20 Minute Row Distances By Age And Ability

What is a good distance for 20 minutes?

A good distance for 20 minutes is 5115m for men and 4537m for women. This is the average 20 minute distance across all ages. Compare your distance by age and ability below.

Our rowing distance standards for 20 minutes are based on 43,601 rowing results by Rowing Level users from 2021 to 2026. More...

How far should I be able to row in 20 minutes?

For an intermediate rower, the average distance rowed in 20 minutes is 5115m for men and 4537m for women.

Distance
500m
Watts
Cal/hr

Rowing Level	Male	Female
Beginner	4232	3706
Novice	4708	4157
Intermediate	5115	4537
Advanced	5472	4865
Elite	5782	5143

Distance: Metres covered in the selected time.

Rowing Level	Male	Female
Beginner	02:21.8	02:41.9
Novice	02:07.4	02:24.3
Intermediate	01:57.3	02:12.2
Advanced	01:49.6	02:03.3
Elite	01:43.8	01:56.7

500m: Average time per 500 metres, shown in minutes and seconds (mm:ss.s).

Rowing Level	Male	Female
Beginner	123	83
Novice	169	116
Intermediate	217	151
Advanced	266	187
Elite	313	220

Watts: Average power output.

Rowing Level	Male	Female
Beginner	722	491
Novice	881	608
Intermediate	1045	728
Advanced	1212	849
Elite	1376	965

Cal/hr: Average calorie burn per hour.

Male
Female

Male 20 Minutes Rowing Distances

A good distance for 20 minutes is 5115m for men. This is the average distance across all ages.

Average distance rowed for 20 minutes by age and ability

Distance
500m
Watts
Cal/hr

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	3022	3361	3623	3788	3928
15	3903	4343	4727	5086	5398
20	4230	4706	5113	5471	5782
25	4232	4708	5115	5472	5782
30	4230	4706	5113	5471	5781
35	4201	4675	5081	5434	5741
40	4136	4607	5006	5349	5646
45	4047	4508	4899	5235	5525
50	3956	4405	4788	5118	5404
55	3865	4303	4677	5001	5282
60	3773	4201	4565	4884	5161
65	3681	4098	4455	4768	5039
70	3582	3992	4342	4650	4917
75	3443	3839	4181	4489	4756
80	3246	3617	3941	4240	4500
85	2989	3326	3622	3904	4149
90	2674	2964	3224	3479	3702

Distance: Metres covered in the selected time.

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	03:18.6	02:58.5	02:45.6	02:38.4	02:32.8
15	02:33.7	02:18.2	02:06.9	01:58.0	01:51.2
20	02:21.8	02:07.5	01:57.3	01:49.7	01:43.8
25	02:21.8	02:07.4	01:57.3	01:49.6	01:43.8
30	02:21.8	02:07.5	01:57.3	01:49.7	01:43.8
35	02:22.8	02:08.3	01:58.1	01:50.4	01:44.5
40	02:25.1	02:10.2	01:59.9	01:52.2	01:46.3
45	02:28.2	02:13.1	02:02.5	01:54.6	01:48.6
50	02:31.7	02:16.2	02:05.3	01:57.2	01:51.0
55	02:35.2	02:19.4	02:08.3	02:00.0	01:53.6
60	02:39.0	02:22.8	02:11.4	02:02.8	01:56.3
65	02:43.0	02:26.4	02:14.7	02:05.8	01:59.1
70	02:47.5	02:30.3	02:18.2	02:09.0	02:02.0
75	02:54.3	02:36.3	02:23.5	02:13.7	02:06.1
80	03:04.9	02:45.9	02:32.2	02:21.5	02:13.3
85	03:20.7	03:00.4	02:45.6	02:33.7	02:24.6
90	03:44.4	03:22.4	03:06.1	02:52.5	02:42.1

500m: Average time per 500 metres, shown in minutes and seconds (mm:ss.s).

