I've been hearing a lot of people say that their first 5K time was like 18 min, but i know that not ALL of you were that fast in your first race. Come on! I'm running HS xc next school year, & considering my current 5K times, i think i'll do around 29-30 min in my 1st race...i'm a pretty new runner tho. Did anyone else get a time close to that when they were first starting? Don't post any mean responses pls, i already know that's not very fast.
I am a boy and I ran 18:31 for 5k (converted from 17:53 3 mile time).
But this was after a season of track where I ran 5:17 and after staying in shape by running over the summer.
I was always sort of athletic in elementary school and middle school and would try my hardest to win games/events during recess.
Your time is fine.
It takes time to develop, physically and with training.
My first cross country race preseason my freshman year of high school was a time trial of our home course. It was 5k and was measured, so it was the full 5k distance. The boys and girls teams both started at the same time. I finished dead last behind the boys and girls, well behind the second to last place person. I ran something like 29:45. When I graduated 4 years later, I was the fastest runner on our team by a lot.
The time you run in your first race doesn't matter. Everyone comes from different backgrounds. I personally never exercised and was a chubby kid growing up. I had great speed but terrible, terrible endurance. This was obviously a hinderance in distance running. Luckily, endurance is pretty easy to develop compared to speed.
Start building up your mileage with easy runs. Do doubles as soon as possible. The sooner the better. Don't be scared of mileage, you won't burn out from easy running. Do a long run and do tempo runs 2-3 times per week. Also do some quick strides at the end. This is all you need during the summer. You will improve immensely.
Have fun and good luck!
Not only is your expected time fine as a starting point, but you actually have an advantage over a lot of kids. Because you haven't already done a lot of running and improving, you have that to look forward to. Once you start to train a little more consistently and seriously than you have in the past, you will enjoy improvement that sometimes comes in significant chunks. If you care about your running, and act accordingly, you probably have several years of gratifying improvement ahead of you.
Several years ago, I coached a girl who started off slower than you expect to be. She ended up making varsity top five in cross country, and was district runner-up in the 3200. Just go to practice, work hard, have fun, and let the rest take care of itself.
My freshman year, I qualified for states. Sadly for me, my poor acedemics kept me from running. Now, I post on LR.
Good luck,
Fame I'm Gonna Live Forever.
My first XC race was a 23:25 5k. My team was so bad that I was the top reserve/ JV guy lol
Realize that times are very different for men and women. I don't think most WOMEN here would say that their first 5K time was ~18 min. Most MEN would claim that, but many of them are lying so I would bet the actual first 5K average is about 20-21 min for male posters on this site. Which might be roughly equivalent to 23 min for women.
So yeah, you might not be up to the average speed on this site. But don't let that discourage you! In the grand scheme of things, all of us posting here are slow (minus a few standouts like malmo). We run because we love to improve, love to push ourselves, and love to follow the sport. I don't even run competitively anymore, actually. But something about the community draws me back...
And for reference, my first 5K was 23:24, but I ran cross-country for one year before that in 8th grade where we were on 2-mile courses. At that time, I remember one of my races took 19:33 for two miles (my PR was 17:30-ish). I was probably the male equivalent to your speed. I ended up being ridiculously injury-plagued thanks to my previously sedentary lifestyle, but I still made it to a 16:09 3-mile junior year before my legs collapsed. So it is entirely possible to go from nothing to something.
...is that you are a guy posting these times.
No 18:low guy your age has anything to worry about, although no it's not that fast so maybe you're insecure.
My first 5k cross country race was about 30 minutes. It took me two months of training to get that down to a 27:54, which was good for fourth-last in our regional meet (grade 9 boys only). I got it down to 18:45 by the end of high school.
I kept running through university and ran my PBs at that age, in road races, of a 36:38 10k and a 1:21 half. A few years later, I'm a bit slower because I haven't had as much time to train, but I think I can run 32-33 minutes for 10k as a lifetime best.
That's not extremely fast, I realize, but it's more than enough to keep you interested in the sport. Twelve years after starting to run, I'm one of a handful of the hundreds of teammates I had on my high school cross country team that's still competing.
Keep at it.
I'm a dude.
High School: 1st race 24-mid for 5k; Got down to 15:55
College: 1st 8k 27:59 (definitely wasn't ready for the extra 3k)
Got down to 25:06
Give it time, keeping ramping up quality miles; the times WILL drop.
First race ever was a 3k in 10:18
First 5k Ever was in 18:15
Current Fitness:
3k around 8:50 at best
5k around 15:30 at best
Soccer for 18 years before getting into running gave me a leg up on initial fitness. Learning what it means to be a runner training to race was the hardest thing. If I knew then what I know now about how to train I'd probably be so much faster. But I'm sure we all can say that.
My first HS 5K was 25 or 26. Our course is a little long, but I was also a sophomore who had done spring track as a frosh (sprinter).
You'll drop big time over the next few years, don't sweat it. Do the work and the times will come.
My first xc 5k was just over 27:00, I think. And I wasn't a complete newbie -- I had run for 2 years in junior high before this! Now I'm a consistent sub-18 girl on the roads and track. It's been fun to progress.
newbierunnergirl wrote:
I've been hearing a lot of people say that their first 5K time was like 18 min, but i know that not ALL of you were that fast in your first race. Come on! I'm running HS xc next school year, & considering my current 5K times, i think i'll do around 29-30 min in my 1st race...i'm a pretty new runner tho. Did anyone else get a time close to that when they were first starting? Don't post any mean responses pls, i already know that's not very fast.
About 40% of all girls will run (while walking a half mile in the middle)that pace the first race of the year. I would not be too concerned if you are in the 27 minute range. 32 minutes would, but not 27. I would bet that you get closer to 25, if your training is at 27 minute pace, since competition helps people perform better.
The 18 minute people are males, not females, and many are lying about 18.
First 5k (summer before freshman year) was 25:50. PR freshman XC was 21:25. First race soph year was 18:41.
If you don't start running XC until you're in college, your first XC race will be an 8K. So a lot of really good mid-d guys have a time in the 27-32 minute range for their first XC race.
Your times are fine. The best part about xc is you start at one spot on day one and hopefully you see improvement over the year. One our team, a number of the kids that ended up being solid runners started out at least in the middle of the pack. A few examples
Boy 1st race 24:47. Senior year 16:25, 5th at state in xc
Boy 1st race 24:52. Senior year 16:08, 5th at state in xc
Girl 1st race 28:50. Senior year 20:28, state qualifier
We weren't doing anything out of the ordinary or special training wise. The improvements were all due to consistent hard work, physical maturity, and dedication. Always get better should be your only mantra. The rest will take care of itself.
i'm a junior guy
These are 3 miles courses(not full 5k)
first race 26:26
Junior year Pr 16:23
My goal for this year is sub 15 minutes at an ultra fast all flat course we do every year.