If properly coached, the average relatively fit college male could run a ___ 8K

32:00

haha this is so vague, at least give us what time they can initially run

5 months is not enough time. given 3-4 years, I think 28:00 or faster.

with 3+ years, anyone can run under 26

if you haven't, then you're not training properly

You're high. Given 5 months I think sub 30 would be avg with a few under 28 and alot over 30. Sub 26 would take way above avg. talent.

40:00

honestly 33-35... have you seen any "average" people lately?

I would not go lower than 32 (6:24 pace).

For the first few weeks, they will run a few days per week, less than 5 mi at a time, and at 8-10 min pace (9 min avg?). After a couple of months, you could have them running reasonable mileage, still at the slow paces. I do not think they'll ever increase their normal run pace to less than 7:40s (as an average).

By the end of the third month, during which they work out, they can confidently run 7:00 pace for 5 miles. After another month of strength work and some faster work, they can run 6:40s pace. Sharpening in the last month will not take a ton more time off of their pace, so mid 6:20s seems like the fastest reasonable average.

This assumes we disregard injured athletes.

i think we need the OP to tell us what 'averagely fit' is

get it on me wrote:

with 3+ years, anyone can run under 26

if you haven't, then you're not training properly

If you can't break 24 after 3 years of training there is something seriously wrong with you.

That slow? More like 23. Most people just don't train right.

There are a lot of fit college males that will never run under 30 minutes. It has more to do with biomechanics. I have been coaching for nearly 30 years and am astounded at the number of teenage males that have extremely flat feet today. When they try to run they end up with severe shin splints, knee pain, ITBS, tendonitis around the ankles, etc.

Would it be possible for them to correct their biomechanical deficiencies through training? Maybe, but unlikely. I don't know of any training plan that corrects biomechanical deficiencies directly.

Practically, they could overcome some of these deficiencies with orthotic devices, but most people are not going to invest several hundred dollars to enable them to participate in an activity they associate with pain and discomfort.

Eliminate the obese, the habitual drug users, those who have no interest in sports, and those with biomechanical deficiencies and you might get the remainder with sufficient traininig and coaching to run under 30 minutes.

In general, I would say the average relatively fit college male would run between 35 and 40 minutes for 8k if forced to do it.

This.

A lot of very good highly motivated athletes just don't have distance runner's builds. People are saying anyone can run under 23 or 24 with three years of good training really need to think again. The typical hockey player or football lineman is never going to break 28 no matter how hard he tries.

Flat feet have nothing to do with it. I'm also a coach and lots of athletes have flat feet and they get injured no more or less than anybody else.

That said the "average" college age male time would probably be 40+ minutes even after 3-6 months of training. You have to think that the few fast guys would be more than offset by everybody else

any avg college student should be able to break the WR with no problem

Take 20 random 9-graders. Have them run only moderate amounts without any orthotic devices for 3-4 weeks. Those with near perfect biomechanics will remain uninjured while those who end up with shin splints, knee pain, ITBS, ankle pain, etc. will have some significant biomechanical deficiency. A common deficiency is flat feet. While every kid with flat feet may not end up injured, I don't think you're looking at the situation with open eyes if you don't think those with flat feet end up in the training room more often than those that don't have such deficiencies.

By the time runners get to college, they have had the chance to accomodate such deficiencies. So, if you're coaching at the college level I might agree that the injury rate, flat feet or not, might be similar among runners.

However, the average fit college male is not a runner with years of prior experience. Without the desire and inclination to overcome such physical hurdles, I don't see the average college male being able to train enough to run sub-7:00 pace.

The average kid that comes out for high school track/CC is not the average kid. Kids that hurt when they run usually don't bother to try running competitively - there are too many other options in life for them to bother.

"Properly coached" makes coaching sound like it is a requirement that is either sufficiently met, or not met.

five months of training I will presume is not 'boot camp' where the sole objective is to get in shape for an 8k, which I presume is on an XC course.

I can now probably out-run most generally fit college males and I am in the high 30s. Anything remotely close to 6 minute pace is off the table, as not that many guys can run one, much less 5 in a row on an uneven surface. You will lose all of those that have training breakdowns, which is a lot if you are pushing them to run fast and, what is for them, long. A LOT of people gear up to run the marathon and put a lot of effort into it. Four hours is well below the median time, and that is over 9 minutes per mile. Sure, the XC would be faster, but it is not going to be several minutes faster per mile. 7:30 pace is about 37:00+; it will not be much better than that and is as likely to be towards 40.