How many miles are in a 5K?

My uncle is running the marathon for our American Heart Association team, and he completed his first half marathon in Chicago this weekend! He loved the experience, and it’s made him even more excited to take on the marathon this fall.

His experience reminded me how important it is to get a few races under your belt before you get to the starting line of this year’s marathon. Start testing the waters by participating in a 5K or 10K race. That way you’ll learn what a corral is, you’ll know where to put your racing number, you’ll familiarize yourself with a running course – you’ll have the answers to all of those racing questions before marathon day. And you’ll experience what race-day jitters are like. Running a race is a completely different experience than training, and you can alleviate some of that stress by learning the racing culture ahead of time.

I can tell you firsthand how much that helped me. My first race was for the March of Dimes in April 2008. I can be a little absentminded, and I wasn’t as thorough as I should have been when I was preparing for it. I was sure it was a 5K race, and it wasn’t until mile 4 that I realized there was a problem. If a 5K race is only about three miles long, why is there a fourth mile on this course? I’m running, and I’m panting, and then I’m thinking, “are some 5Ks longer than others?” Turns out it was a 10K race.

So…lesson learned. You don’t go straight to graduation – you have to take the classes to get there. So sign up for smaller races and get a few notches on your belt before you take on the big race this fall. And hey, if nothing else, you can use all of those race medals you get to decorate your Christmas tree. :)