Where have you gone, 10km?

Maybe it's just me waxing nostalgic, but doesn't it seem like the 10km has become the redheaded stepchild of the racing world?

There are multiple 5km every weekend. The half marathon is rapidly becoming a favourite in the running community, and the marathon is, well, the marathon. It's the granddaddy bucket-list race for most runners. 

But the 10km has gone from the 5km wingman to that odd distance that no one trains for or knows how to race. The new breeds of races—colour runs, foam runs, warrior dashes—have relegated it to obscurity. It's as if the 10km has been put in witness protection. 

Let's save the 10K from extinction.

Running 10km is nothing to sneeze at. It's far enough that we need to have a fair fitness level to complete it but short enough that we have to push ourselves out of that comfortable conversation speed to compete in it. It’s a great balance of speed, strength, endurance, heart, and guile. If you really want to find an event to test yourself, race a 10km.

Training for a 10km is an excellent stepping stone event for those looking to build from 5K training to a half marathon. It allows us to gradually build our training and racing mileage rather than jump to an event over 4x as far as what we've been tackling. Along with being a stepping stone event, it's also excellent prep work in between half marathon training seasons. 

Many of us run a spring half and a fall half. The problem is figuring out how to train in between seasons. Most folks tend to go polar. They either do absolutely nothing (or close to it) and then start back over from scratch, or they go to the other end of the spectrum and train like banshees and are fried mentally, emotionally, and physically when it's time to start training again. 

The 10km works out amazingly well for us to maintain our fitness level without going too crazy one way or another. It's just far enough where you'll need solid training, but not so long that it consumes large amounts of time.

The 10km is an enigma. It takes around an hour to complete and a lifetime to master. That is one reason why it has become a forgotten distance. But the 10km may be that key cog in your training to help you take down some PRs this year.

If you are looking for a race that will challenge your endurance, speed, and will, then take the time to tackle a 10km. Learn to appreciate this special distance.