort. That's just weird. You should be able to run at least a 5:30.

A 21 minute 5k is the VDOT equivalent of a 6:10 mile. Not sure why you think he should run 5:30. A 5:30 mile is closer to a 19 minute 5k.

I would guess somewhere closer to the 12-13 min mark

When only talking about the U.S., then the average man, aged 20 years or older, weighs 195.7 pounds. He also stands around 5 feet 9 inches tall and has a waist circumference of 40 inches. This is according to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) between 2011 and 2014.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320917.php

Maybe the average person is a lot faster than you all think and you don’t want to admit so because it makes your times look sh!t in comparison. Most answers here agreed on about 8 or 9 minutes but that is probably dead wrong. I have seen the most OBESE of people run in the 9:0X minute range back in police academy, the average non obese person is going to be a lot faster.

If you google vo2 max, on pretty much every chart ever, it says the average vo2 max for a male aged 20-40 is about 43 ml/kg. Average meaning the 50th percentile. A 43 vo2 max reading equates to about a 6:40 mile and this is based on real studies and real science.

Maybe you all just don’t want to admit what the average person is capable of people it makes your mile PR of 5:59 look really rubbish in comparison? Think about it, if you have a 5:59 mile PR, going on the internet and saying average is 9 minutes makes your PR look extremely good and way above average BUT if you have that same PR and discover that 6:40 is in fact average then it only makes you look slightly above average which isn’t as impressive.

Or on the other hand, have any of you even considered the possibility that maybe the average male does more cardio than you think? (because lets face it, evryone is striving to look good for the ladies?) and that you just want to pretend 99% of people are sedentary because it makes your 40 mpw training look Elite in comparison?

And before anybody says that obese is average, no it’s not, slightly overweight at best is average. There might be more fatties than ever before but those people are not average, they are lazy fatasses at the extreme end of the spectrum and most 30 year old men are not sporting that look. A BMI of 25-26 is average (correlating with about 20% BF which imo is not even that fat) and I’m assuming with quite a lot of guys at that BMI, a fair chunk of that is muscle meaning that they can still be in pretty good condition with that kind of composition and not to mention the average guy can probably lift a lot more than you skinny twigs.

You make some fair points. I don’t think the average young male is as slow as 9 minutes but I certainly don’t think that average males (who don’t train) could run a 6:40 mile either. I think the definite average would probably be about 7:30, see they might have an absolute max of 43 but they wouldnt be able to hold that pace for the full mile due to not being fully conditioned. I do agree that with two or three months of training the average male could get 6:40.

Also, those tests are outdated. I think some are from the 1960s-1980s back when the entire country wasnt locked behind computers and iphones all day long and there were more active jobs instead of sedentary jobs due to technology not being as advanced or advanced enough to replace human action. I only think people are as sedentary as they are because of technology and also there were WAY less people with cars 50 years ago, most people walked. If you took technology away from these mellenial types, they would have to do somethimg active to entertain themselves just like what people did when these tests were conducted. So it wouldnt surprise me if 50 years ago 6:40 was average but I do agree with the statements made that these days it probably isn’t average anymore.

I peg median 50th percentile guy at about 7:30 all out. The 100m times would probably be a bit more impressive (around 15s).

I have a buddy that is the absolute definition of a normal 30 year old. He works at a bank, never works out, and plays golf. He timed his mile the other day and it was a 9:38. He was puking his guts out. He has no muscle, is 5'10 200 lb and is a moderate drinker.

Isn’t it funny how you all seem to know non runners who are prepared to do time trials? I all BS on 95% of “my friend never runs, we timed his mile and he ran XX”

Most people who run arent prepared to do all out time trials let alone people who dont run. Why would an alcohol-drinking golfer have any motivation at all to run a mile?

I dont know one person who would be willing to do this.

Darkenedsoul23 wrote:

Isn’t it funny how you all seem to know non runners who are prepared to do time trials? I all BS on 95% of “my friend never runs, we timed his mile and he ran XX”

Most people who run arent prepared to do all out time trials let alone people who dont run. Why would an alcohol-drinking golfer have any motivation at all to run a mile?

