When a runner can run 5k or even 5 miles, the next distance that most runners aim for is 10km. 10km is the equivalent of 6.2 miles. The 10k race is the second most popular race distance for runners after a half marathon. Therefore, a lot of runners ask how long to run 10k.
How Long To Run 10k
The answer to this will vary significantly from runner to runner. Many factors affect running times, such as
- Sex – males runners are generally faster than females, but not always.
- Experience – a more experienced runner generally runs faster than an inexperienced runner as they can pace their runs better.
- Fitness Level – an unfit runner will find it much harder to run 10k than a fit runner.
- Weather – wind can have a detrimental effect on a run if we run into the wind. On the other hand, if the run is behind us, it will make us run faster. Ice and rain also affect running.
- Terrain – the terrain is a significant factor when running. If we are running uphill, we won’t run as fast as if we are running downhill.
- Age – younger runners in their 20s and 30s will be much faster than runners who are 60 or 70.
- Weight – overweight runners find it harder to run as fast as thin runners
- Cadence – we need to try to have a cadence of 180
- Stride Length – if you have a short stride length, it can be hard to run as fast as a runner with a long stride.
I have looked at these factors in more detail in How long to run 5 miles
What Is A Good 10km Time
A very good time for a 10km is anything under 40 minutes for your average runner. This is a very subjective question as everybody is not the same age and at the same level. A good time for a beginner 10k runner would be anything under 50 minutes, which is well under the average, whereas an elite runner will only be happy with a time under 30 minutes.
What Is The Average Time For 10km
The average time for a 10k varies depending on sex and age. Please see the table below, where I have included times for men and women of various ages. You can see that these times show the impact age has on average pace and how different ages vary between men and women.
Running level reports that the average 10k time for men across all ages is 46:43 (7:31 per miler or 4:40 per km), and for women, the average 10km time is 54:13 (8:43 per mile or 5:25 per km)
| Age | Male | Female |
| 0 – 15 | 57.08 | 1:03:14 |
| 16 – 19 | 46:36 | 1:00:21 |
| 20 – 24 | 51:40 | 59:50 |
| 25 – 29 | 53:31 | 1:02:25 |
| 30 – 34 | 54:21 | 1:02:31 |
| 35 – 39 | 54:27 | 1:02:19 |
| 40 – 44 | 53:31 | 1:02:37 |
| 45 – 49 | 55:35 | 1:03:27 |
| 50 – 54 | 56:12 | 1:04:04 |
| 55 – 59 | 59:00 | 1:07:41 |
| 60 – 64 | 58:48 | 1:09:51 |
| 65 + | 1:03:02 | 1:18:57 |
How Long Does It Take A Beginner To Run 10km?
This is another subjective question, as every runner, even a beginner, is different. Beginner runners will vary in fitness level, age, sex, weight, and consistency. On average most beginner runners will run 10km between 50 and 80 minutes. Of course, some runners will be a lot faster than this, and at the other end, some runners will be slower.
According to Running Level, the average 10k time for beginners is 1:05:30 (10:32 min/mile pace) for men and 1:13:58 for women (11:54 min/mile pace).
What Is A Good 10k Time For An Intermediate Runner
A good time for an intermediate runner is anytime between 40 and 55 minutes. Time variation will occur due to fitness, ability, weight, and sex.
Is It Safe To Run 10k A Day
I believe running 10km daily is safe as it will improve our cardio fitness. Our natural running form will improve as we run every day. If you run 10km daily, listening to your body and ensuring you eat correctly and hydrate the body after each run is essential. If we don’t do this, it will eventually lead to injuries that will stop us from running for a while. We must slowly build up to 70km weekly by running 10k a day, as we should only increase our weekly mileage by 10% each week. We also need to run most of these runs at an easy pace.
Who Should Run 10k A Day
Certain groups of runners could run 10k a day. These are:
- a runner who needs to improve their running form
- a runner that is not interested in running races
- runners who require a health kick
- a runner that needs to lose weight
- runners that receive great mental benefits, as running clears the head.
Who Should Not Run 10k A Day
For every group of runners that can run 10k a day, many groups of runners shouldn’t:
- A runner that continuously suffers from injuries
- Runners who are in training for a race
- those runners who are rebuilding up mileage
- runners who want to increase their pace as they want to run faster
Should I Train To Run 10k
Training for a 10k is another step to accomplishing a runner’s journey. There are a few things that we should do:
- follow a training plan
- build up mileage slowly
- Mix up running sessions, including a speed, tempo, and a couple of easy runs
- Do some cross training
- Stretch and foam roll
- Try yoga
- fuel and hydrate properly
- believe in yourself
Is 30 minutes A Good Time for 10km
30 minutes is a very good time for 10km. You are probably an elite runner if you can run a 10k faster than 30 minutes. The world record for a road 10km is 26:24 for men and 29:43 for women. It will only mean that some men may run 30 minutes. If a woman runs 30 minutes, it is nearly a world record pace.
Benefits of Running 10km A Day
There are many benefits to running 10 km a day. These benefits are broken down into mental, health, physical, and social.
Mental benefits
- helps clear the head
- improves depression
- Reduces stress
- improves mood
Health Benefits
- Improves cardiovascular health
- boosts immune system
- helps sleep
- builds stronger bones
- improves lung health
Physical benefits
- lose weight
- tone the body
- burns excess calories
Social Benefits
- gain friends
- feel accountable
- motivated to run more
How Will Running 10k A Day Change My Body
Running 10km a day will change your body in different ways, as follows
- Improves the health of our heart
- lose some of our excess weigh
- helps to tone our bodies
- help us sleep better, which improves our overall health
How Many Calories Burned Running 10km
The number of calories burned running 10km varies from runner to runner. However, the general rule of thumb is we burn 100 calories for every mile we run, so considering that 10km is 6.2 miles, we should burn approximately 600 calories. So a runner running 10km daily will burn an extra 4200 calories weekly, equivalent to burning 1.2 pounds of fat.
There are a couple of factors that affect this
- bodyweight – heavier runners burn more calories
- weather – will burn more calories running against the wind than when it is behind you, helping you to run
- terrain – burn more calories running uphill than downhill as it requires more effort
- speed – the faster we run, the more calories we burn
How To Run 10k Without Stopping
If we want to run a 10k without stopping, we must train our bodies properly by following an adequate training plan. Even though we may have the training done, we also need to properly fuel our bodies with food and drink. As a runner, it is essential to get our heads right to enable us to do this, and we also need to believe in ourselves. Run at a pace that you can hold a conversation. Try and have good running form.
Final Thoughts
We have now looked at how long it should take various categories of runners to run 10k. I have also looked at multiple questions that you may have about running 10km and regarding the runners that decide to run 10 km every day. As we have discussed, running 10km daily is not for everyone. We have also looked at the effects that running 10k daily has on our bodies and calories burned.
