How Fast Should My Child Run?
Running time percentile benchmarks for children aged 10–17, by sex — at four distances: 400m, 800m, 1 mile, and 5 km. Based on the National Children and Youth Fitness Study. Enter your child's time to see their percentile.
Sex
Age
Distance
Enter your child's time (optional)
Enter the time your child ran 1 mile to see their percentile.
Your child's result
Reference table: Boys, age 12
1 mile run · National Children and Youth Fitness Study
| Percentile | Time (mm:ss) | Pace / km | Speed | Context |
|---|
Source: National Children and Youth Fitness Study · Ages 10–17 · General population of US schoolchildren.
What these numbers mean
About percentiles
A child at the 70th percentile runs faster than 70% of children their age and sex. The 50th percentile is the median — exactly half run faster, half slower. Being anywhere between the 25th and 75th percentile is completely normal.
Boys vs girls
Boys are typically faster than girls from around age 12 onward as testosterone drives their growth spurt. Girls often peak around age 14. The gap widens significantly through mid-adolescence.
About the data
Data is from the National Children and Youth Fitness Study, a large-scale US government study of schoolchildren. It reflects general population fitness levels — not competitive athletes. Ages 10–17 only.
Mile vs km
The study measured 1-mile run times. The 1 km figures shown here are calculated from the same data — they represent the expected 1 km time at the same pace, and are an accurate comparison for metric users.
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