What’s the Average Time to Run a Mile?

It varies based on training, age, sex, and other factors

Medically reviewed by Amelia MacIntyre, DO

Many factors affect the average time for running a mile, including a person's overall fitness and training, as well as their age and sex. If you want to determine how long it might take you to run a mile, you may need to start by running a comfortable distance and clocking how long it takes.

If you are in good health, you can practice and train in order to increase your speed, reducing the amount of time that it takes for you to run a mile.

This article will discuss the average time to run a mile, factors that influence your time, and how to improve your running pace.

Average Mile Run Time

While each individual is different and many factors influence how long it takes a person to run a mile, there is some general information about the average time.

Additionally, running speed can vary depending on whether a person is running at their fastest for the whole mile, running at a relaxed pace, or strategically planning their pace to maximize efficiency.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a running/jogging pace likely to achieve vigorous-intensity exercise is 5 miles per hour (mph) or 12 minutes per mile.

The average run on Strava, an app used by a huge database, is a pace of 9:53, meaning nine minutes and 53 seconds per mile. Because this is a popular fitness app, that pace is a likely reflection of a typical running enthusiast.

The Army Physical Fitness Test has been used to provide a more detailed age and sex breakdown. But keep in mind that this group of individuals is more physically fit than the average population.

The times shown are the average for the top 50% for each age and sex category for the 2-mile run, then dividing by half to show a 1-mile run pace for those 2 miles.

Chart

A Note on Gender and Sex Terminology

Verywell Health acknowledges that sex and gender are related concepts, but they are not the same. To reflect our sources accurately, this article uses terms like “female,” “male,” “woman,” and “man” as the sources use them.

Factors Affecting Average Mile Run Time

Keep in mind that most people who do not regularly run or exercise would not be able to run a mile without training. People who regularly exercise could potentially run a mile even if they don't run regularly. Additionally, running enthusiasts are likely to be able to run a mile faster than people who do not run regularly.

Conditioning

If you are a beginner runner, it's unlikely that you are running at your best speed. With practice, you should be able to improve your speed, as well as the distance that you can run before getting short of breath or exhausted.

Overall Fitness Level

Your overall fitness level will have a significant impact on your ability to take on new physical challenges. Regular exercise improves muscle strength, balance, speed, and endurance. This makes it easier to safely and successfully try exercises that you haven't tried before—and this includes running.

Age

With all else being equal, most adults will experience a drop off of running speed with age after their 20s. However, if you haven't trained or if you don't typically exercise, you could improve your running speed by conditioning and exercising, especially if you are in good health.

In addition to the normal decline in running speed with aging, many medical conditions can affect running abilities. Inflammatory conditions like arthritis cause pain and swelling in joints. Progressive neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease affect mobility.

Other age-related illnesses, such as vertigo (a sensation of motion or spinning) and osteoporosis (a decrease in bone mass and bone mineral density, which poses an increased risk of fractures if you fall), can make it unsafe to run.

Nevertheless, you can continue to run as you get older, as long as you maintain a steady pace and have your healthcare provider's approval. Keep in mind that running can also help you lose weight, reduce the risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease.

Sex

Competition statistics and research studies show that on average, males run faster than females when considering equivalent age and training. Many races, particularly marathons and fundraisers, include people of all sexes but have traditionally reported male and female performances in separate categories.

How Do I Find My Mile Run Time?

Depending on your general fitness level and how comfortable you are with running, you might or might not be able to run a mile as soon as you would like to. To give a sense of scale, consider that a mile is four laps around a typical outdoor track.

A mile is equivalent to:

• 1,760 yards

• 5280 feet

• 1.6 kilometers

• 1,609 meters

If you want to determine your mile run time, you can run for as long as you feel comfortable at your fastest pace. A fitness tracker, app, or a simple timer can help you calculate the amount of time it takes you to run a given distance.

If your distance is less than a mile, you can approximate how long it would take you to run a mile. However, keep in mind that you may slow down if you continue to run beyond your comfort level.

You could also potentially use a fitness app to keep track of your progress over time and to know your improvement or other trends that affect your speed—such as whether you run faster at certain times of the day.

What Is a Good Run Time?

It's not ideal to label your running speed as “good” or “bad” because most people have innate running speed and can also improve. If you can figure out your starting point, you can usually work on improving your fitness and you can set and achieve reasonable goals.

How Can I Run a Faster Mile?

If you want to run a faster mile, you will need to train. Training often involves a systematic plan, particularly if you have a specific goal and a deadline. However, training can also be more casual if you don't have a specific date in mind. Either approach can be perfectly healthy and beneficial.

Key features of training to run a mile faster are to build cardiovascular fitness, speed, and muscle strength and endurance.

You can train to increase your speed by sprinting for longer periods of time each time you train. Repeated practice also builds muscle strength.

You can train to build endurance by increasing your distance, without necessarily maintaining your best speed through the whole run. No matter what level you are starting from, running and walking intervals can help build your endurance.

As you practice, your heart muscle will strengthen, so your heart will not have to work as hard to provide you with oxygen.  With time, you should be able to run at your maximum pace for longer periods of time—ultimately reducing the time it takes you to run a mile.

Creating a Program

Improving your running speed is about more than just running faster every day. Building your strength and endurance incrementally is crucial to help you prevent injuries.

Drills that you could consider incorporating into your workout include:

• Exaggerated running motions or walking with high knees to improve your form and flexibility

• Strength training with squats, chin-ups, bench press, lunges

• Running and walking intervals

Know Your Speed When Signing up for a Race

If you are signing up for an organized 5K (5 kilometer), 10K (10 kilometer), half-marathon, marathon, or another running event, it's a good idea to know your speed so you can ensure that you would be able to finish within the time limits. Also, some events require you to list your running pace when you register.

You can check the history of the event to see how people of your age and sex have placed in prior years to see if this is a suitable event for you.

Running can be a great exercise when combined with other types of activity. Research shows that running can improve mood and mental health, and that you do not need to run for a target distance or speed to experience these benefits.

Nevertheless, increasing your running speed can be satisfying. If you are interested in running faster, it can be beneficial to work on your strength, endurance, and speed—rather than just focusing on speed alone.

Summary

The average time to run a mile depends on factors such as training, fitness level, age, and sex. You can determine your average mile run time using a known distance and stopwatch, app, or fitness tracker. You can improve your mile run time by training, including working on speed, strength, and endurance.

Read Next: Walking vs. Running: Benefits and Things to Consider

Read the original article on Verywell Health.