I'm 6'6" at 250 pounds and last time I ran a mile it was a 8:56 time. I PR'd my 5k according to Strava yesterday (33:32) and ended with a torn up heel. I used that as my reasoning to buy a new pair of Hoka's. I'm excited to see how they help me keep improving. Update: After backpacking 15 miles this weekend w/ a 35lb pack, I weighed in around 246. My new shoes arrived today so I put them on and ran a 5k over lunch. New 5k PR of 30m58s! (and a new 2 mile PR). Thanks for keeping me striving to be above average Mark!!!
I just wanted to say that your approach of trying out a bit of everything has really helped me. I enjoy strength training and I thought cardio wasn't for me, but watching you who has a healthy mix of both in your routine made me start running. I just started last week and I'm really enjoying it. Thank you.
This really inspired me… I’m 64 220 and trying to get under 6:00….. I haven’t tried a track yet. I was thinking I was stuck in the 6:20s and figured I’d need to lose weight to get lower but after seeing how great your leg strength is it makes me feel if I do some squats and other leg strength workouts maybe I can do it. Im doing a lot of slow 125bpm stuff 5-8 miles….. my breath feels like there’s more in the tank but my legs feel dead or weak a lot lately. I wish there were Clydesdales runs so I can see how I stack up w other seniors.
Mark, can I just say, I stumbled across your vids whilst looking at cool garmin watches some 6 months ago. Since then, I decided to give this running stuff a crack, (roughly 2 months ago now) I was 17 stone 11, now 16 stone 3. I’ve applied to join the army reserve which has been a goal of mine for ages! And thanks to your videos it started the cogs turning to get out there and get after it. I started on a 36 and a half min 5K, and now I’m just about to break 25. All in the space of a few months, I’ve trained to the point where I can pass the tests now, and i am only about a stone away from getting through the BMI test, thanks for the epic content. You’re awesome!
As always a great message. Being a great all arounder is awesome. Exactly what I strive for. Went to play tennis last night bummed knee and all and was out there for 2.5 hours. I love being in shape enough to do that but now so much that I don't enjoy good food and drink. My running will comeback when the knee gets better as I need to break the 6min mile for the 21st consecutive year. 6 months left to do this. Being able to do everything pretty well, my hat of to your sir. Now go and learn how to swim better. I swim, or swam like a brick(you) now after a few IMs under the belt learning and having the ability to swim is awesome. Love when we go on vacation and I tell my wife, I am going to check that island out over there........
My new favourite youtuber! , I'm 29 and weigh around 160kg, I ran my first half marthon last weekend and it took me over 3hrs. I'm looking to become "Above average" your content been really inspiring so far.
I did one sub 5min mile. I’m pretty sure I had outer body experiences. I was doing a lot of 200-400m spring repeats. Now I am either a LSD runner or a 5-10m sprints either trying to increase aerobic or increase acceleration speed for sports and because it’s what I enjoy, I also compete in powerlifting and play ice hockey. Nothing is conducive to each other. But I do what I enjoy and also too realise I won’t be the best at anyone thing but I’ll have enough to enjoy everything. Doing half marathons and also doing 50-100km and 6-12 hour mtb races. I’m never gonna make a living off it so I’ll just enjoy being active when I can at what I can.
I was a 5.59 miler, half marathons in the 1hour 35 to 1 hour 39 bracket. My running days are over, 2 full knee replacements and one hip. I enjoyed every minute of being fit. My exercise is now snooker (and beer)
@@MarkLewisfitness Awesome, I'll drop down there - I am also a 225lb lump. But significantly less average than yourself. However your videos and humour are inspiring me to get back out on the bike and get back running! Thank you
The last time I was at palmer park stadium was at my schools sports day, running 800m race after visiting town for the free Kristy Kreme donuts (opening day offer). Unsurprisingly no PB, just an above averagely stained shirt.
