Is an 8-minute mile good?

An 8-minute mile is a classic goal. It is the pace of a sub-25-minute 5K and, held for a whole marathon, a time under 3 and a half hours. Below: what an 8-minute mile means in km and mph, how it compares with real race results, and the finish times it gives you from 5K to marathon. Every time on this page is calculated from the pace, so the numbers always add up.

An 8-minute mile in every unit

In the UK and Australia most watches show km, so the number to remember is 4:58 per km, just under 5 minutes. If your watch says 5:00 per km, you are running a touch slower than an 8-minute mile. On a track, an 8-minute mile is about 1:59 per 400 m lap.

How an 8-minute mile compares with real runners

There is no big public data set of one-mile times for everyday runners, so the fairest test is 5K results. Here is how an 8-minute mile (a 24:51 5K) stacks up, as of November 2026:

Sources: RunRepeat’s US 5K stats page (2018 US race results, about 2.6 million participants, parkrun not included; percentiles from its recreational 5K table, where the 10th percentile means the top 10%), opened November 6, 2026, and The Running Channel’s average parkrun times (as of August 2025, walkers included). Paces calculated by Run&Grow.

What this tells you: an 8-minute-mile runner beats the average US 5K finisher by about 14:11. In RunRepeat’s table, 24:51 is faster than the 10th percentile for women (25:16), so you would finish ahead of about 90% of women. For men it sits just behind the 20th percentile (24:38), so you would beat roughly 80% of men. You would also finish well ahead of the average UK parkrun time (29:30). For more context, see average mile time by age and gender and average 5K time by age.

Every mile counts, at any pace

Run&Grow is a free iPhone run tracker. Every run grows a plant in your garden. Skip a week? Your garden waits.

Free on iPhone · Also on Android

Race times at an 8-minute mile pace

Three goals sit right on an 8-minute mile. A sub-25 5K needs 8:03 per mile, so 8:00 gets you there with about 9 seconds to spare (24:51). A sub-50 10K needs 8:03 per mile, so 8:00 gets you there too (49:43). A sub-3:30 marathon needs 8:01 per mile, so holding 8:00 for 26.2 miles gives 3:29:45, only about 15 seconds under. Most runners slow late in a marathon, so for sub-3:30 aim to feel comfortable at 8:00 in training. For real finish times, see average marathon time and the 2-hour half marathon page.

Paces near an 8-minute mile

Chasing a faster goal, or happy a little slower? Here are the paces either side:

One step slower is the 9-minute mile (a 5K of about 28 minutes). A 25-minute 5K is almost the same pace as this page, about 8:03 per mile. Each 30 seconds per mile you take off saves about 1:33 over a 5K.

How to run an 8-minute mile

1. Build easy miles first. Most of your runs should feel easy, often 1 to 2 minutes per mile slower than your goal, so around 9:30 to 10:00 per mile.
2. Add one faster session a week. For example, 5 to 6 × 400 m at about 1:59 per lap, with a slow 400 m jog between.
3. Test it once a month. Four laps of a 400 m track is just short of a mile (1,609 m). Run it at a hard but even effort. A parkrun is a good test too: under 25 minutes means you held about 8:03 per mile.
4. Stay consistent. Going from a 9-minute to an 8-minute mile usually takes weeks of regular running, not one big workout.

That consistency is where Run&Grow helps. Every GPS run grows a plant in your garden, so an easy 10-minute mile counts just as much as a fast one. It reads runs from Apple Health, so runs saved from your Apple Watch or another app count too. No public feed, no pace shaming, and if you skip a week, your garden waits. Want a game for your easy runs? See is Zombies, Run! free?

Keep running, keep growing

Run&Grow turns every run into a plant, so you can see your consistency grow. Free on iPhone, and it reads your runs from Apple Health.

Free on iPhone · Also on Android