Why aren't there more short-distance road races?

How much are you willing to spend to run a mile on a closed course?

doping apologist wrote:

How much are you willing to spend to run a mile on a closed course?

About the same as I'm willing to spend to run an 800m or a 10K on a closed course.

I love one-mile road races. Unfortunately I think we’re in the minority. Most runners don’t want to go through the whole routine of signing up, getting to the course, warming up, etc. just to race for 4-5 minutes.

I think it's because the bulk of hobby joggers (and so those paying to run 5k/10k local races) are slow, and are not trying to hurt themselves trying to run too fast.

I think the best format for short distances is to have a parallel course with seeded participants on one side and an open "citizens" field on the other; either have them start at the same time and make it obvious to spectators just how much faster the trained participants are than the hobbyjoggers, or have the elites on a delayed start and run down the open field a la Seidel at Falmouth.

Organizing a mile race is as expensive as a 5k or 10k. Yes the course is shorter but you would need a bunch of races not just one.

I can't imagine that anybody older than 20 would show up there. The reason why 5k and 10k races are successful is because good runners and hobby runners can show up and enjoy it.

Starno wrote:

I think it's because the bulk of hobby joggers (and so those paying to run 5k/10k local races) are slow, and are not trying to hurt themselves trying to run too fast.

I think you're far more likely to get injured from 10K training (and the hour's worth of slogging during the actual event) than you are from trying to run a 6:30 mile.

All of my injuries have come from either high mileage or from sprinting at faster than 400m PR pace. You don't need either of them to get reasonably close to your mile potential.

Starno wrote:

I think it's because the bulk of hobby joggers (and so those paying to run 5k/10k local races) are slow, and are not trying to hurt themselves trying to run too fast.

Yep most people just coast along at these road "races." Half the people aren't even aiming for a respectable time. They would never enter a track race because the track exposes people whereas they can essentially hide and be anonymous in a road race. People don't like to expose themselves to potential judgment or criticism so they play it safe and do 5k and up road "races."

Because there would be no recognition or admiration for the distances. People wouldn't understand the challenge of running a 1K road race whereas a marathon is seen as amazing.

barista fan wrote:

Because there would be no recognition or admiration for the distances. People wouldn't understand the challenge of running a 1K road race whereas a marathon is seen as amazing.

Isn't that perception something that we can change? Maybe the race shirts, bumper stickers, and other swag should say "I ran a 1K in less time than it took to (insert activity X)".

Roadrunner honey wrote:

Organizing a mile race is as expensive as a 5k or 10k. Yes the course is shorter but you would need a bunch of races not just one.

I can't imagine that anybody older than 20 would show up there. The reason why 5k and 10k races are successful is because good runners and hobby runners can show up and enjoy it.

I'm quite a bit older than 20 and would definitely show up. If anything, the 800-mile would be even more ideal than the 5K and 10K.

To the serious runners, running a good 1500/mile means striking that delicate balance between optimizing your speed and your endurance. For the 800/1K, you got to focus throughout the race and can't mentally coast or zone out the way you could for the 5K/10K.

For the masses, a 1K requires a lot less commitment than a 10K. You can half ass your training and still run a non-terrible 1K, but the same isn't true for the 10K.

Sound like an awesome idea! I will definitely be interested in running these types of races. 3K-10K are my best running distances, but I will happily take a shot a shorter in a road race given the opportunity. In fact, I would much rather run in these races than in a marathon.

This idea might start out slow, but l think could become more popular once more people see and experience it. I think the reason most people have more respect for running a sub-par marathon than a good mile is that people are unaware of the toughness that comes with running middle-distances. There are many people on here who are augue that 400m-mile are much more painful than the marathon. Perhaps if people witnessed the grit and the athleticism required to run fast in these distances, they would have more respect for and want to run shorter distance road races.

The start of your ordinary road 5K/10K is already chaotic and sometimes borderline dangerous, when the starting line is not wide enough, and/or the race organizers do not do anything to get the little kids off of the front row. I would not participate in a one mile race with these same conditions, as the risk of getting injured would be too great.

wish this was more popular wrote:

I love one-mile road races.

jazzytherunner wrote:

Sound like an awesome idea!

+1.

I'm more of a track guy, but I would love to run some road 800s, 1Ks, and miles for some variety. If anything, it expands your horizons for PRs. You could have a mile PR for indoor track, outdoor track, a flat road course, a downhill road course, and an uphill road course.

SLG wrote:

The start of your ordinary road 5K/10K is already chaotic and sometimes borderline dangerous, when the starting line is not wide enough, and/or the race organizers do not do anything to get the little kids off of the front row. I would not participate in a one mile race with these same conditions, as the risk of getting injured would be too great.

Just separate everyone based on times. You could have a schedule like this:

Heat 1 - seed times under 4:30, starts at 9:00 AM

Heat 2 - seed times from 4:30-4:49, starts at 9:03 AM

Heat 3 - seed times from 4:50-5:09, starts at 9:06 AM

Heat 4 - seed times from 5:10-5:29, starts at 9:09 AM

Add more heats as necessary to keep the heat sizes manageable. Sure, you'll get some people who'll exaggerate their seed times, but having three 5:10 guys in the sub 4:30 heat won't cause an injury hazard to anyone, nor will the following heat have to deal with overtaking them.

Race permits, road closures, off duty police, etc. cost a lot of money. For a mile race you would have to charge about the same as a 5k or 10k would cost and I just don't see that many people interested for it to be worth it. Only way the race would be successful is if there were like 5 or 6 different races with hundreds of people average per race.

I can see this being really taken up by the masses. You may need to split your heats up still further, for example 8 heats between 4:00 and 5:29, as everybody knows the average American can run a 5 minute mile.

In my area the only time I've ever seen a short distance road race it required participants to consume a large amount of alcohol. Apart from that I really respect short races but a lot of people wouldn't get out of bed, drive downtown, pay for parking just to run a 5-15 minute race. I never researched all-comers track meets but that would be a better scratch for that itch. You don't really need to race the masses if you're a recreational to serious miler.

That's what "All Comers" track meets used to be for. Not sure if there are many of those anymore. Makes more sense to me to do it that way.