Can anybody advise a respectable time for a beginner to run 5km in?

I'm an overweight novice and so to keep me motivated i'd like a target to shoot for.

I'm currently doing 3.5km in 20mins with a comfortable heart rate of 165bpm - but don't know what i should be aiming for if I don't want to come last in any fun runs etc.

Can anyone help?

Worrying about coming last is common for beginners, but you never will! Really I wouldn't worry about it.

3.5k in 20 mins is a respectable time for a beginner. I would estimate you will do 5k in under 30 mins. Try keeping a log of your times and distances. Stick at the training and you will be able to look back and see how much you have improved. Good luck and keep running!

if you are worried about being last in a race, try to have a look at the previous yrs finishing times (often on the web somewhere). that way you will have some idea of the standard.

20 mins for 3.5 will get you round 5k in 30 mins. There's no way you'll be last with that time. Even if you are, you'll get plenty of cheers and support, and you'll still have done better than the hordes who chose to sit on the couch eating crisps.

Everyone is worried about times / how good they are compared to everyone else so no point in saying otherwise. But for your first event the key is to enjoy it and be proud of joining in and finishing and not where you finished....that's for later

If you are really worried about coming last, do one of the race for life events. If you run at all I promise you that you will not come last.

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I'm a bit tubby.

My 1st year of racing was to go round that race and see what I can do it in,I was pleased with every result that year coz it was a PB,then next year do it again you will be quicker after a year of (hopefully)injury free running.

I'd suggest that you don't think about time until you are comfortable with the distance. Once you can comfortably run further than your target distance then you can try running your target distance a bit quicker every time to develop your race pace.