If you’re new to running, or you’ve never run a race before, a 5K is a great place to start. But before you add a 5K to your bucket list, you may be wondering: How far is a 5K run, really? And how long will it take you to run it?
First things first: The “K” stands for kilometer, so a 5K is 5 kilometers long. But if you live in the U.S. — one of the last three bastions of the imperial system of measurement — there’s a chance your brain deleted any info about the metric system immediately after completing middle school math, so it might be easier to consider how far a 5K is in miles.
Let’s break down the distance of a 5K — and longer races, such as a 10K, 15K, half marathon, marathon, and ultramarathon — to give you a clearer idea of the distance each one covers, and how long it’ll take to cross the finish line.
How Many Miles Is a 5K Run?
A 5K is 3.1 miles long. To put it in perspective, that’s equivalent to running 45 laps around a baseball diamond. At a 10-minute mile pace, it’ll take you about 31 minutes to run a 5K.
How Many Miles Is a 10K Run?
A 10K is 6.2 miles long. If you’re considering training for a 10K, that’s about the same as running the length of 91 football fields, including both end zones. At a 10-minute mile pace, you’ll finish the race in about an hour and two minutes.
How Many Miles Is a 15K Run?
A 15K is 9.3 miles long. That’s the same as running the length of an NBA-regulation basketball court a little more than 522 times. At an 11-minute mile pace, it will take you about an hour and 43 minutes to run a 15K.
How Many Miles Is a Half Marathon?
A half marathon is 13.1 miles long — just less than 53 laps around a standard outdoor 400-meter track. At a 12-minute mile pace, it will take you about 2 hours and 37 minutes to run a half marathon.
How Many Miles Is a Marathon?
A marathon is 26.2 miles long. That’s about 105.5 times around a standard outdoor 400-meter track (and that last half of a lap will be the worst). At a 12-minute mile pace, it will take you about 5 hours and 15 minutes to run a marathon.
How Far Is an Ultramarathon?
An ultramarathon is any race that’s longer than a marathon. These can range from a 30-mile trail race to a 200-mile Ragnar Relay.
What’s a Good Running Pace?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. A “good” running pace differs from runner to runner, and it depends on things like your age, fitness level, terrain (e.g., whether the race is flat or hilly), and distance (you might have noticed the mile times increase in the examples above). However, a running pace chart can help you get a sense of what might be a good pace for you during your next race.
Whether you’ve just started running or you’re looking for a new challenge, you might be wondering just how far certain races really are and what’s a good time. Let’s put these in to perspective and breakdown the kilometers in to miles for those of us who don’t often use the metric system (cough, just the United States).
It’s important not to jump your mileage too quickly, so while you might get inspired watching some of the big marathons, remember they did A LOT of training to build up a body strong enough to withstand hours of running.
In fact, let’s break each of these down not only in miles, but in how long they could take to run.
Why are some races in kilometers and others in miles?
Most races started on an international stage and the most common unit of measurement around the world is the metric system, which is to say kilometers. That makes shorter races easy round numbers and in fact continues once you get in ultra races and running off road as well.
It seems the answer now comes down to what makes the nicest round number that we can quickly say.
1 KM = 0.621371
How far is a 5K race in miles?
A 5K is 3.1 miles.
In your high school gym, that would be the equivalent to running 61 laps around the basketball court, lucky you if it’s a gym with multiple courts so you don’t need as many laps to put in the miles.
What is a good 5K time?
The average 5K time varies wildly by the type of race. As many of these are local events to help raise money for charity, you’ll find plenty of walkers and first time runners.
Checkout this first 5K training plan as a good place to start training, leave your ego at home and learn what it’s like to get in to a running routine. You can also review this guide to how to run a 5K in 30 minutes.
🔵Running an 11 minute mile, a 5K will take you 34 minutes to complete.
How far is a 10K race?
