The average mile time is the simplest running benchmark and the hardest to pin down, because it depends entirely on whether you mean a hard single mile or a comfortable one. This page reads the average mile time for men and women, what a good mile time is, and how average running and jogging speed relate to it.
What the average mile time is
Average mile time for men and women varies with the effort measured. A comfortable jog is around ten to twelve minutes a mile for many adults; a hard single mile is much faster. What is the average mile time therefore has no single answer, but a moderate steady mile in the nine-to-eleven-minute range is typical for a recreational runner, faster for the trained and slower for beginners.
Good mile time and running speed
What is a good mile time depends on the runner: a sub-seven-minute mile is quick for most recreational runners, an eight solid, a ten comfortable. Average running speed and average jogging speed are the same figures expressed as miles per hour, and average human sprint speed is a different measure entirely, a short all-out burst far faster than any sustainable mile.
Age and the fair comparison
Average mile time rises with age as speed declines, and average 400m time by age follows the same curve over a shorter distance. How fast the average person can run, and how fast they do run, are different questions: most people can run faster than their comfortable pace for a short distance, which is why a single timed mile is faster than a jog and both are legitimate depending on what you are measuring.
Questions people ask about average mile time for men
What is a good mile time?
A sub-seven-minute mile is quick for most recreational runners, an eight-minute mile is solid, and a ten is comfortable; the answer depends on the runner and whether it is a hard single mile.
What is the average mile time?
There is no single figure: a comfortable jog is around ten to twelve minutes a mile for many adults, while a hard single mile is much faster, so it depends on the effort measured.
What is the average running speed?
Average running speed is the mile pace expressed as miles per hour; a comfortable jog is roughly five to six miles per hour, faster for trained runners.