In 2025, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg ran the Stanford Medicine My Heart Counts 5K for the third year in a row, coming in at his second fastest time, 20:35. That translates to a 6:38 per mile. Pretty impressive for the person who created Facebook, right?So, why did he include the song, “Pretty Slowly” by Benson Boone, in his postrace social post?
Sure, it wasn’t a personal best, but not all races will be, and the data shows he’s well above average when it comes to his race finish times. According to a Running USA report based on race data collected from 2013 to 2023, the typical 5K finish time for men is 32 minutes and, for women, it’s 39 minutes. That puts Zuck a whole 10 minutes ahead of the mean.
Based on the various tracking platforms, these averages can go up a bit or down a bit (and you can find more data-backed information in this breakdown of average 5K finish times, along with ways to create and hit your own goals). The beauty of the 5K is that just about anyone can do them, from beginner runners to veterans. Whatever your running experience, committed training is essential for any runner who wants to reach a goal.
Here, we have two workouts that will help you reach any 5K goal, whether you strive to master the distance for the first time or want to aim for a sub-20. You can also find a training plan for any goal with our new How to Master the 5K program. These two workouts, expert-approved by Austin-based run coach Jess Movold, both reference three training zones.
Generally speaking, the yellow zone is an easy effort, the orange zone is a comfortably hard effort, and the red zone is flat-out hard. Knowing—and training—each zone is crucial to effective 5K preparation. Inspired by the following workouts?
We have more fun, effective training runs to help you improve your paces. Why it works: This 37-minute workout should be your first step. Do it once a week for at least three weeks before adding a tempo run for endurance.
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