How do you run a 5k race?

mlogantra76

I mean, if you are really trying to beat your fastest time and set a new PR?

Of course, there are the obvious tips like skip the water stops... Don't start at the back with the walkers.

I've read somewhere about starting off fast but then I've read in other places about "leaving some in the tank" to finish. However, with a 5k being so short, I am not sure that is needed as long as you don't start sprinting.

Occasionally, I find a runner at a little faster pace and try to "stay with them" and that seems to pace me. In the smaller 5ks, this is not usually an option. I don't have a way of tracking my pace as I run other than checking time at each mile(when its marked). I think I'm pretty consistent pace wise but I am not sure.

I really think it becomes "mental" around mile 2 or so. I feel like I can't go any faster but I probably could. I try to sprint towards the end(last tenth of a mile).

Anyone have any other advice?

KathleenMurry

Well, based on your training, you should have an idea of what you're capable of. What are you running your tempos at each week (if you do them?). I set a pace goal for each mile and stick to it as best I can. Then the last half mile I just give'r everything I've got.

Other important things:

- 3 days before race day - easy run, easy run, rest.
- Day before race - don't eat anything you've never had before (and avoid high fiber foods). Get hydrated.
- Morning of - don't eat within 2 hours of starting. I personally like to load up on caffeine in the hour before the race. I don't recommend it if you aren't use to this. I'm a caffeine junky. It alters your perception of effort and helps you run faster.

Those are my tips!

davemunger

I try to run even splits at a 5k, especially if it is relatively flat. How do I know what splits to run? One thing that has worked for me is to do a 6 * 800 workout a couple weeks out. I'll do the workout at what I think should be my 5K pace, and if I can do that, then I'm pretty sure I can complete it in the race.

So, for example, if you can do 800 meters in 3:30 (and repeat that 5 times), that works out to roughly a 7:00/mile pace for the race.

Of course, it also works to just run lots of 5ks -- you recover fairly quickly, so you get a sense of whether there was more in the tank. I PRd two weeks ago and felt like there was more there, so I signed up for another race tomorrow. I'm going to head out at a pace 10 seconds per mile faster, and just see if I can hang on.

KathleenMurry

I try to run even splits at a 5k, especially if it is relatively flat. How do I know what splits to run? One thing that has worked for me is to do a 6 * 800 workout a couple weeks out. I'll do the workout at what I think should be my 5K pace, and if I can do that, then I'm pretty sure I can complete it in the race.

So, for example, if you can do 800 meters in 3:30 (and repeat that 5 times), that works out to roughly a 7:00/mile pace for the race.

Of course, it also works to just run lots of 5ks -- you recover fairly quickly, so you get a sense of whether there was more in the tank. I PRd two weeks ago and felt like there was more there, so I signed up for another race tomorrow. I'm going to head out at a pace 10 seconds per mile faster, and just see if I can hang on.

Dave...if this is true, I have no excuse to run any slower than 21:30 at my next race. OH DEAR!

davemunger

Dave...if this is true, I have no excuse to run any slower than 21:30 at my next race. OH DEAR!

You can do it!

KyleB65

What kind of training have been doing and at what intensity?

Any hills?, Sprints? Sustained tempo? Long slow distances?

Building a faster 5k (or any distance) requires training and improves in small increments. Or at least this was my experience.

I suggest adding in hill training (for the muscles) and some form of interval speed/sprint work (for the endurance at higher speeds).

This helped me immensely!

CarsonRuns

How do you race a 5K? Well, the first mile should hurt like h3ll and then it gets worse from there!:laugh:

But seriously. There has been a lot of good information here. Executing a good 5K race is probably the hardest racing you can do. The race is so short that any mistakes are magnified and you don't have time to recover from them. If the course is flat, even to negative splits should give you the fastest time. HOWEVER, too big a variance in the negative split and you probably didn't run the first mile or two fast enough.

You should know what you are capable of based on previous performances and how your training has gone. The first mile should feel comfortably hard, but not too comfortable. It should be work. The second mile, in my opinion, is the hardest. You have to really work to maintain your pace and mentally it gets tough because you are starting to hurt and you have a looooong way to go and way more pain to endure. By the time you get to the third mile, if you have run the first two at the right pace, you should be running just about as fast as you can run at that given moment. Even thinking about picking up the pace should make you hurt even more. Once you get to the last 1/4 or so, you may (or may not) have a little anaerobic fitness left to throw in some kick. Most of the time, your body allows you to do this because it knows this suffering will be over sooner if it goes faster. Vomiting at the end is not only acceptable, but sometimes expected.

Another really important aspect of racing a good 5K is a proper warmup. I run the course once before the race and then do a few strides at the end to let my legs know we are getting ready to get busy. I time it so that I'm finished about 10 minutes before the gun. This gives me time to put on my singlet, strap on my racing flats and get to the start line.

TriLifter

Dave...if this is true, I have no excuse to run any slower than 21:30 at my next race. OH DEAR!

You can do it!

Agreed--if I can do it, so can you. My PR is 21:40. Looking to beat that next year.

