How fast do you think the top players could run a 5k?
 

Without additional training, that is. We all know they have wheels and great cardio fitness. I'm guessing they could run 18:00 or 17:00 even though they don't distance run for training.

Look at Ferrer and Murray; they have the physique of a guy who can run 17:00.

Ten years ago my best was around 16.52 minutes on 5 km's and not even 100% prepared so i guess the top guys must be inbetween 16 and 17 minutes easy considered how fit they are...

What does that mean exactly?

I'd seriously doubt either of these guys could sustain 5:28 pace.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/4/4_1/96.shtml

I'd be surprised if they could do better than 20:00 or 6:30 pace.

You can't tell by looking at someone's physique. I used to have a similar fat level and height as Murray in that picture, and I once ran a mile in under 8 minutes - believe it or not.

A man's sprint time in the 100 meters is more relevant to tennis than the ability to run a 5K at good time. Tennis points, even at the professional level, are more like jumping rope a little and then shuttle sprinting back and forth. Distance running isn't very relevant to tennis except to the extent that it develops cardio endurance.

Well you must have been a pretty good runner to do that with little preparation. I know a lot of people who ran cross country in high school that trained all year round specifically for 5k races. A 16:52 would have put you in the upper half of a very strong cross coutry high school team. I know guys that ran cross country in college at the D2 and D3 levels that had times slower than that in high school.

Pretty much this ^^^

Running times on this board sometimes goes the same ways benchpress claims are made. Having a muscular physique in no way will predict your ability in a long distance run. In fact if you were really muscular I would predict your times would not be that great because you probably didn't spend much time on cardio. I have seen a lot of fit looking guys who ran 7-9 minute miles.

Probably more due to lactic acid threshold. They have the conditioning to run a fast 5k but have not trained to withstand the greater levels of lactic acid that build up in that heart rate range for long periods of time.

It's called Photoshop... hahaha

I was thinking the same thing myself. 5:30 pace for a 5K is pretty good. The guy must be a natural. Who knows, maybe Murray and Ferrer are too?

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/For...10/Ferrer.aspx

Well if Ferrer runs a minimum of one hour per day I would say he is probably a very good runner.

With all the running the players do on the court, I'm guessing their legs and heart are in good enough shape to do the times I mentioned if they're also lightweight enough. Nadal would probably be too bulky to pull it off.

Well, "not even 100% prepped" is very vague. I did recently run 16:44 on only 15 mpw running (and a lot of cycling).

Well, the strange thing is that there were two guys before me, i was only the 3th best time that day. These guys were from an athletic club and trained probably every day, i played a lot of tennis that time and ran only a few times a week but i was very fit though i went very deep that day.


needless to say it took me a couple of days to recover...

If you already knew the answer, why did you bother asking?

i'd say most top 50-100 guys can run a 5k in 18 or under, would be surprised if they couldnt.
i can run a 20:00 on a hungover morning without even training so YES these guys can easy IMO

once new a guy that never practiced only should up for races, usually late, always smoking cigs and could run 15 flat...with jean shorts

looking at someone means nothing

Wow!!!

.....

Ferrer is remarkably fit, so I don't doubt he'd be a decent 5k runner. I'm not a distance runner, so I don't know what a really good time is.

I know Ferrer runs, because I saw him and Lopez jogging once as I pulled into the big grass parking area behind the stadium at Indian Wells. But he certainly just seemed to be doing a little exercise and wasn't doing a 5 minute pace mile.

I believe we can say with certainty that most professional tennis players would do better in the 5k than most amateur athletes. Even if they don't run distance, there's a lot of cardio developed during the daily tennis practices.

[waiting for LeeD to post how he ran a sub-15 5k in junior high school wearing combat boots with one broken leg]

Agreed, a 16:52 is a great time and indicates that you are a top runner. I ran XC for two years and was in great shape and my best time was around 18:10 (now I can do about 21). Guys who were running under 17 were probably in the top 5% of high school runners.

It depends a lot on the course as well. A flat 5k is much different than the typical cross country course with lots of hills. Some courses had such long steep hills that the course records were in the 17s. I remember I ran over 20 that race and placed well.