Sub-23 Minute 5K — Training Paces and Fitness Profile
Sub-23 sits at the boundary between recreational and structured competitive running. Runners here have a genuine aerobic base and can sustain effort for 22+ minutes at high intensity. The training paces show what consistent training at this level looks like.
Quick answer: To break Sub-23:00 in the 5K (RPI 42.3), your training paces are: easy 9:30/mi, threshold 7:31/mi, interval 6:35/mi. Equivalent fitness: Marathon 3:39:15, Half Marathon 1:45:43.
Training paces for Sub-23:00 5K
RPI 42.3 · Goal: 22:59 · All paces in min/mile
Calculated from Daniels/Gilbert oxygen cost equations. Easy pace means "this pace or slower."
Equivalent race fitness
These are the predicted equivalent times at other distances for a runner with RPI 42.3 — assuming comparable training for each distance.
Marathon
3:39:15
8:22/mi
Half Marathon
1:45:43
8:04/mi
10K
47:41
7:40/mi
Training approach for Sub-23:00 5K
For sub-23 5K, the combination of easy base volume and structured quality sessions produces steady improvement. One interval session per week (400m–800m repeats at interval pace) and one threshold session (15–25 minutes at threshold pace), backed by 25–40 miles of easy weekly volume, is the effective framework. Running easy days genuinely easy is often the most impactful change runners at this level can make — it allows threshold and interval sessions to be truly productive.
Calculate your current training paces
The table above shows paces for Sub-23:00 5K fitness. Enter your current race time to see where you are now and how far from the goal you sit.
Training Pace Calculator
These paces are based on your race time — not your body
The Daniels/Gilbert formula predicts training zones from a single race result. StrideIQ goes further: it tracks how your body specifically responds to threshold and interval work — which sessions produce your biggest gains, how quickly you recover, and when your fitness is peaking. Population formulas start the conversation. Your individual response data finishes it.
Common questions
What training paces should I use to break 23 minutes in the 5K?
For sub-23:00 (22:59): Easy 9:30/mi, Threshold 7:31/mi, Interval 6:35/mi. RPI 42.3. Easy runs at 9:30/mi are where 80% of training volume lives. Threshold at 7:31/mi should feel comfortably hard — sustainable for 20 minutes.
How quickly can a regular runner reach sub-23?
Most runners who run 3–4 times per week for 6–12 months with some structured quality work can reach sub-23. The key is adding interval or threshold work to the existing easy-run base. Runners who have never done structured quality sessions often improve dramatically (1–2 minutes off their 5K time) within a few months of adding one interval session per week.
What 10K time does sub-23 5K fitness predict?
Sub-23 5K fitness (RPI 42.3) projects to approximately 47:41 for the 10K. This assumes comparable 10K-specific training. Your aerobic base supports the 10K distance well — the main adjustment is adding slightly more threshold work, which targets the sustained lactate-threshold effort the 10K demands.
Other goal pace guides
Paces calculated using the Daniels/Gilbert oxygen cost equations (1979). All values derived from the same formula used by the StrideIQ training pace calculator. Goal times use the target-minus-one-second convention (e.g., sub-20 = 19:59 input).