What would the average man's 100m time be after a year of sprint training?

Nice update and season recap.

Going on a slight tangent here, but a Canadian reporter tried running a 200 and got a 30.5. Judging from his pacing and form, he wasn't trained for it, so a well-trained guy should be able to go well under 30 for the 200. 24-25 seconds is about what I would expect:

This Canadian reporter was a major leaguer in his previous life. He’s much more built and athletic than your average guy. An average guy would be lucky to run 33 with little to no training and would be hard pressed to break 27 with “full time” training. The average guy doesn’t/didn’t even play sports or isn’t/wasn’t good at them.

http://pointstreak.com/baseball/player.html?playerid=138959

hobby sprinter wrote:

hobby sprinter wrote:

So to summarize, here are my best FAT times after two years of training and the year I set them:

100, wind aided: 11.98 (+2.4, 2017), 11.99 (+3.4, 2018)

100, wind legal: 12.15 (+1.0, 2018)

200, wind aided: 24.66 (+2.9, 2018)

200, wind legal: 25.09 (-0.1, 2018)

That's all for now, but I might try out the 400 later this year or next year. I think I can get a 55 if I can stay healthy.

Multiply your 200 PR by 2.2 to get your goal 400 time. After adjusting for the wind, your 200 PR is 24.8-24.9, so sub 55 should be achievable.

I wonder if most letsrunners would be able to achieve those sprint times if they trained for it. The OP and the general population is probably around 50% fast twitch, while most people on here are something like 20% fast twitch and 80% slow twitch.

headwind wrote:

hobby sprinter wrote:

I found that the general public could run unattached in some college meets. For me, this was a chance to experience the college track season I've never had. There were tons of hobby joggers running your local road races, but why were there hardly any hobby sprinters running in these meets?

Marketing. Lots of people know that you can run 5Ks, 10Ks, and marathons. Very few people know that you can hop into some college track meets and compete against college athletes.

Bragging rights is another reason. Saying you ran a 12 second 100 doesn't sound as impressive to the average person as saying you ran a 4 hour marathon.

Fitness trackers are also biased against shorter distances. For example my Garmin Forerunner only lists personal records from 1K. I think Strava says when you have set your fastest '1/4 mile' but doesn't list it in your personal records. Timing the sprints would be very handy too because it's so much more difficult to accurately do by pressing the button on your watch at the finish.

You and your co-workers were guessing 11.xx to 14.xx. It would take "average man" two to two and a half years to get to sub-7.5% body fat without losing muscle. Most people peak in their sprinting 100m sprinting ability in high school. Some improve in during their college years. Most likely 14.xx to 15.xx after a year.

Well, here's a video with genuine athletes, albeit from different backgrounds, racing over 100m. Their finishing times are at the end.

Note while Anthony Joshua wins in 11:53, Mo farah only manages 12.98, although I don't know how hard he was trying. However the Brownlee twins who finished first and second in the Olympic Triathlon couldn't even break 14 seconds, with 14.33 and 14.7 seconds. I reckon the "average" person will be a lot slower than most people assume - even a trained one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjwye6P0Kpc

Sancreed wrote:

Mo farah only manages 12.98, although I don't know how hard he was trying. However the Brownlee twins who finished first and second in the Olympic Triathlon couldn't even break 14 seconds, with 14.33 and 14.7 seconds. I reckon the "average" person will be a lot slower than most people assume - even a trained one...

You're comparing people who are predominantly slow twitch with the general population, who will likely have a more even distribution of muscle fiber types.

The OP and many of the other posters on this thread ran around 12 flat, and this was with no coach, minimal practice with blocks, and injury problems right before the start of his season. He wasn't built like a sprinter, he wasn't one of the fastest kids in either elementary or HS, and he didn't devote his whole life to sprint training.

Sub 12 isn't as hard as what many people here assume, and speed can be trained. I think this quote from the OP sums it up:

"I think it's pretty cool that a random guy like me can compete in college meets and not finish in the bottom 20% overall. Sure, most of those guys I beat were D3, NAIA, JC, and maybe the odd D2 guy who had a bad day, but it seems amazing that I was even in the mix.

With the exception of D1 schools, you don't need to be a genetic freak to run for many colleges and not embarrass yourself in races. I was never even close to being one of the fastest runners in elementary school, I never had a sprint coach, and I still don't own blocks or have regular access to them. A lot of people think that you can't teach or learn speed, but that isn't true unless you're trying to compete at the highest levels. 12 flat and mid 24s should be doable for the vast majority of the young male population provided that they are sufficiently motivated."

I see what you are saying, but nonetheless these are elite, extremely fit athletes and Olympic Champions. Predominantly slow-twitch or not, as physical performers they operate on a much higher level than the "average" guy does or ever will.

As for the opening poster, unlike most people who inflate their potential, I suspect he is being refreshingly modest when he describes himself as a random, average guy. I would guess he's a fair bit better than "average".

No way the average guy breaks 14 seconds, no matter how long they train.

Sancreed wrote:

Well, here's a video with genuine athletes, albeit from different backgrounds, racing over 100m. Their finishing times are at the end.

Note while Anthony Joshua wins in 11:53, Mo farah only manages 12.98, although I don't know how hard he was trying. However the Brownlee twins who finished first and second in the Olympic Triathlon couldn't even break 14 seconds, with 14.33 and 14.7 seconds. I reckon the "average" person will be a lot slower than most people assume - even a trained one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjwye6P0Kpc

So the "average" guy according to some here (12 second 100m with training) can easily run faster than a trained Mo Farah and the Brownlee twins in a sprint. Talk about delusional!

ironside wrote:

It would take "average man" two to two and a half years to get to sub-7.5% body fat without losing muscle. Most people peak in their sprinting 100m sprinting ability in high school. Some improve in during their college years. Most likely 14.xx to 15.xx after a year.