Love it. Challenge accepted. Im a similar speed and age to you and been wondering what challenge to take on next. not sure ill manage sub 5 but will give it a go 🙂 Keep up the great content 👍
Many many years ago the fastest i did APFA (Annual physical fitness assessment) final last 1.5 miles i did in 7 min 35 secs.....now.....id struggle to do 1.5 miles in an hour!
If it makes you feel better, your best mile on foot is better than my best mile on a bike. Granted, I haven't been riding long, about a month, but I do have a 3:1 gear ratio. You, on the other hand, have pink shoes.
Sub 5 minute mile is VDOT equivalent of a 17:08 5k or 35:32 10k. Probably the most ambitious thing you’ve set out to do. Going from 6:00 to 05:23 is about 10 times as easy as going from 05:23 to 04:59. I’ll watch with interest to see if these calculations are bullshit or not 😊
The only thing that makes those calculations a bit out is my weight slows me down a lot over distance. For example, I hope to hit a sub 19 Parkrun this weekend, but don’t think I will get a sub 41 K for a good few months.
Agree that 5:22 to sub 5 is one hell of a jump Don't necessarily need to be hitting those 5k and 10k times if you're someone who's naturally more suited to shorter distances though. I managed the sub 5 mile last month but I'm not even sub 37 for 10k.
That's pretty impressive for your age and weight. Do you have any running times you can give us from when you were younger. It'd be pretty interesting to see how much age has or hasn't affected you. You seem to be doing a pretty good job of keeping it at bay.
5.22 is very fast tbf. Unfortunately the older you get the slower your also going to get. You probably can shave those 22 secs but it would take a lot of work and probably hinder other work. Comparing yourself to someone else who has done similar is not applicable when they are much younger and completely different body composition even if the same weight.
Good luck but as a 46 year old runner myself who has ran just under 5 mins twice - you need to be running low 17s for the 5k. Sub 36 for the 10k. If you’ve never been under 19 it’s a miracle you’ve been as close as you have. Be interested to know if those were flat. No hate intended. Just if that’s the case your not getting a genuine gauge of where your at. A 6 week training block of two sessions a week and 50 plus weekly mileage will get you there.
"Come on...push it...faster..." there's a sex joke in there somewhere, but scrolling through the other more inspirational and supportive comments others have made, I'll leave it largely unsaid.
@@MarkLewisfitness PED usage significantly changes the way results are achieved. I think more awareness should be on influencers are on drugs and that their results are enhanced. Normal people should know when presented with extreme hybrid athletes and challenges that the results are modified. Nick Bare is a beast I agree he also motivated me to start training daily. I think more people should watch Nick for his hard work. Thank you Mark for all you do. Your also one of the reasons I train daily. 💯💪💯
I really hope you can break 5 but going from 5:22 to sub 5 is a lot harder than it sounds. I would be surprised if you manage it but truly hope you prove me wrong.
As a 45 year old so much of this resonates with me. Keep up the great work fella. Don't think you realise how much you motivate folks out there... None of this over the top slightly too American motivation.. just 'yea I can probably have a go at that' .. and unlike Goggins you probably won't be responsible for 3 million knee replacements in the next 5 years. 'pain is just cartilage leaving the knees!' 😂
@@MarkLewisfitness stay limping m'fers! Tbf guys our age should know better. We're listening to a dude on Rogan tell us how much pain he's in and we're like 'this seems like a great idea... I'm gonna do that too!' 😂
You have genuinely inspired me to take up running, did my first park run a few weeks ago (31:30) and then 28:30 last week, I've done a similar route of 140kg down to 100kg and I'm looking forward to moving towards 10k and then onto half marathon in the future. Thank you mate
You can check out Nick doing his sub 5 video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RnMcye_KcWI.html inspiring stuff if you aren't average runner shape!
