How Fast Can Humans Run?

The average human walking speed is in the neighborhood of 3 mph (4.8 km/h). How fast do you think you could run at a full sprint? 10 mph? 15 mph? What speed could you average over 26.2 miles?

Below, I have taken several men’s and women’s world records and calculated the runners’ average speed. Usain Bolt has averaged over 23 miles per hour in both the 100 and 200 meter events.

Men’s World Records Translated Into Average Speeds

Event Record Athlete mph ft/s km/h m/s 60 m (indoor) 6.34 s Christian Coleman 21.17 31.05 34.07 9.46 100 m 9.58 s Usain Bolt 23.35 34.25 37.58 10.44 200 m 19.19 s Usain Bolt 23.31 34.19 37.52 10.42 400 m 43.03 s Wayde van Niekerk 20.79 30.50 33.47 9.30 800 m 1:40.91 David Rudisha 17.73 26.01 28.54 7.93 1,000 m 2:11.96 Noah Ngeny 16.96 24.87 27.29 7.58 1,500 m 3:26.00 Hicham El Geerrouj 16.28 23.88 26.21 7.28 Mile 3:43.13 Hicham El Geerrouj 16.13 23.65 25.96 7.21 5,000 m 12:37.35 Kenenisa Bekele 14.76 21.65 23.76 6.60 10,000 m 26:17.53 Kenenisa Bekele 14.18 20.80 22.82 6.34 Half Marathon 58:23 Zersenay Tadese 13.47 19.76 21.68 6.02 Marathon 2:01:39 Eliud Kipchoge 12.93 18.97 20.81 5.78 110 m hurdles 12.80 s Aries Merritt 19.22 28.19 30.94 8.59 400 m hurdles 46.78 s Kevin Young 19.13 28.05 30.78 8.55 4×100 m relay 36.84 s Nesta Carter,

Michael Frater,

Yohan Blake,

Usain Bolt 24.12 35.37 38.81 10.78 4×200 m relay 1:18.63 Nickel Ashmeade,

Warren Weir,

Jermaine Brown,

Yohan Blake 22.76 33.38 36.63 10.17 4×400 m relay 2:54.29 Andrew Valmon,

Quincy Watts,

Butch Reynolds,

Michael Johnson 20.54 30.12 33.05 9.18 4×800 m relay 7:02.43 Joseph Mutua,

William Yiampoy,

Ismael Kombich,

Wilfred Bungei 16.96 24.87 27.29 7.58

Women’s World Records Translated Into Average Speeds

Event Record Athlete mph ft/s km/h m/s 60 m (indoor) 6.92 Irina Privalova 19.39 28.44 31.21 8.67 100 m 10.49 s Florence Griffith Joyner 21.32 31.27 34.31 9.53 200 m 21.34 s Florence Griffith Joyner 20.96 30.74 33.73 9.37 400 m 47.60 s Marita Koch 18.79 27.60 30.24 8.40 800 m 1:53.28 Jarmila Kratochvílová 15.79 23.16 25.42 7.06 1,000 m 2:28.98 Svetlana Masterkova 15.01 22.01 24.16 6.71 1,500 m 3:50.07 Genzebe Dibaba 14.58 21.39 23.47 6.52 Mile 4:12.33 Sifan Hassan 14.27 20.92 22.96 6.38 5,000 m 14:11.15 Tirunesh Dibaba 13.13 19.26 21.13 5.87 10,000 m 29:17.45 Almaz Ayana 12.73 18.67 20.48 5.69 Half Marathon 1:04:31 Ababel Yeshaneh 12.19 17.88 19.62 5.45 Marathon 2:14:04 Brigid Kosgei 11.73 17.21 18.88 5.25 100 m hurdles 12.20 s Kendra Harrison 18.34 26.89 29.51 8.20 400 m hurdles 52.16 s Dalilah Muhammad 17.15 25.16 27.61 7.67 4×100 m relay 40.82 s Tianna Madison,

Allyson Felix,

Bianca Knight,

Carmelita Jeter 21.92 32.15 35.28 9.80 4×200 m relay 1:27.46 LaTasha Jenkins,

LaTasha Colander-

Richardson,

Nanceen Perry,

Marion Jones 20.45 29.99 32.90 9.14 4×400 m relay 3:15.17 Tatyana Ledovskaya,

Olga Nazarova,

Mariya Pinigina,

Olga Bryzgina 18.34 26.90 29.52 8.20 4×800 m relay 7:50.17 Nadezhda Olizarenko,

Lyubov Gurina,

Lyudmila Borisova,

Irina Podyalovskaya 15.23 22.34 24.52 6.81

It’s interesting to note that the 60 meter race has a slower average speed for both men and women than the 100 meter race. This must be because accelerating at the start of a race takes some time.

These world records were last updated April 2020.