5k and 10k Erg Benchmarks: How to Judge Your Times

A 5,000m or 10,000m row tests aerobic fitness and your ability to keep a rhythm. Unlike a 2k, there is no single famous number that everyone knows. People ask “what is a good 5k?” and the honest answer is: it depends on who you are.

Start with the Concept2 rankings

Concept2 runs an online logbook that publishes rankings for standard distances, including 5,000m and 10,000m. You can filter by age group, sex and weight class, so you see where you sit against rowers like you instead of against a 25-year-old heavyweight.

Find them here: log.concept2.com/rankings. Pick the season, the event and your category and see the spread of times. The rankings include only people who have logged results, so they skew towards committed rowers. Treat the position as context, not a grade.

This page does not publish a table of “standards”. Any such table would be a guess dressed up as a fact, and the rankings are the real data.

Setting your own benchmark

The most useful comparison is you against you. To make it fair:

• Use the same machine and the same drag factor each time. See drag factor explained.
• Test at a similar time of day, and not on a day after a hard session.
• Record the average pace, stroke rate and average heart rate if you wear a monitor.
• Warm up in the same way each time.

If you have never rowed a 5k, the first one is a baseline. Pace it as evenly as you can, and note how the last kilometre felt.

Pace arithmetic

Pace is shown per 500m. A 5k is ten 500m sections and a 10k is twenty.

5k: finish time = pace per 500m x 10

10k: finish time = pace per 500m x 20

Worked example: 5k at 2:05/500m

1. 2:05 is 125 seconds.
2. 125 x 10 = 1,250 seconds.
3. 1,250 divided by 60 is 20 minutes 50 seconds, so 20:50.

Worked example: 10k at 2:10/500m

1. 2:10 is 130 seconds.
2. 130 x 20 = 2,600 seconds.
3. That is 43 minutes 20 seconds, so 43:20.

Pace /500m	5k time	10k time
1:50	18:20	36:40
2:00	20:00	40:00
2:10	21:40	43:20
2:20	23:20	46:40
2:30	25:00	50:00
2:40	26:40	53:20

To go the other way, divide your finish time in seconds by 10 (for a 5k) or 20 (for a 10k) to get your average pace. A 22:00 5k is 1,320 seconds, divided by 10 is 132 seconds, or 2:12/500m.

A rough link to 2k pace

Longer pieces are rowed at a slower pace than a 2k. As a rough guide, a 5k often lands around 5 to 10 seconds per 500m slower than your 2k pace, and a 10k a little slower again, around 10 to 15 seconds.

This is a rule of thumb, not a prediction. Some people have more speed than endurance and some the other way round. Use it as a starting point for your first attempt and adjust after. If you know your 2k time, the rowing pace calculator gives you the 500m pace to start from.

Worked example with a 2k of 8:00 (2:00/500m)

Piece	Rough pace range	Rough finish time
5k	2:05 to 2:10	20:50 to 21:40
10k	2:10 to 2:15	43:20 to 45:00

Those finish times come from multiplying the pace by 10 or 20. The pace ranges are the guess. If your first 5k attempt at 2:07 felt easy, go faster next time. If you could not hold it past 3,000m, you started too fast.

How to pace a 5k

A 5k is long enough for pacing errors to cost you, but short enough to be properly hard.

1. First kilometre: start at your target pace, or 1 to 2 seconds quicker for 10 strokes, then settle. Do not bank time.
2. Middle 3k: hold the pace. Make a note of the stroke rate you are using, commonly 24 to 28.
3. Last kilometre: if you have something left, lift the rate by 2 and the pace with it. Spend the last 500m.

Our stroke rate guide explains how to choose a rate that keeps your stroke long.

How to pace a 10k

A 10k is an aerobic test. It rewards patience.

1. First 2k: go off at target pace, never quicker. It will feel too easy. That is a good sign.
2. Middle 6k: keep your technique tidy, check your breathing and keep your shoulders relaxed.
3. Last 2k: build slightly if you can. Your final kilometre should be your hardest.

A common rule of thumb for 10k rate is 22 to 26, but go by what keeps your pace and your stroke long.

Using heart rate

Heart rate is useful on longer pieces because it drifts upward as you fatigue. If it rises sharply in the first 2k of a 10k, you are likely going too fast. See heart rate zones for rowing for how to use it sensibly.

Training for 5k and 10k

Most of your training for these distances is steady rowing, with a smaller amount of threshold work. The 5k and 10k endurance plans lay this out week by week. If you want a speed base to support them, the free 8-Week 2k Plan (signup box at the end of this page) builds both steady volume and race pace. For a gentler start, the 12-week beginner to fit plan works up to longer rows. Once you can row an hour steadily and want a longer goal, the Half Marathon Erg Plan is the next step up.

Looking at your 2k as well? Read how to do a 2k erg test and 2k erg pacing strategy. The training hub has everything else.

Safety

A hard 5k is a maximal-ish effort. If you have a heart condition, high blood pressure, or are unsure, check with your GP first. Stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness or faintness.