5K time over 30 minutes

You didn't run in middle school. You didn't run in high school. You hate running. Wait, why did you try out for the cross-country team again?

5K time between 25–30 minutes 

You ran junior varsity track in high school, but you run for fun. You don't have much interest in seriously improving your times. Right about now is when you start considering the more casual environment of the "club team."

Men's 5K: 18–20 minutes, Women's 5K: 23–24 minutes

You ran varsity cross-country in high school and you were pretty serious about it. You bought the short shorts. You drank the Gatorade. You'd like to run collegiately and you have a decent chance of at least making the junior varsity team…at the D-II or D-III level.

Men's 5K: 16:10–17:45, Women's 5K: 19:15–22:45

You helped your high school team win districts and you held your own at state. You're probably looking at scholarships from top D-II and D-III programs. But the excitement doesn't end there. You're being considered by some okay D-I programs. You might even have a date on Saturday night. (Not that we at Shmoop would know anything about that.)

Men's 5K: under 16 minutes, Women's 5K: under 19 minutes

You are a national-caliber runner with your eyes on the prize. You move faster than the action of a Michael Bay movie, and you won't stop 'til you grab the gold. Or silver. Hey, even bronze would be cool, right? You're probably about to receive scholarship offers from a number of D-I programs that would be lucky to have you. That is, if you don't feel like working for us instead. It is quite the fast-paced environment over here. (Ha. Hahaha. Ha.)