According to this article in Livescience, everyone has an optimal. This is defined as a running speed at which you cover the most distance with the least amount of oxygen required. 
You know that if you run faster, it takes more oxygen which is why you breath more rapidly. But there is a point when your body can’t use the extra oxygen you breath and you become less efficient. Going slow takes less oxygen but it takes longer to cover the distance so it’s not as efficient.
They found the best speeds by testing runners at different speeds on a treadmill. It turns out that everyone has an optimal speed. On average, the optimal speed for women was 9:08 min/mile. For men, it was 7:13 min/mile. Another interesting finding was that walking was the least efficient way to get from one point to another from an energy consumption standpoint.
I wonder what the optimal speed for a joggler would be?
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m willing to bet that an individual’s “optimal pace” responds to training. Also, when running a race I’m not actually interested in my “optimal” pace; I’m interested in finding the fastest pace I can sustain for the distance. My guess is that this is faster than “optimal”.
I’m running way, way, way under optimal speed. I believe that joggling is a way to progress towards optimal speed. I think it has a postive impact on cadence, balance, and overall form.
3:31 marathon time was good for me in Nov. I felt like 7:45-8min miles were pretty efficient for me. That speed still allowed me to engage with the environment around me, which is what I value as a social human being.
I’m only managing 17 minute miles right now, so it’s going to take awhile before I work up to optimal pace. Joggling is being introduced slowly as it’s going to take my arms awhile to build up the endurance. I joggle for the first five minutes of my walk/run interval training and have noticed it makes that part of my workout much more strenuous. So, yeah, optimal pace might indeed be different for a joggler.