Running milestones ranked

You could check McMillan and give any close matches to the longer one because the calculator assumes a decent aerobic base.

Off the top of my head,

800m in 2m

Mile in 5m

Marathon in 3h

10k in 40m

Half in 1:30

400m in 1m

5k in 20m

1000m in 3m

You're on the wrong site.

Everyone here runs a soft 37 for 400m, a 13 min 5k, a sub 4:20 mile, and a sub 2:15 marathon.

They also make $250k annually after taxes.

aoxomoxoa wrote:

You're on the wrong site.

Everyone here runs a soft 37 for 400m, a 13 min 5k, a sub 4:20 mile, and a sub 2:15 marathon.

They also make $250k annually after taxes.

Meant to add:

Just kidding. I have only hit a few of those milestones (sub 20 5k, sub 1:30 13.1, and sub 3 hr marathon), so I'm not sure about the shorter distances as I have never attempted them for time.

I have no idea how to rate the 400-1000. But, for the others, I'd rank from easiest to hardest:

20 minute 5K

1:30 half marathon

40 minute 10K

3 hour marathon

5 minute mile

I've hit the first 4 milestones, and that's the order in which I hit them. I can assure you that a 5 minute mile is well out of my reach, as are the 400m, 800m, and 1000m milestones listed.

Of course, I'm distance-focused, and that biases my perspective.

rankerranks wrote:

You could check McMillan and give any close matches to the longer one because the calculator assumes a decent aerobic base.

Off the top of my head,

800m in 2m

Mile in 5m

Marathon in 3h

10k in 40m

Half in 1:30

400m in 1m

5k in 20m

1000m in 3m

This is very close, but I think a 3’ K is tougher than a 20’ 5k. The 5k is the easiest. The 10k & half marathon are very close.

whz wrote:

Beginner runner here.

How should the following running "milestones" be ranked from easiest to hardest to achieve. Of course this varies greatly, so let's say for an average young healthy beginner runner without any specific endurance sport background.

400m 1min

800m 2min

1000m 3min

Mile 5min

5k 20min

10k 40min

Half marathon 1h30min

Marathon 3h

For me it is clear that 5k 20min is by far the easiest and 800m 2min by far the hardest to achieve. 5min mile and 3h marathon could be very similar, 40min 10k and 1h30 half marathon could also be similar.

5k 20min

10k 40min

Half marathon 1h30min

400m 1min

1000m 3min

Mile 5min

Marathon 3h

800m 2min

The 60s 400 is the toughest to place. Some could do that and none of the others. Others could do all but the 800 and not be able to run sub 60.

darkwave wrote:

I have no idea how to rate the 400-1000. But, for the others, I'd rank from easiest to hardest:

20 minute 5K

1:30 half marathon

40 minute 10K

3 hour marathon

5 minute mile

I've hit the first 4 milestones, and that's the order in which I hit them. I can assure you that a 5 minute mile is well out of my reach, as are the 400m, 800m, and 1000m milestones listed.

Of course, I'm distance-focused, and that biases my perspective.

I agree with these rankings. When I was fast, a 20 min 5K and 1:30 HM were quite easy, 40 min 10K and 3 hr marathon were brisk training runs, but a 5 minute mile was completely impossible, as were any of the shorter milestones.

Honestly cannot believe these responses so far.

60s 400 (easiest, you run really hard for 59s)

20m 5k

1:30 1/2 M

40m 10k

5m Mile

2m 800 / 3h M (tied for hardest)

Interesting.

For me both 60s 400 and 3min 1k seem still just out of reach despite that I got some of the other milestones with some margin (~18min 5k, ~37min 10k).

stil_kannonier wrote:

Honestly cannot believe these responses so far.

60s 400 (easiest, you run really hard for 59s)

20m 5k

1:30 1/2 M

40m 10k

5m Mile

2m 800 / 3h M (tied for hardest)

3h M is barely slower than 7 minute pace, should be fairly easy for any decent runner on 70mpw. The 800 requires a very good aerobic base as well as a great amount of speed (likely ~54 400m ability), the 800 is harder than the thon.

* barely faster than 7 minute pace

stil_kannonier wrote:

Honestly cannot believe these responses so far.

60s 400 (easiest, you run really hard for 59s)

20m 5k

1:30 1/2 M

40m 10k

5m Mile

2m 800 / 3h M (tied for hardest)

There will be a split here between 'middle-distance' and 'long-distance' types, or 'fast' vs 'endurance' types.

For an endurance type, one might be able to do 17 min 5km or even better, and not run 60s 400, especially if that 400 is from a standing start; such an endurance type actually cannot necessarily actually run 'really hard', they may not ever do any all out running in training, and the nervous system does not know how to achieve it properly!

Otherwise I think the consensus is accurate: 20 5k is clearly easiest for an endurance runner, then 40 min 10km and 1:30 half marathon are very close; someone with some but not a great deal of endurance will find 40 min 10km easier, but the 1:30 is probably easier for someone with good endurance. For a 'fast' type runner, it is true I think that the 60s 400 will be easier than all of these. Otherwise, as others have written, there is a good gap between those three/four and the rest.

The marathon is a kind of different event as I see it, the training is necessarily quite different, so it is difficult to compare. If one does all the right training and executes the race correctly, it should probably be in between the 5km - 10km -half marathon group and the 5 min mile / 2min 800 group.

whz wrote:

Beginner runner here.

How should the following running "milestones" be ranked from easiest to hardest to achieve. Of course this varies greatly, so let's say for an average young healthy beginner runner without any specific endurance sport background.

400m 1min

800m 2min

1000m 3min

Mile 5min

5k 20min

10k 40min

Half marathon 1h30min

Marathon 3h

For me it is clear that 5k 20min is by far the easiest and 800m 2min by far the hardest to achieve. 5min mile and 3h marathon could be very similar, 40min 10k and 1h30 half marathon could also be similar.

For the "young healthy beginner runner" I would rank them as the following:

5k - easiest

10k

Half

400

1000

mile

marathon

800 - hardest

For a beginner adult runner, the rankings would be different, but the 2 min 800 is still by far the most difficult one on there.

I would agree both the hardest, but sub 2 for 800 a lot harder than sub 3 for marathon imo.

When I was in high school I was a 440 guy (yes it was a while ago) who never quite broke 50. One time my coach had me do the 880. He always had me trying different events, anything from hurdles to pole vault, and that was the only time I came back and asked him to never put me in that event again.

When I went in the Corps I thought the 3 mile PFT run was distance running. My "training" consisted or running when I was told to run and spending a lot of time hauling an 81mm mortar around the woods during the day and trying to drink NCO Club dry. My best time was 18:12 with what amounted to no training.

After I left the Corps at 22 I ran very little until my late 40's when I started running 5k-50k events so I don' have any personal references for a lot of those other distances while young. But I'll say that sub-60" 400 and sub-20' were pretty easy for me and the 800 is a damned hard race.

At one point, I could fairly easily do all of those, except the 800 where I wasn't even close.

IAAF tables

5000 - 160

Half - 267

10k road - 296

400 - 368

1000 - 386

Marathon- 439

Mile - 464

800 - 760