Not sure I can finish running the 10K I signed up for. Any advice?

There will definitely be people walking. In just about every race I have ever done there have been people who do scheduled walk/run intervals (e.g. run 4 minutes/walk 1 minute) and people who will run as much as they can and walk when they need to. In most shorter races (5K and 10K), especially if they are charity events, there are almost always as many walkers as runners. It will not be an problem and you will have nothing to be embarrassed about. You may also be surprised to find out that you get an extra added push from the race atmosphere that can carry you through. Go do it and have fun!

I don't think I've ever done a race where I didn't walk at least a part of it, whether a 5K or a HM. My PR's range from 24:24 for a 5K to 2:10:07 for a HM, despite doing some walking.

Run when you can, walk when you must, and you will be fine. Just be courteous and stay off to the right when you walk so those who are running can pass you.

While I don't intentionally follow the Jeff Galloway method, there are some runners who do. In my case, I just walk sometimes because I struggle with pacing and sometimes need to catch my breath. This is more often true when it is hot and humid with heat indexes in the range of 100F-120F as we have seen lately in my area.

Keep training, and run or walk alternately if you need it. You may even finish faster using a run/walk method than if you ran the entire 10K. Have fun!

heybales wrote: »

Purposely run/walk it from the start - that way at the end you can finish it strong running rather than be forced to walk it.
Like 3-4 min run, 1 min walk.

This exactly. You know you can run 4-5 miles. So build in your walk breaks. Front load them so that you're taking them before you have to. That way you can finish hard and strong. If you've got a good 4mph or better walk pace, you won't really even lose that much time off your race.

I just did a 10K back in mid May. And I beat my target time/estimated finish by 10 minutes by resting before I had to. I'd planned to run/walk with a 75-80 min target. I finished just past 70.

If you can run 4.5 miles in training, I am fairly certain that the adrenaline from participating in the race will inspire you to run the entire 10k! People regularly walk parts of these races - I would just line up toward the back, do your best, and if you have to walk portions of it, honestly, no one is going to notice.

Lots of people use a run/walk system at races and you'll eve seen pace bunnies at some of the bigger events for both continuous running and run/walk.

At 4.5 miles you're already pretty close but heat kicks my butt too. There's no shame in either slowing down to run continuously or walking part of the race.....just remember stay well hydrated and smile for the finish line photo.

bossymom15 wrote: »

I've never tried a 10k, will I be humiliated if I have to walk some? Does anyone walk some of these? It's the 1st year for this race so there is no history for me to ask the sponsor's. Its in 2 weeks and I'm running out of time!!

Nope. A LOT of people will be walking at least portions of it. There are usually some people walking all/most of it. Don't worry about taking a walking break. In fact, average pace will usually be a lot faster if you take that walking break when needed instead of letting your run devolve into an extended slow slog.

FYI-Of the races I've done, the fastest cut off time I've come across amounted to ~13:00/mi average (half marathon with no corresponding marathon)(the same race has since switched to a 15:00/mi average cutoff for the current year).

Every race I've ever done has had walkers...