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	62	77	88	98
15	96	133	171	213	255
20	123	169	217	265	313
25	123	169	217	266	313
30	123	169	217	265	313
35	120	166	213	260	307
40	115	158	203	248	292
45	107	148	191	232	273
50	100	139	178	217	256
55	94	129	166	203	239
60	87	120	154	189	223
65	81	112	143	176	207
70	74	103	133	163	193
75	66	92	118	147	174
80	55	77	99	124	148
85	43	60	77	96	116
90	31	42	54	68	82

Watts: Average power output.

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	454	511	565	603	637
15	631	756	888	1032	1176
20	721	880	1044	1212	1376
25	722	881	1045	1212	1376
30	722	880	1044	1212	1376
35	713	869	1030	1194	1354
40	694	844	999	1152	1302
45	669	810	955	1099	1239
50	645	776	911	1046	1179
55	621	744	870	996	1121
60	599	713	830	949	1065
65	578	683	792	903	1013
70	556	654	756	860	962
75	527	615	707	804	899
80	490	564	641	724	807
85	449	505	565	631	698
90	406	445	486	534	582

Cal/hr: Average calorie burn per hour.

Female 20 Minutes Rowing Distances

A good distance for 20 minutes is 4537m for women. This is the average distance across all ages.

Average distance rowed for 20 minutes by age and ability

Distance
500m
Watts
Cal/hr

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	3024	3381	3683	3941	4154
15	3405	3814	4160	4457	4705
20	3706	4157	4537	4865	5124
25	3706	4157	4537	4865	5143
30	3702	4154	4536	4865	5141
35	3669	4117	4497	4823	5095
40	3592	4028	4396	4714	4979
45	3507	3933	4293	4603	4861
50	3415	3833	4187	4491	4743
55	3322	3733	4080	4379	4624
60	3230	3632	3973	4268	4507
65	3137	3532	3867	4156	4388
70	3026	3407	3731	4010	4239
75	2881	3237	3538	3798	4020
80	2698	3018	3289	3521	3717
85	2455	2736	2973	3176	3331
90	2146	2387	2589	2762	2859

Distance: Metres covered in the selected time.

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	03:18.4	02:57.4	02:42.9	02:32.2	02:24.4
15	02:56.2	02:37.3	02:24.2	02:14.6	02:07.5
20	02:41.9	02:24.3	02:12.2	02:03.3	01:57.1
25	02:41.9	02:24.3	02:12.2	02:03.3	01:56.7
30	02:42.1	02:24.4	02:12.3	02:03.3	01:56.7
35	02:43.5	02:25.7	02:13.4	02:04.4	01:57.8
40	02:47.0	02:29.0	02:16.5	02:07.3	02:00.5
45	02:51.1	02:32.6	02:19.8	02:10.4	02:03.4
50	02:55.7	02:36.5	02:23.3	02:13.6	02:06.5
55	03:00.6	02:40.7	02:27.1	02:17.0	02:09.7
60	03:05.8	02:45.2	02:31.0	02:20.6	02:13.1
65	03:11.3	02:49.9	02:35.2	02:24.4	02:16.7
70	03:18.3	02:56.1	02:40.8	02:29.6	02:21.5
75	03:28.3	03:05.4	02:49.6	02:38.0	02:29.3
80	03:42.4	03:18.8	03:02.4	02:50.4	02:41.4
85	04:04.4	03:39.3	03:21.8	03:08.9	03:00.1
90	04:39.6	04:11.4	03:51.7	03:37.2	03:29.9

500m: Average time per 500 metres, shown in minutes and seconds (mm:ss.s).

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	63	81	99	116
15	64	90	117	143	169
20	83	116	151	187	218
25	83	116	151	187	220
30	82	116	151	187	220
35	80	113	147	182	214
40	75	106	138	170	200
45	70	99	128	158	186
50	65	91	119	147	173
55	59	84	110	136	160
60	55	78	102	126	148
65	50	71	94	116	137
70	45	64	84	104	123
75	39	55	72	89	105
80	32	45	58	71	83
85	24	33	43	52	60
90	16	22	28	34	38

Watts: Average power output.

