: Average speed of the general population over uneven ground How fast might an average, not-particularly-fit human be expected to move over uneven ground in short (~50ft) distances?

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The speeds provided by @radpin seem to be slow for short distances.

A pedestrian without training and on even ground should be able to walk 4-6km per hour for at least an hour. Compare en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preferred_walking_speed
But for short distances one would sprint if the ground allows. World record for 100m is a little below 10 seconds (36km/h). So an average persons should be able to do this in 20-30seconds. 50 ft are about a sixths of that distance so 3-6seconds (12-18km/h).

Now the last factor is the ground. Speeds mentioned above are on even ground. If the ground is uneven enough (e.g. a pile of lumber or deep snow) speed can be reduced as low as you want, and also depends on the risk you are willing to take.

On somewhat usable ground (trail in the woods, loose sand on the beach) I'd expect about half the speed on normal ground, so about 6-12 seconds for 50ft or 6-9km/h. Which the first roleplaying page I found for the topic agrees with (look for the Table: Hampered Movement) Be careful with the absolute speeds in role playing games. They often assume a combat situations, where you don't run as fast as you can, but also try to stay alife and/or kill other people. Goals not so common in real life for most of us.

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For backpacking on trails we used these values:

1 mph, you're plodding around.
2 mph, you're walking at a leisurely pace
3 mph, you're walking at a "good pace"
4 mph, you're doing some serious hustle

Some high end speed hikers have done the 2,600 mile Pacific Crest Trail averaging ~40 miles a day.

If I had to take a wild guess, irrespective of fitness, elevation gain, and pack weight, I'd guess 2.5 MPH. That's generally what I've used for planning trips with novice backpackers.