How many people in the world right now can run a quarter mile in under a minute?

survey says wrote:

It depends whether you're talking 400 m or an actual quarter mile.

2.336 meter difference?

Global Population: 7.515 bil

38.5% between ages 15 and 40 (populationpyramid.net)= 2.893 bil

According to multiple sources, 30% of the world population is overweight or obese.

Malnourishment isn't an issue unless it's extreme, so maybe ~50 mil people

So now we're at 2.02 billion. Now omit 49% because most women won't do it.

1.03 billion.

Now, just looking around at the people in the room I'm in, I'm willing to visualize maybe 1 in 3 of them having enough speed to possibly do it. And probably only 1 in 5 have the mental strength to push past the pain of a 400. So divide by 15.

68,680,000 people. Or 0.91% of the population.

Of course, that's a rough estimate, but probably the best answer you're gonna get by asking Letsrun.com.

The Question: How many people in the world right now can run a quarter mile in under a minute?

The Answer: We won't know until we time them all in a quarter mile.

U wot m8? wrote:

survey says wrote:

It depends whether you're talking 400 m or an actual quarter mile.

2.336 meter difference?

That's enough to cut out a significant number of people.

3200y5000 wrote:

Global Population: 7.515 bil

38.5% between ages 15 and 40 (populationpyramid.net)= 2.893 bil

According to multiple sources, 30% of the world population is overweight or obese.

Malnourishment isn't an issue unless it's extreme, so maybe ~50 mil people

So now we're at 2.02 billion. Now omit 49% because most women won't do it.

1.03 billion.

Now, just looking around at the people in the room I'm in, I'm willing to visualize maybe 1 in 3 of them having enough speed to possibly do it. And probably only 1 in 5 have the mental strength to push past the pain of a 400. So divide by 15.

68,680,000 people. Or 0.91% of the population.

Of course, that's a rough estimate, but probably the best answer you're gonna get by asking Letsrun.com.

The question wasn't how many people have the capability of breaking 60 sec. The question was how many people RIGHT NOW could go out and break 60 sec.

Not sure, but I am 100% certain I can't.

Drive he Said wrote:

3200y5000 wrote:

Global Population: 7.515 bil

38.5% between ages 15 and 40 (populationpyramid.net)= 2.893 bil

According to multiple sources, 30% of the world population is overweight or obese.

Malnourishment isn't an issue unless it's extreme, so maybe ~50 mil people

So now we're at 2.02 billion. Now omit 49% because most women won't do it.

1.03 billion.

Now, just looking around at the people in the room I'm in, I'm willing to visualize maybe 1 in 3 of them having enough speed to possibly do it. And probably only 1 in 5 have the mental strength to push past the pain of a 400. So divide by 15.

68,680,000 people. Or 0.91% of the population.

Of course, that's a rough estimate, but probably the best answer you're gonna get by asking Letsrun.com.

The question wasn't how many people have the capability of breaking 60 sec. The question was how many people RIGHT NOW could go out and break 60 sec.

Pretty sure I can and I'm turning 50.

No. You’re not very smart and I don’t like you using a spin off of my username.

That said... 2 things:

1) Running a 15min 5k takes a sh1t ton of talent. Probably more talent than a 51 second 400 runner (this coming from a 51 second 400 runner who fell apart after 600-800m and could only manage a 18 min 5k). Aerobic talent vs anaerobic talent...

2) It is a barometer for sure, but it’s not anywhere near perfect (although I use it to try and steal 200/400 girls from sprints for my 800 squad). Nevertheless, as the other poster said, Usain Bolt isn’t winning any 1500s.

If you can run 51 for 400m but only 18 min for 5k, then:

1. The 400m is at the far end of your spectrum and you are a true 100m outdoor or 60m indoor sprinter

or

2. You are a total puss when it starts to hurt in a 5k.

I've coached a 17 year old boy who ran both 51 sec in 400m and 14:30 in 5k weeks apart.

Bullshit on the 23BMI - That is currently me and I ran a 56 the other day messing around doing strides after an easy run - I'm not even that good and currently just run so I don't become a fat slob.

Also, I ran 58 as a 12 year old (grade 7, and didn't even win track and field day at my school.

Although in all my own years of training, I don't think I ever could break 60 seconds, I know plenty of soccer players/ other sports players who were in great sprinting shape and could easily break 60.

I would say maybe 5% of the healthy population could do it now and if they specifically trained for the 400, 95% could.

3200y5000 wrote:

Global Population: 7.515 bil

38.5% between ages 15 and 40 (populationpyramid.net)= 2.893 bil

According to multiple sources, 30% of the world population is overweight or obese.

Malnourishment isn't an issue unless it's extreme, so maybe ~50 mil people

So now we're at 2.02 billion. Now omit 49% because most women won't do it.

1.03 billion.

Now, just looking around at the people in the room I'm in, I'm willing to visualize maybe 1 in 3 of them having enough speed to possibly do it. And probably only 1 in 5 have the mental strength to push past the pain of a 400. So divide by 15.

68,680,000 people. Or 0.91% of the population.

Of course, that's a rough estimate, but probably the best answer you're gonna get by asking Letsrun.com.

This is a good attempt for the average person. What this doesn’t account for is outliers. I haven’t tried in a few years but I ran 54 a few years ago and I am 48. There are examples like that at both ends of the spectrum for all you exclusionary categories.

Remember the pace is 4 min/mile or 15 mph. 60 seconds at that pace is possible for quite a few but near impossible for most over 4 min. Someone should plot the number of 4 min milers and the 2 min half milers vs the population. I would bet that would demonstrate it is not a linear increase but an exponential increase.

I have always felt that about one in ten people , men in there twenties could run 40 yards under 5 seconds, a quarter mile in under 60 seconds and a mile in under a minute. The 40 would be with no training unless they were fat, the quarter would take some training and the mile may require joining a track team and training with them for a season, maybe three or four months.

I would say higher then ten percent. I went to a high school where there were maybe three guys out of 1500 that had some African ancestry in them. One guy I remember ran track and ran a 49 second quarter which was good for a D1 free ride and the other two guys were more into partying but one of them I saw run the quarter after smoking something still smoke the track in I do not know how fast but definitely under 60. So hard to say but I would say that if you took a hundred eighteen year olds ten of them could run a sub 60 if they practiced on a track team for a season. Maybe more, it is amazing what a persons body can do if it is trained to do it.

Joe135 wrote:

a mile in under a minute

...?

2 year old thread.

In HS, any male running track--any event in track-- was expected to be able to break 60 sec for 1/4 during soph year, if not already having done so.

Females in track rarely broke 60 back then, at least in the area I was, although the state meet winner in the 1/4 was typically 56+.

The next category was males who could break 53 (open).

Then males who could break 51 open.

And then sub 50 open.

After that, there were only so many who could run under 49 open, and under 48 was great.

23 is too low to say you have no chance lmfao, shows how skinny you are

Most of you are vastly underestimating how easy a sub 60 quarter is.

About 20% of all teenage boys in the world can do it. Maybe 2% of everyone else can do it.

So, without calculating, say 100 million can do it.

I kind of agree it is a bit messed up on here as almost everyone is a distance runner i.e. not naturally gifted in sprinting. So of course distance runners will struggle with a SPRINT more than maybe a casual soccer player.

A lot of the countries in the world are young. By that, I mean average age 16, etc. African countries have young populations. Do not use UK/USA/France/Spain etc as the average. I am not being flippant here though as obviously there are issues there that can severely affect running ability. Average age is around 30, not 50 or so. That makes a difference.

We are nearer 8 billion than 7 billion as well.

I think the number is higher than most of us imagine.