I'd further delineate it - anything sub 23 all American caliber, sub 23:30 excellent, sub 24 great, sub 24:30 very good, sub 25 good. Move up one tier for freshmen (i.e. a sub 24 freshman is excellent)
Lep's post above is good if you are talking about "average decent" times. The actual average times are much slower.
I like to think of mid 25s as the cutoff between "also ran" and decently fast. If you want to be seriously fast you need to be running under 24 minutes and under 23 to be elite.
I'm guessing you are posting because you want to compare your own times with what letsrun says a "good average time" is. If you are a 27 minute 8k runner, I would target breaking 26 minutes.
I would say 26:21 is faster than average, but that doesn't mean it is terribly fast. While it isn't a terribly fast time, I wouldn't call it slow either.
I would say 26:21 is faster than average, but that doesn't mean it is terribly fast. While it isn't a terribly fast time, I wouldn't call it slow either.
I would say 26:21 is faster than average, but that doesn't mean it is terribly fast. While it isn't a terribly fast time, I wouldn't call it slow either.
Would it reasonably correspond to a 3:07 'thon?
You never know. I guess you have to put the work in and run a Marathon to find out.
Marathons are weird, annoying, and hard to compare to 8Ks. Some people simply can't run a marathon as fast as they "should" based on their PRs for other distances. My college teammate who ran a low 26 8K ran a 2:45 marathon (during college). I had another teammate with similar 8K times who ran ~2:52. I also know a mid 25 guy who gets destroyed by the marathon distance and has never broken 3 hours.
The Midwest Regional regional is one of the weaker ones. Guys finishing 100th place I consider to be below average D1 runners. The guys who finished 99-100-101 have all run sub 25 and one has run sub 24. Obviously, 25 minutes is crappy.
I would say 26:21 is faster than average, but that doesn't mean it is terribly fast. While it isn't a terribly fast time, I wouldn't call it slow either.
What's a good 8k time for an average college runner? Assume a flat but fair (4.97 mile) course
Most D1 guys are running in the 24 minute range, but don't get too caught up on comparisons, all you can do is just try to be better and competitive to guys around you.
I was elated at hitting low 25s last year for a PR even though I was just another guy in the middle for the pack because I've always struggled like hell with XC 8Ks.
Marathons are weird, annoying, and hard to compare to 8Ks. Some people simply can't run a marathon as fast as they "should" based on their PRs for other distances. My college teammate who ran a low 26 8K ran a 2:45 marathon (during college). I had another teammate with similar 8K times who ran ~2:52. I also know a mid 25 guy who gets destroyed by the marathon distance and has never broken 3 hours.
It's because it takes a different type of talent. I know someone who mainly just jogs around real easy all the time(think 8-10 min miles), never really does faster workouts except once in a blue moon. His personal best for 5 miles is high 27 min and his marathon PB is 2:46.