At every race I've been to since May (9 of them) there have been 5K finishers coming in at the blazing time of 15 minutes or less, with those in the back of the pack turning in times of up to 45 minutes.
Most of these races were associated with longer distance events, like 10K, 10 mile, 25K, etc.
The 25K at Grand Rapids is the bigest 25K in the world I understand, but there were still some world class times in the 10K and 5K events.
I'm planning on running the 5K at the Crim Festival of Races in Flint Michigan this Saturday, and in looking up last years results I found that not only did they not have a 5K before, but the 8K did not attract the caliber of runner that the signature 10 mile race did.
The top men's finisher in the 10 mile ran at a pace of 4:41, and the tenth place man came in with a pace of 4:48.
In my age group, 55-59, the winner paced 6:02, and the tenth finisher averaged 6:54.
In the 8K Men's age 55-59 group, the winner paced 7:52, and THIRD place was averaging 8:27! I mean I could easily come in second! (in a 5K at least)
With 9000 runners between the two events the majority were registered in the 10 mile- it of course being the signature event- but it still seems like quite a disparity in ability.
With this being the first year to have all three distances, anything is possible!
Looking up the Detroit Free Press Flagstar Bank International Marathon I find the same thing, the 5K finishers are coming in with fitness runner times rather than elite.
At major signature events is it common for the 5K and other shorter distances to be way less competitive?
Grand Rapids Fifth Third River Run did'nt seem that way at all!
Most of these races were associated with longer distance events, like 10K, 10 mile, 25K, etc.
The 25K at Grand Rapids is the bigest 25K in the world I understand, but there were still some world class times in the 10K and 5K events.
I'm planning on running the 5K at the Crim Festival of Races in Flint Michigan this Saturday, and in looking up last years results I found that not only did they not have a 5K before, but the 8K did not attract the caliber of runner that the signature 10 mile race did.
The top men's finisher in the 10 mile ran at a pace of 4:41, and the tenth place man came in with a pace of 4:48.
In my age group, 55-59, the winner paced 6:02, and the tenth finisher averaged 6:54.
In the 8K Men's age 55-59 group, the winner paced 7:52, and THIRD place was averaging 8:27! I mean I could easily come in second! (in a 5K at least)
With 9000 runners between the two events the majority were registered in the 10 mile- it of course being the signature event- but it still seems like quite a disparity in ability.
With this being the first year to have all three distances, anything is possible!
Looking up the Detroit Free Press Flagstar Bank International Marathon I find the same thing, the 5K finishers are coming in with fitness runner times rather than elite.
At major signature events is it common for the 5K and other shorter distances to be way less competitive?
Grand Rapids Fifth Third River Run did'nt seem that way at all!