You do not need sub 7.5% body fat or even sub 10% body fat to run a sub 12. We're not talking about trying to get a 10.5.

Ok... wrote:

So the "average" guy according to some here (12 second 100m with training) can easily run faster than a trained Mo Farah and the Brownlee twins in a sprint. Talk about delusional!

Besides what was mentioned earlier about fast twitch and slow twitch fibers, you also need to consider that neither Farah nor the Brownlee twins have had any sprint training.

The average guy is probably around 12 flat - low 12s given realistic conditions and high 11s given ideal conditions (world class coaches and facilities, perfect weather, optimal nutrition and motivation, and 10+ years of training, starting from the early teens).

MurderDubs wrote:

planet of the dogs wrote:

The average untrained guy runs a 16-17 100 if they're not morbidly obese. Most people are used to seeing that speed, so an 11-12 100 looks blazing fast. I don't think anyone would assume you're an Olympian if you're an adult doing specific track workouts if your best 100 time is 17.

This is just depressing to me. 16-17 seconds for an adult male? I'm pretty sure that's a crisp jog down the track. I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just mind-boggling to me.

While its not a 'jog' down the track, it is not fast. I think the average untrained would have to be faster than that. Not 12/13 seconds fast, but at least 14/15 seconds. 16/17 is too slow if they aren't obese.

no wrote:

MurderDubs wrote:

This is just depressing to me. 16-17 seconds for an adult male? I'm pretty sure that's a crisp jog down the track. I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just mind-boggling to me.

While its not a 'jog' down the track, it is not fast. I think the average untrained would have to be faster than that. Not 12/13 seconds fast, but at least 14/15 seconds. 16/17 is too slow if they aren't obese.

It depends on the age of the participants. I could see the average untrained HS teen run 14/15 (for guys), but there's no way the average untrained 40 year old is going to be running that fast even if they're not obese.

nope wrote:

Ok... wrote:

So the "average" guy according to some here (12 second 100m with training) can easily run faster than a trained Mo Farah and the Brownlee twins in a sprint. Talk about delusional!

Besides what was mentioned earlier about fast twitch and slow twitch fibers, you also need to consider that neither Farah nor the Brownlee twins have had any sprint training.

The average guy is probably around 12 flat - low 12s given realistic conditions and high 11s given ideal conditions (world class coaches and facilities, perfect weather, optimal nutrition and motivation, and 10+ years of training, starting from the early teens).

Yes but Mo Farah has a 3:28 1500m and was being mentioned as having one of the best sprint finishes in another thread recently. I don't think for one second that the "average" guy can beat him by nearly a second over 100m. No way.

Ok... wrote:

Sancreed wrote:

Well, here's a video with genuine athletes, albeit from different backgrounds, racing over 100m. Their finishing times are at the end.

Note while Anthony Joshua wins in 11:53, Mo farah only manages 12.98, although I don't know how hard he was trying. However the Brownlee twins who finished first and second in the Olympic Triathlon couldn't even break 14 seconds, with 14.33 and 14.7 seconds. I reckon the "average" person will be a lot slower than most people assume - even a trained one...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjwye6P0Kpc

So the "average" guy according to some here (12 second 100m with training) can easily run faster than a trained Mo Farah and the Brownlee twins in a sprint. Talk about delusional!

Wow the Brownlees are SLOW, they look like they are barely moving at all. I bet my house they weren’t trying.

Jerkov wrote:

Ok... wrote:

So the "average" guy according to some here (12 second 100m with training) can easily run faster than a trained Mo Farah and the Brownlee twins in a sprint. Talk about delusional!

Wow the Brownlees are SLOW, they look like they are barely moving at all. I bet my house they weren’t trying.

They tried. They have ZERO natural speed. In fact, most triathletes are mostly extremely slow-twitch athletes. So they got the genetics to go incredibly long at a fast pace but their top speed is very slow. Their training (40 hour weeks, mostly easy mileage on the bike) amplifies that. Running a fast 10k, which the Brownlees definitely can do, has zero relevance to an all-out sprint of 100m or even 400m. Even Salazar ran 27:25!

Median guy 17 seconds. Average time of all men, 25 seconds.

I don’t think a lot of people understand that anything around 14 seconds is blazing compared to 90%of all humans. I don’t buy that the median 14 year old boy runs a 14.1 either, those were imformal and widespread studies and relied on the schools to tell them the times so a lot of them would either be self reported times from the students themselves, the teachers setting up the cones estimating a 100m stretch which would likely be more like 80m (seeing as most placees don’t have a reliable track and some don’t even have a track period OR they are just clearly getting yards mixed up with meters.

If we narrow it down to young males:

Average healthy weight young buys run about 16s

Average guys involved in sport or some form of athletic activity = 14-15s

Average sprinters will be anywhere in the 12-13s range (and those ARE the outliers).

If we include the entire population then under 20s will be a massive challenge for most. I am guessing the majority would even need some kind of medical clearance to evemt attempt it.

Under 13s requires some talent and some work.

Under 12 requires outlier talent and some work.

Getting into the 10-11 range is just plain rare amongst humans.

I am talking about wind legal amd FAT times here by the way. The majority of people overestimate their 100m by 2 seconds.