Last January I received a complimentary race kit to participate in Run United 1, the first leg of the RunRio Trilogy. I chose to compete in the 10K category. To my surprise a lot of people wondered why I’d go for a shorter distance when I already have half- and full marathons under my belt.
Run United 2010’s 10K achievements
The answer lies in why I started running the longer distances in the first place. I initially started running 10K’s because of the exercise benefits. The 10K is long enough to be physically challenging and weight-loss-inducing, but short enough so that I could be done in about an hour or less.
I did my first 21K at Condura last year because I wanted to see if I could do it. I had no plans of bumping up my mileage after that. Then I got it into my head that I wanted to run a marathon on my birthday (Milo Marathon elims), so I did a few more 21K races and some longer training runs to prepare my body.
If you noticed my race calendar last year, after Milo I went back immediately to the shorter distances. It was only when I had to start training for the Milo Marathon finals that I did another 21K and then a 32K.
Now that I’ve tried almost all the distances available at races (I’ve never done a 3K!), I want to get faster at them. I scored my first sub-50 minute 10K at last year’s Run United 1, and I want to see if I can set a new PR at the same event.
What distance to run at a race is a choice depending entirely on the individual’s goal. So what’s your goal this Sunday at Run United 1?
Hey Noelle! Seems that we have similar taste in race distances 😛 also running 10k this Sunday. i like that distance as well – it’s the first distance i ran in a race. 🙂
Same here Chrys 🙂 See you!
(Oh man, I just noticed my medal for Run United has the wrong distance on it! It says 21K, not 10K!)
@Noelle I love running the 10K for training runs (or around 12K – 2 loops at Dasma or something like that) – my problem with 10K races nowadays are that there’s too many people in the races that walk and NOT run – I’m sure it’s no issue with you as an elite runner because you can be part of the first wave but when if you’re supposed to go back and meet the tail-end of the 10K wave then there goes your PR – you’d have to weave in and out – there are some races that have a different finish line vs. a starting line and caters for specialized 10K runners – I’d like to be able to run a sub-50 someday! 🙂
that’s true after a long time just did a 5km last sunday. But for run United will be running the 21km to see if i can improve my time from Condura:))
10k this Sunday. It’ll be my 2nd race ever since I started running.
My first race was on the Condura Run and I missed the 60-minute mark by 76 seconds. I hope I can beat it this time (and I’m still nursing an ITBS injury on my left knee 🙁 ).
21km this sunday. last training run before TBR dream on march 20.
wasn’t able to register 🙁
I’m gonna run 21km-target is within 2:00-2:15 range…to check if my mojo is still there….after this race, i’m going back to 10km or 5km races…short but sweet.
Paul, I’m hardly elite. 🙂 But it pays to start in front and keep a good pace. Focus on your 102K this weekend, then afterwards you can go for faster 10K already. 😉
James, I hope you improve on your time. 🙂
Matt, may the threat of ITBS not materialize on Sunday! Finish strong!
Philip, enjoy your 21K and I hope you taper well for your marathon!
Ken, that’s too bad you weren’t able to register. 🙁
Sam, it was nice seeing you on Monday at the gym. Hope you can get your mojo back!
I’ll be running my first 10k this coming Sunday at Run United 1. I was supposed to register for 5k only, but it was already closed by the time i registered. This is just my 3rd run overall, and only raced in 5k on the previous 2. Kinda feeling excited and scared at the same time… but what the heck, I’ll just run and savor the moment! See you!
I’ll be doing 10K on Sunday. It will be my 4th race. I did 3 5K’s in the past two months. Improving naman after every run. Started with 33min and the last was 30min…pero mabagal pa din…hehe
My main motivation is weight loss actually. I started training last September when I realized I alreay passed the 200lb-mark. Nag-panic ako…started the couch to 5K program…and now I’m back to my 175lb-weight.
Hoping to shed off around 10lbs more before the 2nd half starts.
Pero nakaka-addict pala sumali sa races nung masimulan ko kaya target ko ngayon once a month may masalihan ako…
My second 10k, technically, after the XTERRA trail run in January this year where I had muscle cramps (calves) and finished in a little over 2 hours 🙁 My goal is simply to finish with a more decent time 🙂 However, I’ve to admit I haven’t been able to train well for this still.. Even got sick this week! Some lesson to learn for pushing myself too far, too early. I plan to go back to running 5k distances in the meantime and regularly train so I can run longer distances more successfully. 🙂