If you could pick one distance only to run for the rest of your life...

Couch to the refrigerator. Nobody can outsprint me to the pail of ice cream.

100m. Any other distance and my performance would suffer hard. You can actually run a pretty good 100 by just running a 100 every day and strength training.

I guess the 10k.

I think I would pick the 800m but I'd have to do 800m reps for training which would feel a bit odd. ARGH. Maybe I'd pick 5K after all. I suppose if it's for life it has more merit.

Sham 69 wrote:

I guess the 10k.

For an entire lifetime it would have to be 5k. Still manageable in one's 80s. 10K might be a bit much. In my mid 60s now, I am doing occasional 4 mile days --, that would never have been enough before, except in a taper. I can see settling for 3 eventually.

34+35 wrote:

Couch to the refrigerator. Nobody can outsprint me to the pail of ice cream.

Damn dude, you got that sh*t on Strava? Claim it on your running resume as owning a FKT?

5k

You could run a decent 5k by running tempo 5k's, doubling (or even tripling!) to hit mileage totals and running a 5x1k intervals at 5k pace. Not ideal, but I think it would be ok.

Marathon. I would set off stupidly fast every time and try to set a 5k 10k 10 mile and half marathon, PR on the way.

50k

Can I run a double? Morning and afternoon?

If I want to compete, does the distance have to match exactly, or can I tack on any excess as my warm up and cool down?

If I start a run and find I cannot complete the distance, what happens? Do I just have to walk it in, or do I get like dragged along? The latter might make running at all too dangerous.

5k does seem like a good option for races, but as a run it is quite short. Still, one gets older, so it is a solid bet. I would just walk the rest if I wanted to do a longer outing. My first instinct was 8k/5 miles. You could still run 70 mpw and race a great 8k.

800m.

4 x 200m or 2 x 400m or 8 x 100m, or 600m-200m, etc.

All sounds great to me.

One hour run.

Can I run a double? Morning and afternoon?

Yes, you can run it as many times as you like but it has to be distinctly separate episodes, no cheating.

If I want to compete, does the distance have to match exactly, or can I tack on any excess as my warm up and cool down?

You can't tack on anything else. You can warm up and cool down the same distance if you require.

If I start a run and find I cannot complete the distance, what happens? Do I just have to walk it in, or do I get like dragged along? The latter might make running at all too dangerous.

You are not allowed to run again. You HAVE to complete it (running, no walking).

5k does seem like a good option for races, but as a run it is quite short. Still, one gets older, so it is a solid bet. I would just walk the rest if I wanted to do a longer outing. My first instinct was 8k/5 miles. You could still run 70 mpw and race a great 8k.

Yes, I agree. But no walking!

Probably 100m, if i was allowed to do repeats every day. 100M guys are some of the most perfect physical specimens in all sports.

4.5 miles, since that is what many of my "training" runs seem to be these days.

8 miles. There's a bridge on the river I love to run across as my turnaround point on my daily route along a river. Love that route.

I am just amending this to say I will make an exception for serious injury. You HAVE to complete it, but if the intent is there (you want to complete it) but cannot, due to injury, you just stop and that is the end of that distance.

Too many influences to pick any distance other than 5K. Long runs have always been difficult to recover from. Lack of fast twitch eliminates being a sprinter. Age(69) has hammered my strength although I have engaged in some bodybuilding of late to correct that. And my Dr. even stated that I am built perfectly for the 5K distance. Plus I really enjoyed the "parkruns" until the whole virus foolishness came along.

The mile