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	362	423	486	549	607
15	428	517	609	701	788
20	491	608	728	849	957
25	491	608	728	849	965
30	490	607	728	849	965
35	483	597	714	833	944
40	466	572	681	791	895
45	448	547	648	751	847
50	430	521	617	712	802
55	412	497	586	676	759
60	395	475	557	641	718
65	380	453	530	608	678
70	362	428	497	567	632
75	341	397	455	513	570
80	317	361	406	451	494
85	290	322	354	386	414
90	263	284	304	325	338

Cal/hr: Average calorie burn per hour.

What do the rowing standards mean?

Beginner	Faster than 5% of rowers.
Novice	Faster than 20% of rowers.
Intermediate	Faster than 50% of rowers.
Advanced	Faster than 80% of rowers.
Elite	Faster than 95% of rowers.

Strength Level introduced these exact Beginner-to-Elite percentile boundaries in 2015. See how the standards evolved.

Data behind the rowing distance standards for 20 minutes

Our rowing distance standards for 20 minutes are based on results submitted by Rowing Level users. We will continue to update them as more community data becomes available. See our standards timeline.

Community results	43,601
Community users	21,495
Data start	10 November 2021
Data cutoff	14 October 2026
Model generated	14 October 2026

Qualifying results are retained after checks for implausible data, duplicates, and unusual or automated submission patterns. Learn more about qualifying results.

Previous standards (28 Sep 2023)

The old average distance for 20 minutes was 5047m across all ages and genders, 5168m for men (now 1.0% slower) and 4551m for women (now 0.3% slower).

Male
Female

Level	Previous	Current	Change %
Beginner	4561m	4232m	-7.2%
Novice	4850m	4708m	-2.9%
Intermediate	5168m	5115m	-1.0%
Advanced	5506m	5472m	-0.6%
Elite	5852m	5782m	-1.2%

Level	Previous	Current	Change %
Beginner	3842m	3706m	-3.5%
Novice	4176m	4157m	-0.5%
Intermediate	4551m	4537m	-0.3%
Advanced	4951m	4865m	-1.7%
Elite	5348m	5143m	-3.8%

We created these previous standards on 8 November 2021 and last updated them 28 September 2023 (see archive.org).

More Times

1 Minute 5 Minutes 10 Minutes 20 Minutes 30 Minutes 40 Minutes 60 Minutes 90 Minutes

See All Rowing Standards

Rate Your Row

The Rowing Level Calculator can show your exact level of rowing performance at any age.

Calculate Rowing Performance

20 Minute Row Distances

Rowing Standards By Age And Ability

What is a good distance for 20 minutes?

How far should I be able to row in 20 minutes?

Male 20 Minutes Rowing Distances

Average distance rowed for 20 minutes by age and ability

Female 20 Minutes Rowing Distances

Average distance rowed for 20 minutes by age and ability

What do the rowing standards mean?

Data behind the rowing distance standards for 20 minutes

Previous standards (28 Sep 2023)

More Times

Rate Your Row

World Record

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	62	77	88	98
15	96	133	171	213	255
20	123	169	217	265	313
25	123	169	217	266	313
30	123	169	217	265	313
35	120	166	213	260	307
40	115	158	203	248	292
45	107	148	191	232	273
50	100	139	178	217	256
55	94	129	166	203	239
60	87	120	154	189	223
65	81	112	143	176	207
70	74	103	133	163	193
75	66	92	118	147	174
80	55	77	99	124	148
85	43	60	77	96	116
90	31	42	54	68	82

