There once was a time, not too many years ago, when the 10k was today’s 5k. To hear the old-timers tell it, the 10k was the standard local race. Today, the 10k is mostly a lost race.
A Facebook friend said, “It used to be kinda the benchmark distance. I remember running the Diet Pepsi 10k series throughout the Midwest. I think the new generation likes the 5k more.”
Another Facebook friend wrote, “Society favors the 5k b/c our attention spans are getting shorter. Blame ADD.”
Now maybe it’s because I’m a speedy runner, but part of me doesn’t like the 5k because it’s just too short. Sure, I may be running a race, but I like getting something out of it, too. A 5k is over before you know it. Even ten minute milers must feel cheated. It’s just not a workout.
To reap the benefits of running, you really ought to run more than 30 minutes at a time. Anything less and you’re not allowing your body to “get in the zone,” that point in a run where your body actually tells you, “I’m starting to like this.” I know that non-runners don’t believe this happens. That their bodies would never tell them this. But a runner’s high is real, and it happens after 30 minutes. It’s guaranteed. It’s in all the running manuals and everything. I swear.
The 10k is the perfect distance for reaching that runner’s high while in a competitive setting.
And it’s not like most 5k runners couldn’t finish a 10k. Heck, we warm up for a mile and cool down for another one, logging five miles when all is said and done. The 10k is just a tad longer at 6.2 miles.
It’s July now, and the Illinois Marathon is a distant memory. Are those who ran it or the half marathon looking for 5k races to run? Some are, but many others would rather run a 10k. Has the focus on marathons and half marathons made us forget the 10k?
The running year starts with the Charleston Mid-Winter Classic with a 5, 10, and 15k in February. There’s the Mountain Goat (also a 5, 10, and 15k) in March. The Illinois Marathon had a 10k option in April. The Kirby Derby and Twin City Twosome have 10ks in May. There’s the Countryside 10k in Sidney in June. Our next “local” 10k will be the Run for the Bagel in Mattoon on July 21. On the surface, it looks like there are a lot of 10ks, but looks are deceiving. None of these, except for the Countryside 10k, are dedicated 10ks. They’re paired up with 5ks, a 15k, a half marathon, or a marathon.
People are running half marathons now more than ever. And if all we have are half marathons and 5k races to run, with not much in between, we don’t have longer races to use as stepping stones. We’re hurting local running without the 10k.
I’ve run fourteen half marathons and twenty 5k races. How many 10k races have I run? Six. That’s it. We need more 10ks.