I am running my first race on New Years Day and am pretty excited about it (although I am hoping it won’t be too cold).
My first goal is to finish.
As I am training and seeing definite improvments I got to wondering - what is considered a “reasonable” time on a race like this?
I am not expecting to be anywhere near first, but am hoping not to be last.
Any thoughts?
Are there hills? I haven’t even run on hills in forever, but I could run 7 km in 33 minutes without feeling especially tired afterward (unless you mean 8km, which is closer to 5 miles?)
And the one time I did run a race on hills (I forget how long it was, but was between 3 and 8 km,) I was not last despite never having done running training in my life.
And I improved my time to around 33 minutes for 7 km at a middling pace after running regularly (and so would have finished even better had I trained in the actual race I was in so long ago.)
So putting these facts together, I’d say that if the race isn’t geared toward the hardcore runners, if you can finish 7 km in 33 minutes you at least won’t finish last.
But these are just WAGs until someone with real information comes along.
7 K is 4.34 miles.
I think that a casual should be able to do a 9 minute mile for 5 miles, and that’s not fast but it’s faster than anyone can walk.
With some dedication and any amount of speed training, you should be able to get below 8 minute miles. That’s still not very fast. It’s half-decent for a marathon.
I’d just run it, and see if you can get under 9. If that wasn’t hard, start training for 8 minute miles.
7K is 4.3 miles.
I’d say 33 minutes is a pretty lofty goal for someone who isn’t a serious runner. That’s a mile every 7:40… that’s reasonably fast.
Even at my absolute fastest, my race times never dropped below 7:45, and that was after training for a marathon and taking it pretty darn seriously. These days I’m more of a casual runner, clocking in at around 10 minute miles, and I’m still not last.
This is your first race, and all you want to do is finish… I think you’ll be safe at 10 - 11 minute miles, making your time around 45 minutes.
Yikes… much faster runners on this board than I am, I guess. I consider 8 minute miles a very good pace. It’s certainly not sprinting, but it’s a very decent pace.
I guess the question is “how fast do you run now, and how fast would you like to finish?”
I say you should simply run this race and set a benchmark for you to start tracking your improvemnet.
Really tough to say without knowing your background - are you fit and active in other sports but new to running, young or old, big guy or slight woman, coming from being way out of shape but on the way up etc.
To take a guess, if my 30 year old male friend who was not in great shape said to me that he was taking up running with a view to doing a 5 mile race in 3 months time I’d think <30 mins unbelievable, 30-35 min awesome, 35-40 mins good, 40-50 mins no disgrace, 50 mins+ slothful.
OTOH, the slowest 30 year old bloke at your local running club can probably smash 30 mins for 5 miles, so its really hard to say.
Hills kill, as Ludovic has pointed out.
Like wasson, I’m feeling very slow right now. 
I’m 37, and carry some extra weight around my middle.
I recently ran 3 miles at an 11:30 pace and felt damn proud of that - because it represented improvement. My next goal is 3 miles in 33 minutes; I’ll keep working from there. Once I can do it in 30 minutes I plan to start attempting longer distances.
I can run one mile in 9:00, but I’m left gasping for air and unable to continue for much farther. Others find that a pretty relaxed pace that they can maintain for an hour or more. A 10:00 pace I can keep up for about 2 miles, but then I hit a wall.
My point here is that the surest route to frustration (or simply pooping out after a mile and a half) is trying to go faster than you really can.
I’ve done a couple of 5k runs around here, and I’m far from the slowest person in the pack. Thing is, that’s a pretty short distance for serious runners, so they’ll be off doing the accompanying 10k, leaving me “competing” with the other punters. I’m going to hold off on entering a 10k until I’m reasonably confident I’ll finish in under an hour - and I’m clearly some ways from that.
For your 7k run, all time goals are relative. Shoot for a modest improvement over your current time/pace, whatever that is. There will almost surely be folks like me somewhere behind you - probably in greater numbers that you expect. I’d be over the moon if I finished in under 50 minutes.
No hills - at least no major hills - this is flat prairieland - it will be dead winter though.
I am newish to running but in reasonably good shape.
I think 10-minute miles are completely acceptable, good even; and nothing to be ashamed of, esp. for a new runner, in winter. In fact I’d be thrilled to run 10-minute miles. I can probably do one, but not several.
You won’t be last with that pace unless you’re competing against a running club.