A 10K is 6.2 miles. Running laps around the perimeter of a standard high school soccer field would take roughly 27 laps and I think we’re already starting to see why distance runners take to the roads and trails.
What is a good 10K time?
A good 1oK time can range from 30 minutes for an elite runner to 70+ minutes for newer runners. There are also many walkers who do 10K’s and it’s not a stroll it’s a serious push, which means time isn’t the best indicator of what’s a good finish.
“Is a 10K in 60 minutes good?” is a common question among runners and the answer is yes! It’s not obviously the elite finishing time, but it’s squarely in the middle of the pack and all about your training and your body and your effort on that day. You’ll need to run a 9:39 per mile pace to achieve that goal.
Checkout these 10k training tips to help drop your time and finish feeling strong.
🔵Running a 10 minute mile, a 10k will take you 1 hour and 2 minutes.
🔵Running a 12 minute mile, a 10K will take you 1 hour and 15 minutes.
🔵Walking a 15 minute mile, a 10K will take you 1 hour and 33 minutes.
How far is a 15K?
A 15k is 9.3 miles. This is a distance that’s becoming more popular and I hope we’ll see more of alongside these great 10 mile road races. You would have to run the bases of a standard baseball field 134.6 times to complete a 15K.
🔵Running a 10 minute mile, a 15K would take you 1 hour and 33 minutes.
How far is a 25K in miles?
A 25K is 15.53 miles and not a super common distance for road races, but seen more in trail races. I think this is because trail races aren’t always exact on the total mileage and so 15.5343 could easily become 16 miles.
It’s also a bit like road races that have a marathon and half marathon, the trail races often have a 50K and 25K. Because it’s an unusual distance, I love the idea that it’s likely an automatic PR because you’ve never run it before!
How far is a half marathon?
A half marathon is 13.1 miles or 21.08241 kilometers.
If you wanted to run back and forth along an Olympic swimming pool this would take 421.8 laps. As someone who did swim team, I can ensure you those laps begin to feel very long…also no one is recommending you run near a pool.
If you’re asking this question then this free Couch to Half Marathon Program might be just what you need!
Here’s a great guide on training for your first half marathon. It’s a super fun journey when you’ve got the right tools and because I know many people have a goal to run a half marathon in under two hours, checkout that guide.
Is a half marathon in under two hours a good time?
Heck yes. But honestly, so is a half marathon in 3 hours.
It’s all relative to your training and your body and where you are in the journey, so stop worrying so much about what’s a good time!
How far is a marathon?
A marathon is 26.2 miles or 42.16481 kilometers.
At this point, I’d had to make anyone run laps, instead think about the distance from your home to your office. The average commute is 16 miles…so think about doing that 1.5 times.
🔵Running a 10 minute mile, a marathon will take you 4 hours and 22 minutes.
🔵Running a 12 minute mile, a marathon will take you 5 hours and 14 minutes.
🔵Walking a 15 minute mile, a marathon will take you 6 hours and 33 minutes.
Get some tips on training for a 5 hour plus marathon.
What is the average marathon finish time?
The State of Running 2019, compiled 107 million race results from around the world between 1986 and 2018, including only recreational runners.
The data showed the average marathon time in 2018 was 4:32:29; the average men’s marathon time was 4:52:18 and the average women’s marathon time that same year was 4:48:45.
How far is an ultra marathon?
Ultramarathons come in many distances, but are considered anything longer than a marathon. The majority are a trail running race, which is part of what attracts many runners to going the extra distance.
The most common distances are:
- 30K
- 50K
- 100 miles
- Multi-day stage races
It’s very hard to say what a good 50K time is because courses can vary so greatly from groomed trails to super technical trails that go up to the peaks of mountains. In other words, stop comparing because they just aren’t the same.
Read more: Tips for your first 50K.
No matter which finish line you’re aiming for it’s a huge achievement to stick with training for months. Remember that race day is the celebration of your hard work from the early stages of simply getting out the door to the growth of knowing you can go farther than you thought.