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The original was posted on /r/running by /u/TomOW on 2025-04-06 19:49:41+00:00.

I’d like to set a 5k goal for the year, shooting to hit the pace in October, but I’m not sure how to figure out what would be a reasonable target. I’m not very connected to the running community, and I’m not even sure what information someone would need to help me figure out a goal.

I’m 40. I usually only run about 6 months out of the year, running 3 or 4 times a week. I’d like a goal that assumes good consistency but that wouldn’t have to become my whole life’s focus for the year.

I’m starting off this year in a little better shape than usual. In other years, I’d be struggling to stay under 30 minutes in early April, but yesterday’s 5k was 27:33.

These are my best paces from the last few years:

2020: 27:15

2021: 27:03

2022: 28:15 (I was really into swimming that year)

2023: 25:34

2024: 24:50

Last year was the first time I had a specific target, and I feel like it helped with motivation. Is this enough information to help figure out a goal?