TriLifter

How do you race a 5K? Well, the first mile should hurt like h3ll and then it gets worse from there!:laugh:

But seriously. There has been a lot of good information here. Executing a good 5K race is probably the hardest racing you can do. The race is so short that any mistakes are magnified and you don't have time to recover from them. If the course is flat, even to negative splits should give you the fastest time. HOWEVER, too big a variance in the negative split and you probably didn't run the first mile or two fast enough.

You should know what you are capable of based on previous performances and how your training has gone. The first mile should feel comfortably hard, but not too comfortable. It should be work. The second mile, in my opinion, is the hardest. You have to really work to maintain your pace and mentally it gets tough because you are starting to hurt and you have a looooong way to go and way more pain to endure. By the time you get to the third mile, if you have run the first two at the right pace, you should be running just about as fast as you can run at that given moment. Even thinking about picking up the pace should make you hurt even more. Once you get to the last 1/4 or so, you may (or may not) have a little anaerobic fitness left to throw in some kick. Most of the time, your body allows you to do this because it knows this suffering will be over sooner if it goes faster. Vomiting at the end is not only acceptable, but sometimes expected.

Another really important aspect of racing a good 5K is a proper warmup. I run the course once before the race and then do a few strides at the end to let my legs know we are getting ready to get busy. I time it so that I'm finished about 10 minutes before the gun. This gives me time to put on my singlet, strap on my racing flats and get to the start line.

This is all 100% true (of course). I vomitted hardcore for 5 minutes after my last 5k (3rd woman, 21st overall). If you give it your all, you'll feel it at the end.

Also, make sure you are up in the front at the chute. You don't want to waste your first mile dodging other runners. I start at the front and run as hard as I can. It's only three miles--no room for mistakes.

mlogantra76

Thanks for all the great advice.
Some of you asked/mentioned training. I asked about that in another post, and am in the process of upping my miles as that seems to be the most important. I plan on incorporating some tempo work as well. One of my routes for my long run has a lot of hills and the other has some. Unfortunately, I'm limited to a relatively flat route for week day runs.

I agree about mile 2 being tough. Its around then that I question why I'm running and halfway consider walking. Lately I've planned speeding up for the last mile but haven't actually done so. I think I can so maybe I will try that. I am going to try checking my time at each mile and try to pace myself.

I guess I should know what I'm capable of. Sometimes, I think I don't know what I'm capable of or I don't follow through with what I'm capable. I usually finish with thinking I couldn't go another step but then I recover pretty quickly so maybe that is not the case.

BrianSharpe

Vomiting at the end is not only acceptable, but sometimes expected.

The glamorous life of a runner! :laugh:

SonicDeathMonkey80

I hate 5Ks. I totally screwed up my last one. Started at the front line with a 6:24 > 6:43 > 7:22. My mistake was trying to hang on to a pace very close to my 1 mile PR, and 3 days after I PR'd a 10K. I went too fast and too soon after my last race. Truth is, if I held on to my 10K pace, I would have done better. Next time a different strategy - even splits. That's what I'm sticking with.

sarahz5

I did not expect to, but I love this thread. Somehow you all manage to have incredibly thoughtful advice about everything.

My two cents is... if you don't have a way to figure out how fast you are running, get a way. Everyone is different, but it is easiest for me to push myself when I know how hard I am pushing, relative to my training. While they aren't perfect, a good GPS watch will give you a sense of your current pace even over the course of each mile. I go out way too fast if I don't have guidance, and I end up not pushing myself hard enough later or not even having the energy to because of my start.

This probably isn't the best advice, but I've run my fastest official 5k (not counting recent training runs) as intervals. I had been running seriously for about four months, and at the time, it was mentally easier for me to push hard then give myself a break than to sustain an all-out effort. It was just two weeks after my prior 5k and I shaved over a minute off my time. I haven't done one since then, and I don't think I would do it that way now, but it's something to think about.

SonicDeathMonkey80

And yeah, you should feel it at the end. I got nauseated and laid down in the grass til my kid handed me a cup of water and threw some pretzel rods at me and said "quit being lazy."

Cooriander

Dave...if this is true, I have no excuse to run any slower than 21:30 at my next race. OH DEAR!

You can do it!

Agreed--if I can do it, so can you. My PR is 21:40. Looking to beat that next year.

I should be in the high 21s too LOL, according to my track workouts. [BUT we do one lap recovery between 800s, and I walk.. sometimes]

But I am almost right at 24. I break down the last 1/2 mile, it is mental I think. And I do still feel I got something left at the end when I cross the finish line. I like halfs better.

RunnerElizabeth

So my last 5k I went in with no plan. Until the day before I thought I was going to be pushing my daughter so I never thought about a pace or anything.

The mistake I made was shoving into the middle of the pack, closer to the back. I spent the first mile dodging and passing people and I'm not even that fast. First mile was my slowest. I still beat my PR by 1:15 without planning too, but I did learn a lesson about being more careful about where I place myself. But I wasn't training for a 5k and never expected to beat a 9 min mile pace. I just decided at mile 2 that I should run faster. I obviously haven't been pushing myself enough in races. I plan to work on that.

jessicasloan91

My game plan is..

>Start at the front

>Go off as fast as I can

>Spend the rest of the race wondering if I'll be able to keep up the pace :laugh:

>Pinpointing people to hang on to/catch up with