5K pace chart
Here’s my downloadable 5K pace chart.
What is my 5k pace?
To calculate your 5k pace, you need to divide the total time by the distance of the race.
If’ you’re thinking about your next 5k race, I would keep in mind a couple of things. Firstly, if all of your recent runs have been easy runs, and there’s been no tempo runs or other training, then your most recent 5k paces might not be a true reflection. You have potential to be doing a faster 5k pacing.
In the same mindset, if you’re a beginner to running and have only been out for a run once or twice recently, you’ll need to get out there a few more times to get a true picture of your 5k pace.
What’s the average pace for a 5km run?
The average pace for a 5km run for men is 11 minutes 10 seconds per mile, so the finish time would be 35:22 minutes for a 5K. For women, the average page for a 5km run is 13 minutes per mile, so the 5km finish time is 41:21 minutes.
That’s according to RunRepeat’s data from November 2023.
My latest 5K paces
I’m often running 5K distances in the week. But I’ve only just started doing Parkruns recently. Parkruns are 5K races (but anyone can join or spectate or volunteer, and you can walk too). Here’s photos of the 5K pace confirmation email, so you can see my finish times have been 30 minutes and 31 minutes.
5K pace Parkrun time – 28th December 2024
This was my first ever Parkrun. It was SO muddy and slippy and there was 163 runners, so there wasn’t really any room for going much faster. I was just pleased to have done the 5K and shown up by myself as I didn’t know anyone. My 5K time was 31 minutes 55 seconds.
5K pace Parkrun time – 4th January 2025
This was my second ever Parkrun.
As you can see it’s only a week later, so not much of a gap again for any huge training! I’d just loved the first time so wanted to try again. This time my 5K pace was 30 minutes 3 seconds. So I’d been a whole minute faster than last week, but it was far less icy this time. There was still plenty of mud and some awkward slippy turns and lots of people..
5k pace time, not in a race
I do typically really enjoy the longer runs, but the closest distance I have to a 5K at the moment (being 3.1 miles) is 3.01 miles, so almost. Maybe take 20 seconds or so with a pinch of salt. But you can see in this photo my overall pace was 9 minutes 20 seconds, taking a total of 28 minutes and 7 seconds.
But the important takeaway with this 5k pace time is this. This was taken in February/March time on a solo run. So it’s brighter weather, no mud, snow or ice to slow me down. It’s mostly road/path running. And I was running solo, not politely running behind a fellow parkun participants.
And I bet you didn’t know this.. Parkruns (rightfully so) encourage no headphones, for safety reasons. And so on my solo run here, the headphones are straight back on. So I could listen to my running music… And my pace has completely changed!
What affects a 5k pace? According to HealthLine
“Age, sex, and fitness level” are the biggest factors that affect a 5K pace, according to HealthLine. And they’re not wrong. Men do tend to be able to run faster than women. And if you’re a seasoned runner, you’ll run faster than someone who’s running for the first time.
But as a regular runner myself, I would say there’s a few other factors that really need to be considered.
What else affects a 5K pace? According to a frequent runner
Race conditions affect your 5K pace time, as you can see from the proof above. A muddy, icy and very busy 5K parkrun took me 31 minutes 55 seconds. A less muddy and less busy 5K parkrun wih no ice took me 30 minutes and 3 seconds, shaving nearly 2 minutes off my time.
And there’s more factors too..
- How well you’ve slept
- How nutritional your diet is
- What you’ve consumed that day (if anything)
- How stressed you are
- How hydrated you are
- Alcohol intake
- Smoking/other habits
Want to know more about what a good 5k time looks like and how to get there? Watch my explainer video on that article, and remember that running is your own personal journey. It’s not all about pace!
Written by Katie McDonald, 17th September 2024, Updated 5th May 2025
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