How long it should take you to run a mile based on your age

Running has been around forever, but the trend seems to have picked up massively in the last few years.

Big name celebrities like Harry Styles have gotten into the sport, with the former One Direction star having completed a sub-three-hour finish at the 2025 Berlin Marathon.

With the marathon season in full swing, an expert personal trainer has shared insight into how long it should be taking runners to cross the mile finish line, depending on their age.

Personal Trainer and nutritionist Joseph Webb told Metro UK that the healthy younger set of adults (not surprisingly) aged between 20-39 should be the fastest, and explained that the amount of oxygen your body can utilize during exercise peaks during this age.

This younger group are also likely to ‘have better joint and tendon resilience to support faster speeds.’

An expert trainer has revealed how long it should take to run a mile (Getty Stock Image)

Below is the full list of age ranges and how long it should take them to run a mile, according to Joseph:

• 20-39: 7 to 10 minutes
• 40-59: 9 to 12 minutes
• 60 +: 11 to 15 minutes

Although recovery takes longer as we age, Joseph says that with consistency, many runners in the older group reach similar finish times as those in their 30s.

However, he tells the older 60+ age group not to be too hard on themselves, stating: “Maintaining aerobic fitness, balance, and joint mobility is the priority, not accumulating big mileage.”

The amount of times Joseph recommends each age group to take their daily dash also differs. He advises the younger age groups to run around 3-5 times a week, decreasing to two to three max for the over 60s.

It’s not just humans who are taking part in marathons, however. In fact, just this week, a humanoid robot became the first to cross the line at a China half-marathon, beating the human world record time.

Runners over 60 are expected to complete a mile in 11 to 15 minutes (Getty Stock Photo)

The robot - named Lightning, was created by Chinese smartphone maker, Honor, and completed the 13-mile race in just 50 minutes and 26 seconds. Lightening beat the previous record by a whopping 7 minutes!

The previous record holder, human Jacob Kiplimo, completed a half marathon in March at the Lisbon race, in 57 minutes and 20 seconds.

Joseph didn’t state an average time for robots though, unfortunately!

Time for us to hop on that treadmill!