Average Running Speed And Tips For Improving Your Pace

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What’s the Average Running Speed and Can You Improve Your Pace?Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M.S., NASM-CPT, NASE Level II-CSS — Written by Jane Chertoff — Updated on April 23, 2018

• Speeds
• Improving speed
• Pacing
• Stay safe
• Takeaway

Average running speed

Average running speeds, or pace, are based on a number of factors. These include current fitness level and genetics.

In 2015, Strava, an international running and cycling tracking app, reported the average speed for men in the United States was 9:03 minutes per mile (1.6 kilometers). The average pace for women was 10:21 per mile. That data is based on over 14 million logged runs. The current world record for 1 mile is 3:43.13, set by Hicham El Guerrouj of Morocco in 1999.

Speed by distance

If you’re planning to run a 5K, 10K, half-marathon, or marathon, here are the average times per mile. These times are based on 2010 race data from 10,000 recreational runners in the 20 to 49 age range.

Sex	Race distance	Average pace per mile (1.6 km)
male	5 km (3.1 mi)	10:18:10
female	5 km (3.1 mi)	12:11:10
male	10 km (6.2 mi)	8:41:43
female	10 km (6.2 mi)	10:02:05
male	half-marathon (13.1 mi)	9:38:59
female	half-marathon (13.1 mi)	10:58:33
male	marathon (26.2 mi)	9:28:14
female	marathon (26.2 mi)	10:23:00

How to improve speed

If you want to improve your average pace per mile, try the following workouts to increase your speed and build up endurance.

Interval training

Warm up for 10 minutes by jogging slowly. Then run a high-intensity pace (where you can’t hold a conversation comfortably) for 2 to 5 minutes. Jog for the same amount of time to recover.

Repeat 4 to 6 times. Do this a minimum of once or twice per week until you’ve comfortably reached your desired speed.

Tempo training

The goal is to run at a tempo pace, or a comfortably hard pace. It should be slightly faster than your target goal time.

Run at this pace for a few minutes, followed by several minutes of jogging. Work up to 10 to 15 minutes of tempo pace for a 5K and 20 to 30 minutes of running at your tempo pace for longer races.

Hill training

If you’re planning on running a race that has hills, it’s important to train on them. Pick a hill that’s of similar length and incline to the one you’ll encounter in the race. Or, if you have access to the course, train on the hills there.

Run at tempo pace up the hill, and then jog back down. Repeat several times.