10k races - why so few?

by me there are a number but we have a lot runners and running groups, and in destination races, there seems to be many 10k options.

maybe your area doesn't have as much interest in distance running?

here is a list of 10ks in your area

Depends on where you live. I could find a few 10ks any weekend in LA. Might be harder in the winter in Ohio, but here are some race calendars to check out.

http://www.ohiorunner.com/calendar/
http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?State=OH

Have to say I'm not even conscious of many 5Ks around here, except Parkrun of course.

Around here it's mainly HMs and Marathons

ThickMcRunFast wrote: »

Depends on where you live. I could find a few 10ks any weekend in LA. Might be harder in the winter in Ohio, but here are some race calendars to check out.

http://www.ohiorunner.com/calendar/
http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?State=OH

Runningintheusa.com is the best!

I always wish there were more15k, that's my favorite race distance.

First: Why are 5ks more popular than 10ks

A 5k is a distance that most people will finish in less than an hour, with all participants finishing in less than 90 minutes. This makes it a doable distance for casual runners and non-runners that may only be doing it to support a good cause or to say they did it.

A 10k on the other hand tends to have less participants, because it attracts people that are more dedicated to running. This creates what might be an unexpected scenario where the distance is doubled, but the time for all competitor to finish does not double. I looked at the results from several 10k races put on by my local Road Runners club and all participants finished in less than two hours.

A lot of 5k are put on as fund raiser, so doing a 10k instead would reduce the funds raised because there would be less participants, plus potentially higher expenses related to having police for traffic control and EMS on hand. This could also explain the use of two laps on a 5k course since it would limit the number of road crossings and the need for additional individuals to monitor them.

Second: How to find more 10ks

The problem is that there is not one website that is going to have a list of all the races available. So you have to hunt down several good sources for event lists. Several people have provided links to some of the large national aggregator sites, which can be a good starting point if you want to go to a destination race. However they are not always good for finding local races.

Have you looked into local running clubs like the Toledo Road Runners Club (http://www.toledoroadrunners.org/)? Road Runners Clubs often offer multiple races each month of varying distances with discounts for club members. Also some clubs only list their major events (Marathon, Half Marathon, 50k, and large 5ks) on the various race aggregator sites. Some clubs also provide a list of non-club races.

It is also helpful to figure out who the local race event management companies are. These are the companies that provide and manage the race timing equipment and sometime provide the online registration. Each company will have an extensive list on their website of the events that they are managing. However they might leave it up to the local race organizers to handle advertising and getting listed on other websites.

Some of my local half marathons have an accompanying 10k. Worth a look!