I dont know one person who would be willing to do this.

I did it as a drunk bet. Nearly killed myself, but after 4 shots of maker's mark and probably a dozen Miller lites, I did a 5:58 mile with no running experience at 240+ lbs. I imagine someone who's not a fat fark like me could do at least 5:30.

Completely in agreement here. Most LR.C people clearly have a very poor idea of what the people of their country--not just of their own little niche---are like.

LargeLarry wrote:

Darkenedsoul23 wrote:

Isn’t it funny how you all seem to know non runners who are prepared to do time trials? I all BS on 95% of “my friend never runs, we timed his mile and he ran XX”

Most people who run arent prepared to do all out time trials let alone people who dont run. Why would an alcohol-drinking golfer have any motivation at all to run a mile?

I dont know one person who would be willing to do this.

I did it as a drunk bet. Nearly killed myself, but after 4 shots of maker's mark and probably a dozen Miller lites, I did a 5:58 mile with no running experience at 240+ lbs. I imagine someone who's not a fat fark like me could do at least 5:30.

I don't believe this for one second. Nice try.

you my friend, are still intoxicated wrote:

LargeLarry wrote:

I did it as a drunk bet. Nearly killed myself, but after 4 shots of maker's mark and probably a dozen Miller lites, I did a 5:58 mile with no running experience at 240+ lbs. I imagine someone who's not a fat fark like me could do at least 5:30.

I don't believe this for one second. Nice try.

I'm pretty sure he was being satirical. The whole "I was really fat and hadn't ran in 10 years and I knocked out as 5:20 without even really trying, so I assume the average person can run about 6:30" genre of posts is super common around here.

Darkenedsoul23 wrote:

Isn’t it funny how you all seem to know non runners who are prepared to do time trials? I all BS on 95% of “my friend never runs, we timed his mile and he ran XX”

Most people who run arent prepared to do all out time trials let alone people who dont run. Why would an alcohol-drinking golfer have any motivation at all to run a mile?

I dont know one person who would be willing to do this.

Ill explain it so you can calm down over there. He asked me to help him get in shape for a 10k having not run at all. I told him lets go check his mile time to get started on a plan. Thats how.

No way on earth does mr average who works a desk job and never exercises run a 6:40 mile. I’d be hard pushed to assume 7:40.

Ssssssssssatire wrote:

Incarnate Word Runner wrote:

The median would be 8:30 for a fit 30yr old male, overall population would be 15 minutes+ with a lot of DNFs

I agree with this. At the high school I coach at, the varsity baseball team has to run a mile. They run about 9 minutes on average. I'd say they're probably somewhat representative of the average fit male anywhere from 16 to 35 years old who doesn't specifically run.

Meanwhile most 30 year old male is decidedly not fit, so the average person has to be much slower than that 9 minutes.

A 9 minute mile is not fit. Are you baseball team all morbidly obese?

This actually made me chuckle. 6/10 on the trolling attempt.

My take -

Runners: 5:30 - 6:30

Gym guys or recreational weekend soccer hobbyists: 6:40 - 7:00

Non overweight guys: 7:20 - 8:45

Overweight/obese guys: 9:00 + or DNF

For females of the same ability-

Runners: 6:00 - 6:50

Gym girls or recreational sportswomen aka gymnasts/dancers: 6:55 - 7:40

Non overweight women: 8:00 - 10:00

Overweight/obese girls: 11:00+ or DNF

I am from the UK. The average 30 year old male I know probably did used to play recreational sport as a kid/teenagers but now, a decade later has done his fair share of boozing and kebab shop meals and now has a BMI of 27ish with a fair bit of both muscle and fat so nothing too terrible that couldn’t be fixed with 8-10 months or so of consistant cardio but definitely let themselves go a bit. People only start to get really really overweight in their 30s and 40s from my experience when the Dad life really kicks in.

So for a 30 year old, slightly overweight (22% body fat) but otherwise healthy male, I am going to go with 8 minutes for Mr. Average. Give or take 30 seconds.