The average human walking speed is in the neighborhood of 3 mph (4.8 km/h). How fast do you think you could run at a full sprint? 10 mph? 15 mph? What speed could you average over 26.2 miles?
Below, I have taken several men’s and women’s world records and calculated the runners’ average speed. Usain Bolt has averaged over 23 miles per hour in both the 100 and 200 meter events.
Men’s World Records Translated Into Average Speeds
| Event | Record | Athlete | mph | ft/s | km/h | m/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 m (indoor) | 6.34 s | Christian Coleman | 21.17 | 31.05 | 34.07 | 9.46 |
| 100 m | 9.58 s | Usain Bolt | 23.35 | 34.25 | 37.58 | 10.44 |
| 200 m | 19.19 s | Usain Bolt | 23.31 | 34.19 | 37.52 | 10.42 |
| 400 m | 43.03 s | Wayde van Niekerk | 20.79 | 30.50 | 33.47 | 9.30 |
| 800 m | 1:40.91 | David Rudisha | 17.73 | 26.01 | 28.54 | 7.93 |
| 1,000 m | 2:11.96 | Noah Ngeny | 16.96 | 24.87 | 27.29 | 7.58 |
| 1,500 m | 3:26.00 | Hicham El Geerrouj | 16.28 | 23.88 | 26.21 | 7.28 |
| Mile | 3:43.13 | Hicham El Geerrouj | 16.13 | 23.65 | 25.96 | 7.21 |
| 5,000 m | 12:37.35 | Kenenisa Bekele | 14.76 | 21.65 | 23.76 | 6.60 |
| 10,000 m | 26:17.53 | Kenenisa Bekele | 14.18 | 20.80 | 22.82 | 6.34 |
| Half Marathon | 58:23 | Zersenay Tadese | 13.47 | 19.76 | 21.68 | 6.02 |
| Marathon | 2:01:39 | Eliud Kipchoge | 12.93 | 18.97 | 20.81 | 5.78 |
| 110 m hurdles | 12.80 s | Aries Merritt | 19.22 | 28.19 | 30.94 | 8.59 |
| 400 m hurdles | 46.78 s | Kevin Young | 19.13 | 28.05 | 30.78 | 8.55 |
| 4×100 m relay | 36.84 s | Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake, Usain Bolt | 24.12 | 35.37 | 38.81 | 10.78 |
| 4×200 m relay | 1:18.63 | Nickel Ashmeade, Warren Weir, Jermaine Brown, Yohan Blake | 22.76 | 33.38 | 36.63 | 10.17 |
| 4×400 m relay | 2:54.29 | Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts, Butch Reynolds, Michael Johnson | 20.54 | 30.12 | 33.05 | 9.18 |
| 4×800 m relay | 7:02.43 | Joseph Mutua, William Yiampoy, Ismael Kombich, Wilfred Bungei | 16.96 | 24.87 | 27.29 | 7.58 |
Women’s World Records Translated Into Average Speeds
| Event | Record | Athlete | mph | ft/s | km/h | m/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 m (indoor) | 6.92 | Irina Privalova | 19.39 | 28.44 | 31.21 | 8.67 |
| 100 m | 10.49 s | Florence Griffith Joyner | 21.32 | 31.27 | 34.31 | 9.53 |
| 200 m | 21.34 s | Florence Griffith Joyner | 20.96 | 30.74 | 33.73 | 9.37 |
| 400 m | 47.60 s | Marita Koch | 18.79 | 27.60 | 30.24 | 8.40 |
| 800 m | 1:53.28 | Jarmila Kratochvílová | 15.79 | 23.16 | 25.42 | 7.06 |
| 1,000 m | 2:28.98 | Svetlana Masterkova | 15.01 | 22.01 | 24.16 | 6.71 |
| 1,500 m | 3:50.07 | Genzebe Dibaba | 14.58 | 21.39 | 23.47 | 6.52 |
| Mile | 4:12.33 | Sifan Hassan | 14.27 | 20.92 | 22.96 | 6.38 |
| 5,000 m | 14:11.15 | Tirunesh Dibaba | 13.13 | 19.26 | 21.13 | 5.87 |
| 10,000 m | 29:17.45 | Almaz Ayana | 12.73 | 18.67 | 20.48 | 5.69 |
| Half Marathon | 1:04:31 | Ababel Yeshaneh | 12.19 | 17.88 | 19.62 | 5.45 |
| Marathon | 2:14:04 | Brigid Kosgei | 11.73 | 17.21 | 18.88 | 5.25 |
| 100 m hurdles | 12.20 s | Kendra Harrison | 18.34 | 26.89 | 29.51 | 8.20 |
| 400 m hurdles | 52.16 s | Dalilah Muhammad | 17.15 | 25.16 | 27.61 | 7.67 |
| 4×100 m relay | 40.82 s | Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight, Carmelita Jeter | 21.92 | 32.15 | 35.28 | 9.80 |
| 4×200 m relay | 1:27.46 | LaTasha Jenkins, LaTasha Colander- Richardson, Nanceen Perry, Marion Jones | 20.45 | 29.99 | 32.90 | 9.14 |
| 4×400 m relay | 3:15.17 | Tatyana Ledovskaya, Olga Nazarova, Mariya Pinigina, Olga Bryzgina | 18.34 | 26.90 | 29.52 | 8.20 |
| 4×800 m relay | 7:50.17 | Nadezhda Olizarenko, Lyubov Gurina, Lyudmila Borisova, Irina Podyalovskaya | 15.23 | 22.34 | 24.52 | 6.81 |
It’s interesting to note that the 60 meter race has a slower average speed for both men and women than the 100 meter race. This must be because accelerating at the start of a race takes some time.
These world records were last updated April 2020.
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