I Want to Run a Sub-4 Minute Mile: What It Actually Takes

A sub-4 minute mile typically requires a multi-year competitive background, weekly mileage in the 60-90+ mile range during peak training, and an 800m time under roughly 1:52-1:55 (or 400m speed under about 51-52 seconds) as a supporting benchmark. It's realistic only for a small fraction of competitive club or collegiate-level runners — most serious milers' more attainable near-term targets sit in the 4:10-4:30 range first. Below, I've laid out the benchmarks I use to gauge this, followed by a real case: Jamie, a 19-year-old with a 5:05 mile, wrote in asking exactly this question.

The Benchmarks: What Sub-4 Actually Requires

These are benchmarks I use to gauge how realistic a sub-4 target is for an athlete — not a universal law, and not a guarantee. As an accredited Level 2 coach with Athletics Australia, I've seen plenty of athletes defy one column here while falling short on another. But taken together, they're a fair reality check.

The 5K time matters because it tells you whether your aerobic engine can support the mile pace for the full four laps without falling apart in the last 300m. The 800m time tells you whether you've got the raw speed underneath that engine. Miss either one badly, and sub-4 becomes very unlikely no matter how much you want it.

I want to run a sub-4 minute mile. I know it will take a lot more time then I have but I would like to be close to it in March. I'm 19 and have been working on this goal for five months now. I was running a 5:46 mile. Now I am at a 5:05 but have stopped seeing improvements lately. I have been doing mostly long distance work and have been averaging 40 miles a week. I am 6'2" at 145lb. I have always been a bit slower at short sprints like 100m, 200m I think that's what has been keeping back but how do I fix it fast and still keep on track. I'm thinking weights after 5kms or maybe 20x200m. Tell what u think will help and thanks 4 reading.

Jamie

Answer by Dom: Thanks for the question, Jamie — you're setting yourself a hard, hard goal. Going from 5:05 to sub-4 is a reduction of more than 20%, over a minute off your current time, and that's a level only a small fraction of competitive runners ever reach. So first, a great goal — but let's set some intermediate targets too, so you don't lose motivation chasing a number that not many people reach.

Five months of targeted training is a solid start, but it's not a lot yet. Progress is never full steam ahead — it comes in bumps, ups and downs. Give yourself time to build. Here's a preview of what I'd focus on:

1. Keep your base mileage — it's doing more for you than you think
2. Add real speedwork: intervals and repetitions at three different paces
3. Layer in strides on your easy days
4. Be selective about weights — target your actual weak spots
5. Expect improvement in 1-3 months, not overnight

Base Mileage and Speedwork to Get You Started

Your 40 miles a week has helped more than you might realise. Long distance work builds a base, and even though the mile is short, you need a strong base underneath it. You need to be able to hold near-maximal effort for 4-5 minutes straight, and without that aerobic foundation, you'll falter much faster than you'd like. See my base running drills page for more on this.

But a strong mile also needs tough speedwork. Now's the time to replace some of your slower runs with interval runs and repetition runs. Focus on three speeds: faster than mile pace but shorter (3 x 400m), at mile pace (4 x 400m), and slower than mile pace but longer (3-6 x 800m, 2-4 x 1200m, 2-3 x 1600m).

Keep the same pace across every single repetition in a session. Treat these as hard days — never two days of speedwork in a row. This kind of high-intensity work isn't just tough, it's also a bigger injury risk, so be careful with it.

Balancing Speed, Strength, and Injury Risk

I'd also recommend adding strides to some of your easy runs. Strides — short, relaxed accelerations of 80-100m — help improve your running technique without the injury risk of full speedwork.

Your idea of some weight or resistance training isn't a bad one, but you need to know what to target. What are your current weak spots physically, and how do you best address them? A gym or your school/college may be able to help you figure that out.

You should start seeing improvement, though it may take a little while — usually 1-3 months of consistent training at different speeds before it really shows. I won't guarantee you'll hit sub-4; that goal is tough. But with targeted training, you should improve meaningfully on your current time.

Setting the Right Intermediate Targets

From your 5:05 starting point, here's the staircase I'd set, Jamie:

1. Sub-5:00 — short-term goal, 2-4 months out
2. Sub-4:40 — 6-12 months out, once speedwork and strides are consistent habits
3. Sub-4:20 — 12-24 months out, assuming your mileage and 800m speed keep climbing
4. Sub-4:00 — multi-year goal, contingent on hitting the benchmarks above: 800m under roughly 1:52-1:55, weekly mileage well into the 60-90 range, and years of structured training behind you

Hit sub-5, then reassess. That's a much healthier way to chase this than fixating on the four-minute number from where you stand today.

You've got a long road ahead, Jamie, but the direction is right — keep building the base, add the speedwork properly, and be patient with the process. Not everyone who wants a sub-4 mile gets there, but plenty of runners who set intermediate goals along the way end up surprising themselves. For more detail, head back to the mile training plan hub, plan your race-day splits, or if sub-5 still feels like a stretch, find your starting plan.

All the best,
Dom