How fast can a sprinter run a mile?

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  • Speculation
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 12:12pm CST
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    So I got in touch with one of my buddies this Thanksgiving and convinced him to race me in the mile before the end of the year.

    He's a sprinter who ran in the mid 11s in his heyday (as a college senior in 2016) but still trains somewhat regularly and dropped a 24.2 and a 53.9 in two separate all comers meets earlier this year.

    I'm a mediocre guy who might be able to squeeze out a 5 flat (my PR is 4:53) if the weather isn't too bad.

    The question is, how fast can that guy run? He got a non-running related injury a few months ago and hasn't sprinted since then. But he picked up hobbyjogging to ward off the pounds. He averages around 15 MPW with a 30 minute "long run" (usually around 4 miles), though he's planning to "ramp up" to 16-18 MPW to prepare for the race.

    Any advice?
  • *stipe
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 12:25pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    Unless he does some other sport I wouldn't be too concerned. I suppose if he were running a lot of quick 2-3 mile runs, he might be able to drop a relatively quick mile. I'll throw out 5:20 if he is a competitive.
  • Speculation
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 1:05pm CST
    re: *stipe
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    *stipe wrote:

    Unless he does some other sport I wouldn't be too concerned. I suppose if he were running a lot of quick 2-3 mile runs, he might be able to drop a relatively quick mile. I'll throw out 5:20 if he is a competitive.

    The only other strenuous activities he does are long hikes in the 10-15 mile range. But those are very infrequent, and he hasn't hiked since early October.

    He said he runs hard "a couple times a month", but his only time trial is an 8:46 1.5 mile run a few weeks ago. He ran that time trial solo and didn't wear any spikes.
  • .InjuryProne.
    registered
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 1:10pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    I ran a 4:48 in high school as a sprinter with less impressive times than your friend and probably sub 15 mpw...but I also worked out with the mid distance team my last two years of winter track...I don’t see why he can’t go sub 5 now
  • Long run
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 1:26pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    Speculation wrote:

    So I got in touch with one of my buddies this Thanksgiving and convinced him to race me in the mile before the end of the year.

    He's a sprinter who ran in the mid 11s in his heyday (as a college senior in 2016) but still trains somewhat regularly and dropped a 24.2 and a 53.9 in two separate all comers meets earlier this year.

    I'm a mediocre guy who might be able to squeeze out a 5 flat (my PR is 4:53) if the weather isn't too bad.

    The question is, how fast can that guy run? He got a non-running related injury a few months ago and hasn't sprinted since then. But he picked up hobbyjogging to ward off the pounds. He averages around 15 MPW with a 30 minute "long run" (usually around 4 miles), though he's planning to "ramp up" to 16-18 MPW to prepare for the race.

    Any advice?

    The only sprinters I know of who ran sub 5 were also running sub 50 in the 400.

    You'll be fine. Heck, the sprinter might not even break 5:30.
  • Everyone is different
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 2:10pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    Impossible to know until he does it, everyone is different. The top sprinter on my HS team and was a low 48 400 guy, ran the mile in a dual meet and ran 5:2x.

    I'd guess anywhere between 5:30 and 6:30.
  • your buddy only ...
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 2:17pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    Your buddy only thought he was a sprinter. I have a couple friends from two different high schools. Both were football players and 400m guys all through high school. Senior year, both raced sub-2 minutes 800m off of football training in summer and fall and 400m training in spring. Similar 400m personal bests as your friend.
  • Speculation
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 2:51pm CST
    re: your buddy only ...
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    your buddy only ... wrote:

    Your buddy only thought he was a sprinter. I have a couple friends from two different high schools. Both were football players and 400m guys all through high school. Senior year, both raced sub-2 minutes 800m off of football training in summer and fall and 400m training in spring. Similar 400m personal bests as your friend.

