What's the minimum speed needed to run a sub 5 minute mile?

Increase your hormones, increase your speed.

youcandoit wrote:

I'd say the minimum speed requirement is around 75 seconds per 400

Agreed.

No you don't have to be that fast especially with a strong base like that. I would agree with psychrunner's estimates. A long time ago, a ran 2:19 800 m and a 5:06 mile early in the season before breaking 5 minutes for the first time (4:49 and change) and then ran 62 a half hour later. With a high mileage, if you can run a 66 or 67, you should have the speed and strength to maintain but 75's for 4 laps so this notion of having to be able to break 60 is poppycock though having good sprint speed would be a feather in your cap.

fellowmathnerd wrote:

Math boffin on LRC wrote:

False. He said sub 5 minute mile.

You gave the infimum, not the minimum (which doesn't actually exist).

+1 for the dweebs ;) I appreciate it.

As a practical matter, due to quantum physics and the Uncertainty Principle, the minimum is likely 12 minus Planck's constant.

It is age and gender dependent. A young male would have to be around 60 seconds to break 5 while a 65 second girl could do it. Old folks may be able to break 5 if they can run 72.

Predictor wrote:

It is age and gender dependent. A young male would have to be around 60 seconds to break 5 while a 65 second girl could do it. Old folks may be able to break 5 if they can run 72.

Sufficiently fat people create enough gravitational field to make clocks run slow.

Hey, my mile PR is 5:41, too!!! I’d like to get under 5:00 some day also, not gunning to break 5 this fall though. Good luck to you on your endeavor.

I only read page 1 btw but would agree that it’s possible to break 5 with a 2:25 800, but in most cases at least a 2:20 is preferable. Someone I know ran 5:01, 2:24, and 29.X (FAT) the same day - in that order - but broke 5 less than a month later and had broken 5 before. So no need for ridiculously fast 200 speed, either (this guy is typically a 8k and up guy FYI).

I could practice 8x200 @ 37.0 This should give you enough speed to break 5 for 1609m with a little room to spare.

So it seems like a 5:41 to 4:59 is a tall, tall order? I definitely don't wanna underestimate the mile or the amount of work some people have put into running a sub 5 mile either. Like I said, I've never trained to run my fastest mile. I do appreciate everyone sharing their times and speed they were able to do when they did run under 5 mins though.

I suppose i have a lot of work ahead of me.

I've run 26 seconds for 200 and 62 for 400 and my best mile is 5:10. I never ran it in a race, though, just time trials. When I ran 5:10, I passed the 1200 mark in 3'36 and then died :)

You have to be able to run a 2:17 800 to run a sub 5, and to run a 2:17 you have to run a 67 400.

If you can't run a 67 second 400, you should learn how as soon as possible.

make that a 62 400.

I can run a mile in 4:58, 3k in 9:56. I can run 30 for 200m, 68 for 400m. I'm not really a speedy person but I can break five with those benchmarks

I ran 5:02 mile in 1979 at 21 years old. 400 best was 66, 200 was 32, 800 was 2:26 BUT I could do 10 x 200's in 33sec. Best 5k was 18:05.

If you’re not jerking off at least 3 times a week, then the mileage has no bearing

Bad Wigins wrote:

make that a 62 400.

Whelp, i have lots of work ahead of me. This is one goal I'd like to reach this year. I'll do another mile time trial and see how much work I'll have to do. As well as test my 200, 400, and 800 speed.

Math boffin on LRC wrote:

fartleks and bagels wrote:

12 mph

False. He said sub 5 minute mile.

You gave the infimum, not the minimum (which doesn't actually exist).

what about his perineum, how it tastes and what it would be like to tease... it.

Tomorrow land wrote:

I have ambitions to try to get my mile time down from 5:41 to a sub 5 min mile by this fall. What are the minimum speed standards that can help show one can successfully string together a sub 5 mile time? I've been averaging 50 mpw, looking to average 70 mpw over summer and bring it down to 45to 50mpw in September.

12 MPH

How are you doing on your goal??