Last year I managed a 5:26, when my 5k PB was 18:45. I set my current 5k PB a couple of weeks ago at 17:15 so it'll be interesting to see how much closer I am this summer. Also I'm guessing you know this, but I think you'll be losing quite a few seconds not using spikes on the track or if possible use the Alphaflys on the road. Good luck, would love to see you do it!
Nice one Mark. After recent illness and injury I'm back at the start: puffing and panting through couch to 5k (doing it as a 27 day run streak though). 52 and determined to be running into my 80s and beyond.
"we're (you're) half way there" lol great album! 5min is totally doable. Just did my first ever 5k and at a ParkRun finished with a time of 27:18. I have learned a great deal from your videos! Thanks!
Recently discovered your channel and it made me put on some running shoes and get out for the first time in... well, longer than I care to admit. Currently doing a 37 minute 5k and 10 minute mile. Hopefully I can get those times down in the next few months. Oh, and thank you for the music inspiration for my next run, will definitely have Slippery When Wet playing, great album. Good luck on your sub 5 minute mile!!
Those Alphafly 2s really are not a good shoe compared to the Alphafly 1s. The AF2 shoes are much heavier in the same size and they wear blisters in longer runs. If you can get your hands on Alphafly 1 shoes then you will see how much better they are than the AF2 shoes.
That is certainly "above average" ! Well done. I "run" a couple of websites on UK running stats and I see only 60 UK M45s ran faster in a track mile race last year. It's about equivalent to a 5:00 1500 and that is event is raced more often but only 122 UK M45s broke 5:00 last year in that event. Why not enter an open track 1500 or mile or maybe a road mile later this summer. You could certainly run about 10 secs quicker just with some competition. I think the "penalty" of being "big" is less for a mile than it is as the distances go up.
@@tobyk8125 Good question. As running in say Alphaflys to Dragonflys may well feel rather different it might depend it on how you get on with them. Going to be way lighter though and much more nimble but equally may feel a bit slappy. Potentially about 5 secs I would think but equally could be difference at all.
It looks like you can open up the hip a bit. just lean back a bit (the leaning forward, should come from the ankles, not the back), so you feel a balanced effort from the hipflexers, lower abs and posterior chain. Lift your knees, like you do the first minute. If you do this, you will increase your stride length and get faster for almost the same effort. Love your content, best of luck with up coming events.
I'm not sure that losing those 20 seconds is realistic unless you ditch all the other training and start running 3 hard interval sessions every week plus another 50K+ road miles per week. If this was an all-out effort then even knocking off another 5 seconds will take some doing. Even trained athletes in their late teens and early 20's struggle to gain more than a few seconds per season once they've made the big gains after puberty. Good luck though, even 5:20 is a seriously talented time at your age.
Actually enjoying a mix of activities at reasonable goals for your fitness level is such a good approach. Another entertaining and inspiring video. Thank you for making these.
It's crazy to think that the pros run much faster for a marathon... my fastest mile was 5'10 but I've never run a mile in supershoes, just 5ks and 10ks. Should be interesting to try.
5m 22s is seriously good for tour frame and age. I'm the same age as you, but 170lb, and my best mile is 5m 27s. I'm also shooting for the golden 5. What's your best 400? Mines 65.5. Opinions vary on whether that can translate to a 5min mile. But I'm working on the 400 too. Good luck to both of us!
You and Nick Bare have both been incredibly inspirational for me to start running. I’ve been lifting weights nearly four years, and I weigh 240 lbs. I started running about a month ago. Been working my way up and did an 8 mile run this past weekend. It was the longest I’ve ever run before, by far. Working toward first marathon here in San Antonio this December. I’m hoping I have enough time to train and accomplish a
Man you’ve got some cajones! Performing a time trial solo is absolutely horrible. Even Chris chataway had two or three pacemakers! On the face of it, you’ve still ran a half decent time. Particularly as you’ll have untold residual training in your legs.
