minimum mileage for sub 15?

Weekly mileage is like the 50th most important thing to running sub-15:00.

Over a month, my quality workouts are typically a double threshold and CV (x2), CV + fast-ish (5k-6k, just something faster with full rest), and a time-trial + 800 pace work. I'll also run a low 6 / high 5 steady nearly weekly.

Go on then, Lenny Leonard. List the other 49?

Whith my long experience I would say around 30 mpw. 45- 50 is fine.🇸🇪🧙‍♂️

Minimum beers to get drunk? Depends on the athlete.

What is the point of the question? Someone like Bekele could take a year off and run sub 15 off 0 to 10 mpw.

I ran 14:35 on 30 MPW. Guessing I could have gone 14:59 on about 20 MPW. My lifetime PR is 14:15 so I assume an elite runner could break 15 on maybe no training.

I ran 14:35 on 30 MPW. Guessing I could have gone 14:59 on about 20 MPW. My lifetime PR is 14:15 so I assume an elite runner could break 15 on maybe no training.

to see if someone with normal talent (i.e. not a former WR holder) doesn't need too high mileage

There is no definite answer because mileage doesn't matter that much and everyone is different.

Ask Justyn Knight or Lawi Lalang how much they ran before they ran their first sub-15.

alright thanks. I think I"ll be able to hit it off around 55

Whether this is a troll or not some people can break 15:00 on less than 50mpw. Some could run 100mpw & never break 15:00. Talent and speed matter. Workouts matter. Would expect the minimum to fall around 40-50mpw. Running every day. 2 workouts/week. Long run @ 10-12 miles. Daily easy runs around 5-6 miles. That's something very few people could probably pull off but that's what the question is asking.

No I am not a troll. I provided my real info. Your post is ridiculous because I already told you what I did and I was not elite. Truly elite runners could break 15 with no training. I don't think you understand what 12:50 for 5k is like. 15 minutes is 45 seconds slower per mile. Race your 5k and then don't train for a year and I bet you can run 45 seconds per mile slower.

No I am not a troll. I provided my real info. Your post is ridiculous because I already told you what I did and I was not elite. Truly elite runners could break 15 with no training. I don't think you understand what 12:50 for 5k is like. 15 minutes is 45 seconds slower per mile. Race your 5k and then don't train for a year and I bet you can run 45 seconds per mile slower.

Ran 14:45 off 50 mpw. However, I'd do 12 miles on workout days (double threshold) twice per week and everything else was easy. On occasion, I'd do 3 workouts per week, but one would be like 800 pace, so that'd only be 3 miles total (1.5 mile warmup, something like 8x200 in 30, 0.5 cooldown)

There are no magic numbers. If there were, it would be easy to hit the major milestones.

My intuition is that these kinds of questions are borne out of insecurity and uncertainty. Anxiety comes from not knowing how to get there, paired with the fear of potential failure. So to ease the anxiety and uncertainty, we seek comfort by finding one concrete thing to focus on that we can control (i.e. mileage). If we do this one particular thing, then everything will work out, and fast times will fall into place.

Don't fall into that trap. Training and racing are complex. Embrace the complexity, be an observer of your own training and results, and think critically about what is working & what is not. Take it one step at a time, and build on your successes to get to the next level.

As is the case with every single one of these threads, the most honest answer will always be, "it depends." Now, if you were instead asking, "Based on the data we have available to us, ehat is the median mileage of collegiate runners with 5000m PBs under 15:00?", that would be a much more interesting, although somewhat difficult question to answer.