What Times Should My Family Be Aiming For?

by Hal

What sort of TIMES should my family be aiming for?
At the age of 42 and after much surgery for cancer I have just started running and can finish 2km in 11.5 minutes.

Both my children can do the 2km in approx 8.5min (should they now be running 5km?) and my partner does 12km in 54min.


Answer by Dominique:


Hi Hal,
Thanks for your question.
It sounds like you have been going through a lot.
I hope that the worst is over.
You have not specified the event/distance you plan to run, so it is a bit hard to say anything about times.
Good to hear though that there are still families around where everybody is active!

If you have just started your running training, and given your recent medical history, I would not be aiming for times.
Just enjoy the running, have fun, increase your mileage slowly (see my running training section for an article on increasing mileage) if you are feeling fine and take it in small steps.
I am not a doctor and want to be cautious with giving you too agressive advice.

For your kids... I am not a big fan of kids running long distances. While kids are growing the shorter distances are better for them. Let them enjoy the short, speedy stuff while they are young. When they get older, they have time enough to do the long, slow stuff. If you can, and if they want to, consider getting them into an athletics club where there are specialised coaches who can tailor their running training to their age and needs.

For your partner... there is quite an accurate race conversion calculator on my site which lets you calculate predicted time for one race, given the time for another race.

Also, if the whole family is seriously into running, consider getting a good training book. One of the best running books available is Daniels' Running Formula.


I hope I have helped a bit.
Stay well and enjoy your running.
Kind regards,
Dominique