Running your first race (5k)
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The 5K is one of the most popular distance for road races in the US, and there are good reasons for that. It’s long enough to be a challenge to nearly every seasoned runner, but it’s short enough to be doable by those with lower or sub-par levels of fitness. It’s a distance that’s run-able to most reasonably active people.
How long is a 5K?
Five kilometers is approximately 3.1 miles. If you can walk a mile in 20 minutes, a 5K will probably take you between 58 and 68 minutes to complete. If you can jog a mile in 12 minutes, a 5K will take you between 35 and 45 minutes to complete. If you can run faster or longer than that, your first 5K will go by even more quickly, and you will blend in easily with the more experienced runners.
How do I pick out a 5K to enter?
Look on our site for an upcoming 5K. Most of the 5K’s we post are for charitable events, which is an added incentive for participating in it and completing it. Most runners are grouped by there anticipated Pace Time (any average of how fast you can run a mile) so runners of the same fitness level are usually grouped together.
How should I prepare for race day?
Simplify your goals: Establish your objectives for the day as 1) Finishing the 5K; and 2) Enjoying the experience. Avoid cluttering your thoughts with excessive concerns over time, performance, or personal appearance.
Eat something light and drink plenty of fluids the morning of the event, but finish at least sixty minutes prior to the start of the 5K. Emphasize drinking lots of water so that you are well-hydrated at the start, even if you make several nervous trips to the bathroom.
Do not plan to participate in the event with headphones, children in strollers or on foot, or pets. They are usually prohibited for sensible safety reasons and at the very least will create a distraction.
What can I expect at the race site before the race?
Most 5K events give out t-shirts to all participants. Don’t feel obligated to wear it — most experienced runners save it for another day. Consider your new t-shirt as the reward that you will earn for completing your goal of finishing your first 5K.
You may feel as though you look conspicuously out-of-place, faintly ridiculous, or doubt that you are a “real runner” or somehow not “entitled” to full participation. This is normal but needless worry. You paid the same entry fee as every other participant. You have a right to be there.
What can I expect during the race?
Start at your own pace. It is very tempting to run faster than you can maintain at the start, simply to keep up with the other runners. Resist this temptation. Run your own race and maintain the pace at which you have trained.
If you are a slower walker or runner you may trail the other participants by a considerable distance. You may find that you are being trailed closely by the pickup vehicle that follows the race entrants (rarely happens). This may seem like an annoyance, but remember that they are there for your safety. Nearly everyone will be encouraging, but occasionally a race volunteer or spectator may make an insensitive remark about your slowness (I have only experienced this in Staten Island). Do the best you can to maintain a thick skin and ignore it. Remember that you are ahead of all the people out there who never had the courage you demonstrated in entering your first 5K event.
By this time there will probably be another few people who have completed most of the race close to your pace and whose faces have become familiar. Encourage them and commiserate with their difficulties, and your friendliness will be repaid.
What can I expect after the race?
You have won a victory, regardless or your time on the course or the order in which you finished. You should feel a righteous sense of accomplishment. You have completed your goal of finishing the 5K. You may feel a combination of exhaustion and exhilaration. Give yourself a pat on the back.
Give yourself a day or two of relaxation after your 5K to savor the experience. Then, if you start thinking about the next 5K you would like to enter, you have indeed had a great accomplishment in your journey along the road of lifelong fitness.
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