    I doubt it. The shorter the distance, the better he is. His 100 PR is better than his 200 PR, which is better than his 400 PR.
  • your buddy only ...
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 3:01pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    Speculation wrote:

    your buddy only ... wrote:

    Your buddy only thought he was a sprinter. I have a couple friends from two different high schools. Both were football players and 400m guys all through high school. Senior year, both raced sub-2 minutes 800m off of football training in summer and fall and 400m training in spring. Similar 400m personal bests as your friend.


    I doubt it. The shorter the distance, the better he is. His 100 PR is better than his 200 PR, which is better than his 400 PR.


    You did not state your buddy's height & weight. If your buddy is built like Yohan Blake, you may be correct. If your buddy is built like Andre de Grasse, you may get embarrassed.
  • Speculation
    1 month ago 12/03/2019 3:15pm CST
    re: your buddy only ...
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    your buddy only ... wrote:

    Speculation wrote:

    your buddy only ... wrote:

    Your buddy only thought he was a sprinter. I have a couple friends from two different high schools. Both were football players and 400m guys all through high school. Senior year, both raced sub-2 minutes 800m off of football training in summer and fall and 400m training in spring. Similar 400m personal bests as your friend.


    I doubt it. The shorter the distance, the better he is. His 100 PR is better than his 200 PR, which is better than his 400 PR.


    You did not state your buddy's height & weight. If your buddy is built like Yohan Blake, you may be correct. If your buddy is built like Andre de Grasse, you may get embarrassed.

    He's a bit shorter than average- maybe 5'8" with shoes on? As for weight, I'd guess that he's in the 140-150 lb range.

    So yeah, he's built more like de Grasse than like Blake.
  • Speculation
    1 month ago 12/14/2019 4:39pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    Speculation wrote:

    So I got in touch with one of my buddies this Thanksgiving and convinced him to race me in the mile before the end of the year.

    He's a sprinter who ran in the mid 11s in his heyday (as a college senior in 2016) but still trains somewhat regularly and dropped a 24.2 and a 53.9 in two separate all comers meets earlier this year.

    I'm a mediocre guy who might be able to squeeze out a 5 flat (my PR is 4:53) if the weather isn't too bad.

    The question is, how fast can that guy run? He got a non-running related injury a few months ago and hasn't sprinted since then. But he picked up hobbyjogging to ward off the pounds. He averages around 15 MPW with a 30 minute "long run" (usually around 4 miles), though he's planning to "ramp up" to 16-18 MPW to prepare for the race.

    Any advice?

    The weather was good today, so we raced the mile. I won pretty easily (5:08 vs. 5:16). He tried to stick with me for the first part of the race, but his wheels really came off at around the 900m mark.

    My splits: 75, 2:31, 3:48, 5:08
    His splits: 75, 2:32, 3:53, 5:16
  • Speculation
    1 month ago 12/14/2019 4:42pm CST
    re: Speculation
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    Speculation wrote:

    Speculation wrote:

    So I got in touch with one of my buddies this Thanksgiving and convinced him to race me in the mile before the end of the year.

    He's a sprinter who ran in the mid 11s in his heyday (as a college senior in 2016) but still trains somewhat regularly and dropped a 24.2 and a 53.9 in two separate all comers meets earlier this year.

    I'm a mediocre guy who might be able to squeeze out a 5 flat (my PR is 4:53) if the weather isn't too bad.

    The question is, how fast can that guy run? He got a non-running related injury a few months ago and hasn't sprinted since then. But he picked up hobbyjogging to ward off the pounds. He averages around 15 MPW with a 30 minute "long run" (usually around 4 miles), though he's planning to "ramp up" to 16-18 MPW to prepare for the race.

    Any advice?


    The weather was good today, so we raced the mile. I won pretty easily (5:08 vs. 5:16). He tried to stick with me for the first part of the race, but his wheels really came off at around the 900m mark.

    My splits: 75, 2:31, 3:48, 5:08
    His splits: 75, 2:32, 3:53, 5:16

    I'd also like to add that I took the last part a bit easy once I knew that he was falling behind. I think I would have run in the 5:00-5:03 range if I pushed hard all the way.