If you have ever laced up your running shoes, put feet to concrete, treaded away on the treadmill, you may ask yourself how far should I be running in 30 mins. In all honesty, you might think this after 10 mins. But how far you should be going, comes down to several factors.
- How fast you are running?
- Your age and sex?
- Running experience?
- The surface?
- The Altitude?
- Overall Fitness
There is no way to account for all these factors and each will have a different effect on how far you run in 30 mins. A younger runner, at a high altitude on a hilly surface, will most likely run a shorter distance, than someone older running on a running track. For this reason, we will only give rough averages.
What distance should you aim for on your thirty minute run?
| Experience | Distance Miles in 30 Mins | Distance km in 30 Mins |
| Beginner | 2 – 2.5 | 3 – 4 |
| Intermediate | 3 – 3.7 | 5 – 6 |
| Expert | 4+ | 7+ |
Beginner runners distance in 30 mins
For a beginner, we are going to assume you are someone who is starting their fitness journey. For someone at this stage, the goal should be building up your endurance and staying out moving for the full 30 minutes. You do not want to push yourself too hard, discourage yourself from getting out there.
You should be aiming for 2 Miles or 3 km, on your 30 minutes runs. However, you shouldn’t be discouraged, at this stage, it is building that endurance to be able to run for 30 minutes which is important.
Intermediate runners distance in 30 mins
If you have been hitting the pavement for a little while, you may think it’s time to up your pace and increase your distance. But how far should you be going in 30 mins? For someone who has been running for quite some time, you should aim for 5 – 6 km or 3 -3.7 Miles.
While this may sound daunting to some, picking up your speed is about consistency and variation. While may sound like conflicting ideas, but for exercise, it’s so important. You want to consistently train your body, while not constantly doing the same exercises. Throw in some HIIT (High-intensity interval training), try hill runs, go for longer runs. You want to confuse your body while pushing your body. You will find you go for longer and quicker.
Expert runners distance in 30 mins
For experienced runners 4+ miles or 7+ km, should be the aim on a 30 minute run. Now, as we said before, we are making assumptions and going for best case scenario. If you are running on a trail, at a high altitude you would be lucky to hit the beginner distance in 30 mins. But we are going with an average across a subsection of runners on good running conditions.
Similar to Intermediate, you want to vary your runs. Try HIIT, try sprints, try hill runs, vary up your routine. At this stage you probably have one discipline mastered, but there is no reason to not push yourself to do more.
Conclusion
If you really want to know how far you should run in 30 minutes? While we have given you an outline, honestly you should be congratulated for running for thirty minutes. You should try to run further and faster than you did last week. Fitness is something that is earned over time. Within a few weeks/months you will feel fitter, faster, and most importantly healthier.
You may like to read our articles on night runs and if it’s good for weight loss or our article on whether dark chocolate is good for runners.
Absolutely indited content, Really enjoyed reading through. Melisande Tiebold Rozelle