Time for some fast facts and speedy stats! Wondering how fast the average human can run? Or their average sprint speed?

The average person can run a mile in 9 minutes and 48 seconds, according to data analysts Strava who looked at the stats from over 3000 runs recorded by runners of all ages and demographics.

Of course, these times are heavily influenced by a number of facts. How fast you can run depends on the following:

  • Your age
  • Your gender
  • Your height and weight
  • Your overall health
  • Your genetics

While most of us will never run like Usain Bolt (the Jamaican athlete can run over 23 miles in an hour!), paying attention to our pace is important if we want to maximize our mobility. People who walk more often and more briskly live longer than those who stroll.

The average human walking speed is around 3 mph or 4.8 km/hr. That means we’ve some way to go before we’re walking at a speed that boosts our health!

Need more motivation? Take a look at what the pro athletes are clocking in. The world’s best sprinters in both men’s and women’s athletic events set records and break limits. Pushing themselves to the limit, they’re racking up some impressive numbers.

Men’s World Records Translated Into Average Speeds

EventRecordAthletemphft/skm/hm/s
60 m (indoor)6.34 sChristian Coleman21.1731.0534.079.46
100 m9.58 sUsain Bolt23.3534.2537.5810.44
200 m19.19 sUsain Bolt23.3134.1937.5210.42
400 m43.03 sWayde van Niekerk20.7930.5033.479.30
800 m1:40.91David Rudisha17.7326.0128.547.93
1,000 m2:11.96Noah Ngeny16.9624.8727.297.58
1,500 m3:26.00Hicham El Geerrouj16.2823.8826.217.28
Mile3:43.13Hicham El Geerrouj16.1323.6525.967.21
5,000 m12:37.35Kenenisa Bekele14.7621.6523.766.60
10,000 m26:17.53Kenenisa Bekele14.1820.8022.826.34
Half Marathon58:23Zersenay Tadese13.4719.7621.686.02
Marathon2:01:39Eliud Kipchoge12.9318.9720.815.78
110 m hurdles12.80 sAries Merritt19.2228.1930.948.59
400 m hurdles46.78 sKevin Young19.1328.0530.788.55
4×100 m relay36.84 sNesta Carter,
Michael Frater,
Yohan Blake,
Usain Bolt
24.1235.3738.8110.78
4×200 m relay1:18.63Nickel Ashmeade,
Warren Weir,
Jermaine Brown,
Yohan Blake
22.7633.3836.6310.17
4×400 m relay2:54.29Andrew Valmon,
Quincy Watts,
Butch Reynolds,
Michael Johnson
20.5430.1233.059.18
4×800 m relay7:02.43Joseph Mutua,
William Yiampoy,
Ismael Kombich,
Wilfred Bungei
16.9624.8727.297.58

Women’s World Records Translated Into Average Speeds

EventRecordAthletemphft/skm/hm/s
60 m (indoor)6.92Irina Privalova19.3928.4431.218.67
100 m10.49 sFlorence Griffith Joyner21.3231.2734.319.53
200 m21.34 sFlorence Griffith Joyner20.9630.7433.739.37
400 m47.60 sMarita Koch18.7927.6030.248.40
800 m1:53.28Jarmila Kratochvílová15.7923.1625.427.06
1,000 m2:28.98Svetlana Masterkova15.0122.0124.166.71
1,500 m3:50.07Genzebe Dibaba14.5821.3923.476.52
Mile4:12.33Sifan Hassan14.2720.9222.966.38
5,000 m14:11.15Tirunesh Dibaba13.1319.2621.135.87
10,000 m29:17.45Almaz Ayana12.7318.6720.485.69
Half Marathon1:04:31Ababel Yeshaneh12.1917.8819.625.45
Marathon2:14:04Brigid Kosgei11.7317.2118.885.25
100 m hurdles12.20 sKendra Harrison18.3426.8929.518.20
400 m hurdles52.16 sDalilah Muhammad17.1525.1627.617.67
4×100 m relay40.82 sTianna Madison,
Allyson Felix,
Bianca Knight,
Carmelita Jeter
21.9232.1535.289.80
4×200 m relay1:27.46LaTasha Jenkins,
LaTasha Colander-
Richardson,
Nanceen Perry,
Marion Jones
20.4529.9932.909.14
4×400 m relay3:15.17Tatyana Ledovskaya,
Olga Nazarova,
Mariya Pinigina,
Olga Bryzgina
18.3426.9029.528.20
4×800 m relay7:50.17Nadezhda Olizarenko,
Lyubov Gurina,
Lyudmila Borisova,
Irina Podyalovskaya
15.2322.3424.526.81

It’s worth noting that the 60-meter race surprisingly has an average speed slower for men & women (compared to the 100-meter race). This is likely due to the process of acceleration at the beginning of a race (which inevitably adds up and takes time).

 

This article was last updated in May 2021.