Great video Mark. Recent subscriber, but love how all your videos seem to capture that 'if you put your mind to it, you could do this' vibe. Very inspiring, keep up the good work
Congratulations, Mark, on your great time! It's good to see that at this age and weight, you can still achieve such results. I have been running for a year now because exactly on May 21, 2022, I quit smoking. I am now 42 years old, and since February of this year (2023), I have been going to the gym about 4 times a week. As a result, I have gained about 8kg and now weigh 92kg at 187cm. My running records are 1 mile - 6:06, 5k - 19:51, Half-Marathon - 1:40:58, Marathon - 4:00:44. I must admit that I didn't know what types of running shoes there are. I am currently waiting for the "base" running shoes that I ordered, which have a very thick sole. Due to frequent running, approximately 1500km in a year, I have three damaged toenails. They turned black and bled, but I'm glad it only ended up being something like that and not a fracture or knee injury. Maybe you can make an episode about different types of shoes for different training purposes. I'm also very curious about the episode where you ran a sub 42-minute 10k. What did you eat for that? Best regards, Kuba.
Is the broken toenails thing from too narrow a toebox? I prefer minimalist footwear. Actually, I run in Luna sandals, but I know most people won't go for that.
Here I am wondering how I get back to at least 5:45. Ran today it was 6:14. I don’t know if I should take time off from my runs before I attempt timed mile. 🤦🏾♂️
I may be wrong as I am not a running coach, but I watched a video once comparing track sprinters to soccer sprinting and how they have different mechanics due to a soccer players need to change direction. Essentially, a track athlete foot is straight through the entire cycle, you might be able to get some free gains simply by refining your technique, your toes seem pointed out as in the thumbnail. This might be hard to do if it’s a hip mobility thing but if like most of us it’s from playing sports that require agility you might be able to clean this up. But I am no coach so don’t know how much this would help or if it would even help at all.
Seeing as you’re at Palmer Park there, maybe you should try velodrome bike racing. They have beginner training and then a track league there. It’s really good and makes a good new challenge.
Awesome time i wish one day i can get anywhere close to even a 6 minute. My Pb currently is 9:32 but im 295 for my height im very much overweight and not fit at all. My goal is to get sub 8
It's been many many decades since my last 5:01 mile suffer from bad knees I want to get new knees so I can start running, it's soooo painful to run with bad knees especially when overweight.
Any clip of Mark moaning in agony is usually a direct correlation to the entertainment value of his upcoming video…..we aren’t laughing at your pain Mark, we are just chuckling at your misery expression 😂😂😂😂.
It's going to be very tough Mark I've done a 5:03. I've never really gave it a proper go but it frightened me. I've done a 5k pb in 17:06 and 10k in 35:57. Will be interesting to see if you can do it.
I wonder if pro running athletes opt for a bit of liposuction around the buttocks or some other other fat persistent regions to get a 1-2% optimization in power to weight lol?
I am also 6’6 and 105kg right now. Very much enjoying the size similarities but also your sense of humour. Serious without being overly serious. Thanks for the content man.
Thames path is a great video 👍 After three times doing 63k in Cologne, I thought, I am done with long distance. But after that video, I think about Dodentocht, which my friends try to talk me into.
At age 20 and 170 pounds, I started from being completely lazy and untrained and after 4 months of intensively working at it topped out around a 5:57 mile (I ran mostly fast miles and speed work and weight training and not much else to get there).. I'm not sure I could ever have run too much faster than that, so this is quite amazing to me at your age/weight..
Sub 3 min 1k = Averaging under 72 per 400m for 2.5 laps, Sub 5 mile = 74.XX per 400m for just over 4 laps. When you put it this way the sub 5 mile just seems logically more impressive to me. You could look up calculators or tables that gives conversions and equivalencies to get a more objective answer, but the way I see it most sub 5 milers are also capable of running a kilometer in under 3 minutes. Most definitely the sub 3 1k would be easier for long sprinters and middle distance runners, especially those with low mileage and undertrained aerobic systems with an inclination towards natural speed rather than endurance.
