10 Reasons You Should Run A 5-K
The 5-K is the perfect distance. It encourages you to develop a combination of endurance, speed, and strength. You can train and still have a life, race hard and walk normally the next day, and get really fit really fast.
The 5-K is the perfect distance. It encourages you to develop a combination of endurance, speed, and strength. You can train and still have a life, race hard and walk normally the next day, and get really fit really fast. –
Here are 10 reasons why the 5-K is the ultimate perfect distance to run:
1. Style
No fuel belts. No water bottles. No gels or blocks or powders or bars. No shorts with 30 pockets. No Vaseline stains. You can run a 5-K in skorts with no sign of a chafe.
2. The Humanity
When you hit the wall in a 5-K, it hurts a lot, but it’s over faster than it takes to make a cappuccino (almost).
3. Second Chances
Getting derailed in a marathon due to terrible weather, travel mishaps, tummy problems, or just having an off day can cost you 16 weeks of training and travelling somewhere far away for another attempt. If you stuff up the 5-K, you can just get in your car and try again next week.
4. Competition vs. Completion
The satisfaction in a marathon comes with completion under duress. You reach the point where you aren’t sure you will finish, and then somehow you do. It’s an amazing feeling, but it’s only one way to experience racing. In a 5-K, you know that you are going to finish. Satisfaction comes instead from competing: against yourself, the clock, and others in an intense, concentrated period of time. This adds a whole new depth and richness to your running, regardless of your speed.
5. Budget
5-Ks are cheaper, and you still eat a green banana and only have to run one-eighth as far! Bonus.
6. Nipple Health
There is no nipple bleeding.
7. Free Time
What will you do with your weekends when you aren’t exhausted from running three-and-a-half hours?
8. Doctors’ Bills
Overuse injuries go hand in hand with marathon training. Sure, you can get injured doing 5-Ks too, but with less overall distance and workouts that involve a greater variety of paces, you’ll be more likely to stay healthy. More running days per year = happy runners with more money = a healthy global economy = World Peace.
9. Travel
With 5-Ks being readily available within driving distance, you don’t have to fly around the country to do one. Racing is a cool excuse to travel, but you know what’s even better? Travelling without racing. You can actually walk places and see things without limping, eat whatever you want, and spend a significantly smaller portion of your trip on the toilet.
10. Fitness
Shorter interval work is more effective than long-distance runs for weight management and gaining fitness. Interval training won’t set you up to run a great marathon, but it will make you a champion at the 5-K, an event that requires strength, speed, power, and endurance combined. By making the 5-K your focus, your training plan will actually line up with what’s best for your overall health.
Click here to get ready for your first 5-k..
