What kind of speed do ncaa 5000m runners have?

My coach was a 14:4x 5k specialist at a mediocre D1 school, and if I remember right, his 800m was around 1:58 or 1:59.

Most 5000m specialists are not going to run an open 800m all out.

I'd reckon most guys in the 13:20-13:40 range could cut a 1:53 or better. For the 400, probably 52 at the extreme slow end.

It really depends on whether you are talking about the very top guys in the mid to low13's, who are usually 4 flat milers or better, or the standard 14 to 14:30 guys who are probably 4:10-:15 milers. The fastest guys are probably good for 50.0/1:52 if they trained for those events, the standard guys more like 55.0/2:02.

But it's like everything else, there are plenty of examples of guys with fast 5000's who are all slow twitch and built for long distance who have relatively slower times for the short distances, and fast twitch speed oriented guys who aren't so good on the longer stuff. This usually sorts itself out when you see what other events they run...are they a 1500/5000 runner or a 5000/10000 runner.

NHHS wrote:

It really depends on whether you are talking about the very top guys in the mid to low13's, who are usually 4 flat milers or better, or the standard 14 to 14:30 guys who are probably 4:10-:15 milers. The fastest guys are probably good for 50.0/1:52 if they trained for those events, the standard guys more like 55.0/2:02.

There are very few low 13's. That said, I'd say (given that most 5K guys rarely run the 400 or 800):

5K: 400/800/mile

13:30: 48/1:49/3:58

14:00: 50/1:52/4:03

14:30: 51/1:54/4:10

american distance fan wrote:

There are very few low 13's. That said, I'd say (given that most 5K guys rarely run the 400 or 800):

5K: 400/800/mile

13:30: 48/1:49/3:58

14:00: 50/1:52/4:03

14:30: 51/1:54/4:10

Your 400 times are way too fast. 48??? Centrowitz may not even be that fast and he is a miler. Even El G was only good for a 47-48.

Esp!ane wrote:

american distance fan wrote:

There are very few low 13's. That said, I'd say (given that most 5K guys rarely run the 400 or 800):

5K: 400/800/mile

13:30: 48/1:49/3:58

14:00: 50/1:52/4:03

14:30: 51/1:54/4:10

Your 400 times are way too fast. 48??? Centrowitz may not even be that fast and he is a miler. Even El G was only good for a 47-48.

El G won gold in the 5000

I knew a lot of 14:00-14:30 guys in college, none of whom could run faster than 1:57 for 800, and most couldn't break 2:00. Also agree with the previous poster on the 400 times being way too fast, each by 2-3 seconds.

american distance fan wrote:

NHHS wrote:

There are very few low 13's. That said, I'd say (given that most 5K guys rarely run the 400 or 800):

5K: 400/800/mile

13:30: 48/1:49/3:58

14:00: 50/1:52/4:03

14:30: 51/1:54/4:10

They say lomong ran 50 flat 400 at the end of a workout. A 48 relay split might not be too far fetched.

That's one runner. You've lost your mind if you think Eric Jenkins, Ryan Hill, Ben True, and Rupp can all run 48 for 400m.

Do you even 5000, bro? wrote:

Esp!ane wrote:

Your 400 times are way too fast. 48??? Centrowitz may not even be that fast and he is a miler. Even El G was only good for a 47-48.

El G won gold in the 5000

I may have gotten carried away for the 13:30 400 time (mainly because there's very little data out there), but I think the 14:30 400 time is pretty close. Maybe more like 52/1:55/4:10.

Do you even 5000, bro? wrote:

Esp!ane wrote:

Your 400 times are way too fast. 48??? Centrowitz may not even be that fast and he is a miler. Even El G was only good for a 47-48.

El G won gold in the 5000

Your point?

american distance fan wrote:

NHHS wrote:

It really depends on whether you are talking about the very top guys in the mid to low13's, who are usually 4 flat milers or better, or the standard 14 to 14:30 guys who are probably 4:10-:15 milers. The fastest guys are probably good for 50.0/1:52 if they trained for those events, the standard guys more like 55.0/2:02.

There are very few low 13's. That said, I'd say (given that most 5K guys rarely run the 400 or 800):

5K: 400/800/mile

13:30: 48/1:49/3:58

14:00: 50/1:52/4:03

14:30: 51/1:54/4:10

Can't comment on other runners, but I ran sub 14:15 and there is no way I could have run a 51 or 1:54.

I think an accurate assumption would be a 1:30 400 and a 3:08 800m

All you guys saying a 14-14:30 guy couldn't break 2 in the 800 are full of if. There are upwards of 50 HS guys (probably more) in my state that can break 2 for the 800 each and every year. There are maybe 1-2 guys a year that can run a 14-1430 5k. I broke 2 and never ran faster than 16:30 for 5k.

In my experience (d3) the average is maybe:

14:30: 54, 1:58

14:00: 53, 1:56

But there's going to be a lot of variation, especially at the 400, because ability at these distances is not very relevant to the 5k.

My PR is 13:59 and I've never broken 2min for 800. I bet I could if was spiked up and in a sensibly paced race, but it would be hard. I actually ran 3:53 for 1500 in that same month. I'm def on the slow end of the spectrum though. My guess at an all out 400 would be 55 high.

slicerdicer wrote:

My PR is 13:59 and I've never broken 2min for 800. I bet I could if was spiked up and in a sensibly paced race, but it would be hard. I actually ran 3:53 for 1500 in that same month. I'm def on the slow end of the spectrum though. My guess at an all out 400 would be 55 high.

You are on the low end of the speed spectrum.

I know a guy very well who ran 52/1:57/4:18 in HS. He didn't run a 5K on the track, but his first year of college ran a 14:4X.

I'm 99.9% sure that he could run a 51/1:55/4:10 now and he'll probably run a 14:30 +/- 10 seconds this spring. I don't consider him to be on the fast end of the spectrum. He has teammates that could run sub 15 in a 5K who are ??/1:50/4:05 types. They're much faster than he is in MD.

You're very slow twitch if you can run 14:30 and NOT break 2 in the 800.

If you look at 14 flat guys, a lot of them can drop 51.x with a moving start (which makes a big difference for non-sprinters). Some can hit 50.x and 1:50.x, these would be the miler types. I would guess most are more like 52-53 and 1:54. The slower end would probably be 54-55 with a moving start and 1:58-59. Outliers with 56-7 and 2:00-2:01 probably exist.

That's more like it. Realistic figures.