10k times?

Lauren24601

Hi, I'm quite new to running as I've only been running for the past two months or so. At the moment I am able to run a 5k generally between 27mins - 30mins. I am looking to enter a 10k next Spring and I was wondering what sort of time I should aim for (I am 17 years old, female) as i would like to have a goal to work towards. At the moment, my personal best for 10k is 1hour 8mins. 

Pie n man

It's a difficult one to answer without knowing anything about your background, but when I first started running a few years back (I was 28 back then) I found I quickly went from 1hr to 55, then 50, then 45 (maybe over six months).



So somewhere around 50 minutes would seem a sensible target to me (but I'm no expert!)



This was running 3/4 times a week, mainly slow pace with the odd speed session. Key I found was getting a Garnin and learning to pace myself. Also, lots of stretching - and up your distance gradually to avoid over stressing your body.



Hope this helps...and good luck!

VDOT52

As above but stretching is hokum and only worth doing if you suffer with cramps.

Tom13

I reckon if you have the motivation to train well you could make significant gains fairly quickly which would make a goal of sub 50 minutes achievable by next Spring. I would suggest finding and following a training plan to suit your specific requirements. Good luck with it and enjoy!

Elizabeth Dix 4

Start aiming for 1 hour and adjust your goal as you progress, taking it in stages may seem more manageable.

Chris2304

Agreed. You will make good progress quickly. But remember that it's non-linear, so you will go from 30 mins for 5k down to 25mins fairly quickly, but then it will take longer to get to 23 mins, and so on.

I think under an hour is always a good time, and sub-50 mins is doable. But next spring is a long way off. Why not try for under one hour in Sept or Oct first?