Why are 10ks more popular than 5ks and half marathons in the UK?

There are free to enter Park Run 5k's literally every single weekend across the entire U.K that attract high level runners depending on your location.

feob wrote:

There are free to enter Park Run 5k's literally every single weekend across the entire U.K that attract high level runners depending on your location.

Yes, I know that. Those are park runs. Not races, and remember park runs are not races.

I'm talking about races on the road, true running events. I just find 10ks being more celebrated than 5k ROAD RACES.

Well, the HH Night of the 10,000m PBs was created because of the lack of interest in the 10,000m as an event, so I'm not sure that that necessarily supports your argument. However, yes it's true that - ParkRun and Great Run Local aside (which account for probably the majority of organised running these days) - the 10k is a popular distance. Races organised by clubs tend to be 10k road races, rather than a 5k or a HM. Logistically, sorting a HM is harder, and likely to be less popular on a weeknight evening when a lot of the summer race series takes place. Not sure why 5k isn't more popular historically, but probably now it's in large part due to that being catered for by ParkRun.

Trails&Tribulations wrote:

Not sure why 5k isn't more popular historically, but probably now it's in large part due to that being catered for by ParkRun.

Aha! Now that makes sense. Question, are park runs frowned upon? They are here.

Why would they be frowned upon? They are marvelous.

Scorpion_runner wrote:

Trails&Tribulations wrote:

Not sure why 5k isn't more popular historically, but probably now it's in large part due to that being catered for by ParkRun.

Aha! Now that makes sense. Question, are park runs frowned upon? They are here.

Extremely popular, including with good runners. I believe parkrun started here.

The parkrun record here is something like 13:48 so yeah not just for mums with pushchairs.

Plenty run under 15:00 every week across the UK, and they aren't all pancake flat, perfectly manicured courses like xc in the US.

Not at all. ParkRun started as the Bushy Park Time Trial (I think), and FastRunning regularly reports on the fastest ParkRuns that week. It also appears on PowerOf10, which is roughly equivalent to MileSplit I guess, and where the rest of the UKA sanctioned results appear.

ParkRun isn’t a race, but it is fast.

although it is called parkrun (with a lower case p) they do not all take place in a park. my local parkrun goes along the seafront and goes nowhere near a park.

the only reason it is not a race is for insurance purposes. they call it a "community run," and every week they say that you run at your own risk. but everyone starts together, they are timed, they publish on their website everyone's time and position, they rank you within your age group and they record pb's. they even refer to the first person across the finish line as the winner. the only thing different from a normal race is that you don't have a bib number, and it's entirely free. other than that, parkrun is a race in everything but name.

I have to admit I have been a bit bemused as to why it is not more popular in the US, and your comment that it is "frowned upon," only deepens the mystery. are you able to say why it is frowned upon?

cheers.

My theory is that most race organizers either feel people would not run the 10K or they are too lazy to stick around for the time it takes to put on a standalone 10K, or a combination of both.

ex-runner wrote:

Plenty run under 15:00 every week across the UK, and they aren't all pancake flat, perfectly manicured courses like xc in the US.

I take it you have little to no experience with US XC courses. Or you've only been to Florida.

They are usually used to bring the community together. It is more of a social circle, and it is populated by a lot of kids.

I imagine the British runs have a competitive tone to it, and are taken seriously compared to the silliness of America - just look at how we broadcast running compared to how the brits do it.

My recollection is that during the Running Boom, the most popular distances for road races were 5 Miles, 10Ks and 10 Miles and that you could find a 5 Miler or 10K almost every weekend in American cities in the Spring through Fall.

I think the 5K killed off the 5 Miler and 10K in the USA because it is easier.

As a runner in the UK i’d Like to see a lot more 5ks around. I do the occasional Parkrun but my local one is 3 Laps and by the middle of Lap 2 I’m struggling past the prams, walkers , dogs and obese.

Most of the 5ks are linked to 10ks and tend to be filled with people who are building up to a 10k rather than people wanting to run a fast 5k.

I’d have to travel some distance to find a decent 5k race.

Ackley wrote:

My recollection is that during the Running Boom, the most popular distances for road races were 5 Miles, 10Ks and 10 Miles and that you could find a 5 Miler or 10K almost every weekend in American cities in the Spring through Fall.

I think the 5K killed off the 5 Miler and 10K in the USA because it is easier.

This is the correct answer referring to the first running boom of the mid to late 70s. I ran a bunch of 10ks during the summer when I was in high school. My first race other than the half mile in jr high was a 10k race. My town had a 4 and 6 mile race a couple weeks before xc season started. We didn't mess around with that metric crap the gov't tried to force on us!!

They are called "Go Runs" in Chicago, and they are put on as a collaborative effort by The Chicago Park District and CARA ( Chicago Area Runners Association ). The races always take place in a park, because a permit would be needed for them to take place on the street, and it would also require security and medical support. That is why they are called "runs" and not "races". If they held them as races, it would be illegal, due to lack of city permits and permissions.