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	63	81	99	116
15	64	90	117	143	169
20	83	116	151	187	218
25	83	116	151	187	220
30	82	116	151	187	220
35	80	113	147	182	214
40	75	106	138	170	200
45	70	99	128	158	186
50	65	91	119	147	173
55	59	84	110	136	160
60	55	78	102	126	148
65	50	71	94	116	137
70	45	64	84	104	123
75	39	55	72	89	105
80	32	45	58	71	83
85	24	33	43	52	60
90	16	22	28	34	38

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	362	423	486	549	607
15	428	517	609	701	788
20	491	608	728	849	957
25	491	608	728	849	965
30	490	607	728	849	965
35	483	597	714	833	944
40	466	572	681	791	895
45	448	547	648	751	847
50	430	521	617	712	802
55	412	497	586	676	759
60	395	475	557	641	718
65	380	453	530	608	678
70	362	428	497	567	632
75	341	397	455	513	570
80	317	361	406	451	494
85	290	322	354	386	414
90	263	284	304	325	338

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	62	77	88	98
15	96	133	171	213	255
20	123	169	217	265	313
25	123	169	217	266	313
30	123	169	217	265	313
35	120	166	213	260	307
40	115	158	203	248	292
45	107	148	191	232	273
50	100	139	178	217	256
55	94	129	166	203	239
60	87	120	154	189	223
65	81	112	143	176	207
70	74	103	133	163	193
75	66	92	118	147	174
80	55	77	99	124	148
85	43	60	77	96	116
90	31	42	54	68	82

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	63	81	99	116
15	64	90	117	143	169
20	83	116	151	187	218
25	83	116	151	187	220
30	82	116	151	187	220
35	80	113	147	182	214
40	75	106	138	170	200
45	70	99	128	158	186
50	65	91	119	147	173
55	59	84	110	136	160
60	55	78	102	126	148
65	50	71	94	116	137
70	45	64	84	104	123
75	39	55	72	89	105
80	32	45	58	71	83
85	24	33	43	52	60
90	16	22	28	34	38

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	362	423	486	549	607
15	428	517	609	701	788
20	491	608	728	849	957
25	491	608	728	849	965
30	490	607	728	849	965
35	483	597	714	833	944
40	466	572	681	791	895
45	448	547	648	751	847
50	430	521	617	712	802
55	412	497	586	676	759
60	395	475	557	641	718
65	380	453	530	608	678
70	362	428	497	567	632
75	341	397	455	513	570
80	317	361	406	451	494
85	290	322	354	386	414
90	263	284	304	325	338

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	62	77	88	98
15	96	133	171	213	255
20	123	169	217	265	313
25	123	169	217	266	313
30	123	169	217	265	313
35	120	166	213	260	307
40	115	158	203	248	292
45	107	148	191	232	273
50	100	139	178	217	256
55	94	129	166	203	239
60	87	120	154	189	223
65	81	112	143	176	207
70	74	103	133	163	193
75	66	92	118	147	174
80	55	77	99	124	148
85	43	60	77	96	116
90	31	42	54	68	82

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	45	63	81	99	116
15	64	90	117	143	169
20	83	116	151	187	218
25	83	116	151	187	220
30	82	116	151	187	220
35	80	113	147	182	214
40	75	106	138	170	200
45	70	99	128	158	186
50	65	91	119	147	173
55	59	84	110	136	160
60	55	78	102	126	148
65	50	71	94	116	137
70	45	64	84	104	123
75	39	55	72	89	105
80	32	45	58	71	83
85	24	33	43	52	60
90	16	22	28	34	38

Age	Beginner	Novice	Intermediate	Advanced	Elite
10	362	423	486	549	607
15	428	517	609	701	788
20	491	608	728	849	957
25	491	608	728	849	965
30	490	607	728	849	965
35	483	597	714	833	944
40	466	572	681	791	895
45	448	547	648	751	847
50	430	521	617	712	802
55	412	497	586	676	759
60	395	475	557	641	718
65	380	453	530	608	678
70	362	428	497	567	632
75	341	397	455	513	570
80	317	361	406	451	494
85	290	322	354	386	414
90	263	284	304	325	338