I was thinking about this the other day... how fast do each of you think that you would need to be to consider yourselves or someone else "fast" or "good". Hell, what does it take to be considered "elite"? I know I consider myself fast, but I was just wondering what it would take for you guys to think that. I'm 23 by the way if that makes a difference...
I would consider "Fast" to be anyone that can break or has ever broken 5 minutes for the mile or like 18 mins for the 5k. I mean I guess a lot of people have run that, but this is a running website and I'm assuming that the people that visit this site are dedicated and would consider themselves fast. A kid at my High School once broke 4:30, not that is just freakish.
I don't agree with that. I would consider 5 min mile and 18 min 5k to be good and quick, but not fast. I personally consider sub 4:30 and sub 16 min to be along the lines of "fast" for a 23 year old.
I'm not saying 5 min and 18 min is not good, nor quick and is definately respectable... but to be fast as a 23 year old you should be running the times required to make 1st team all state in high school. Those times are typically around 4:30 and 16 min (outside of the likes of Cali, NY, etc.)
it is an unanswerable question. 'fast' is all relative; depending on your point of reference and comparison. it is a moving target. a 4:12 miler at xyc college is considered fast; maybe a school record. At U of O, it is not considered fast at all. It's all relative. no, one answer.
12.5 100m
26 200 m
60 400m
6:00 mile
20:00 5k
50:00 10k
for guys . . . each of these times is faster than 99% of the population
Realistically wrote:
12.5 100m
26 200 m
60 400m
6:00 mile
20:00 5k
50:00 10k
for guys . . . each of these times is faster than 99% of the population
+1
I ran 3:52 and I thought that was so obscenely slow it made me want to throw up
Usually I think I am fast if I am around people who are slower than me. When I go to practice and there are sub 14 guys I don't think I am fast. When I am at home with All-Americans, I think I am slow.
I won't think of myself as fast till I break 14 or 4:05y. I won't really think those are all that great and won't call myself fast until I have gone sub 13:30 or 4y
I generally don't think of 23 year old guys as fast until they have broken 14:30, and generally even less so if I dont know them.
Even so, I won't call anyone fast until they have run under 14:00. If someone asks me if someone is fast and they have run like 14:50 I say they are pretty good, but not that fast.
Its all relative, I think high schoolers are fast if they have broken 4:30, if I know them. If I dont know them, I dont think of them as fast until they are under 4:20, even though I came just short of that barrier as well in high school. I dont think I was particularly fast in high school.
marijuologist wrote:
I ran 3:52 and I thought that was so obscenely slow it made me want to throw up
yes, it is slow to me and others who have run much faster; but is 'fast' to the 4:01 guy, hoping to get to 3:55.
i consider fast under 15:00 for the 5k, and 4:20 in the mile. I have done neither, come very close to the mile though, but i think i'll always consider fast a bit under my pr's.
How about sub-5 mile at age 50? That's my goal. Ran 5:09 at 49 last Dec. I consider myself slow compared to other runners my age that are faster.
For men, you have to be faster than the fastest elite female in the world. For women, you just have to look hot.
Out of thousands of inane questions I've seen on this site, this one may well be the worst. I'm sure you're a nice guy who's trying to be the best runner you can be, but do you think there's some magical cut-off dividing the fast from the slow runners? Do you want to hear that if you can run under 15 minutes for 5K that you are fast? Or perhaps you need to be under 14 minutes. So if 13:59 is fast, is 14:00 slow? What about 14:10, is that fast or slow? And 14:20, and so on. You get the point.
The bottom line is that how fast you run matters to no one but yourself. Take pride in being the best you can be, but don't expect adulation from the admiring masses. Even for elites, it's not there.
fast is one step, one second, one yard, one place faster than you can run cuz someone is always better and so fast doesn't matter until you can beat them and then fast is the next guy. unless you are the world record holder or world/olympic champ cuz then there is no one faster which means you are fast compared to anyone.
in high school when i ran the mile in the 4:40s so sub 4:40 was fast then when i went sub 4:30 i thought 4:20 was fast and then at sub 4:20 i think 4:10 or under is fast, and when i get there sub-4 will be fast. fast is relative which means until there is no one else to beat fast is always one step ahead of you.
World record holder, everyone else is a loser.
It's all relative. I used to think once I got to where I am now I would be satisfied and happy with my times but no, I don't feel fast now, I just want more.
Usually I get smoked in races and feel slow but every once in a while I'll run a road race and clean up on the field and that helps remind that even though there are a lot of people faster than me, I'm still faster than over 99% of the population.
Anyone who posts on letsrun is fast.
But anyone faster is on drugs.
superb
The generally accepted definition:
Anyone slower than you is a jogger.
Anyone faster than you is on drugs.
elite
3:38
13:20