Fit Talk

Advice for the runner looking to become a racer.
By Kristen Wolfe Bieler
Photographs by Meredith Jenks

PUBLISHED 06/08/2007

For one brief moment, probably while endorphins were still pumping through your body after a good run, you flirted with the idea of doing a marathon. Then the endorphins disappeared and the reality of training for four months and trying to squeeze in a handful of three- to four-hour long runs set in. Fair enough. How about a 5-K instead?

It’s the perfect distance: 3.1 miles require relatively little buildup, the training doesn’t take over your life, and the race is over fairly quickly. By logging only three or four runs per week, you can be ready to toe the line of a 5-K in just five weeks. And having that race date on your calendar gives your training purpose, says Jane Serues, of Springtown, Pennsylvania, founder of Making Strides and First Strides training workshops for women. “The runners I coach are much more motivated knowing the 5-K is approaching than they would be if they simply promised themselves they’d run.”

Chris Carmichael, founder of Carmichael Training Systems, also encourages runners–whether they’re competitive or not–to try a 5-K. “People run for a variety of reasons, but I’ve found that they get more out of it when they are working toward something specific,” he says. “And a 5-K race is an attainable goal for any runner.” Plus, there’s the “fun factor,” says RW columnist Jeff Galloway, coach and author of Running: Getting Started. “My favorite thing about 5-K races is the atmosphere. Almost everyone there is in a good mood. How many other events in your life are like that?”

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