SPORT MAN
SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
The Magic of the 5km
Ask any coach how fast you can run a 10km , half marathon , marathon or even beyond , and they will ask you for your best 5km time . That ’ s because if you want to run fast , you need to train for a 5km .
There is something about the 5km distance . It ’ s short , sharp and fast , and it will leave you breathless , and yet exhilarated . It is also a good benchmark to see where you are in your training for a target race – and that applies to all athletes , whether you are an elite frontrunner , or a social backmarker just looking to improve your times .
Internationally , the 5km is a hotly-contested racing distance , with one of the most famous events being the Carlsbad 5000 , in Carlsbad , California in the USA . This event is known as the World ’ s Fastest 5K , with the world ’ s best lining up in the elite invitational main event , and this is where Shadrack Hoff ran the fastest ever 5km by a South African , when he clocked 13:30 in 2003 .
There are over 800 races over the 5km distance in North America , more than 500 in Europe , and another 250-plus in Asia , showing just how popular the distance is the world over . Many of these races have some festivities built around them , so it becomes a day out with family and friends , and the beauty of the 5km is that it leaves you with plenty of time in the day to do other things .
We Do Things Differently
Strangely , though , in South Africa , the 5km has never been a real focus . Instead , it was initially added onto longer races , in particular marathons , so as to provide family members with the opportunity to do a run and also be part of the event while a partner , parent , sibling or friend ran the full event .
Over time , these 5km runs were then added on to half marathons and 10km races , but almost always as an untimed fun run . That ’ s because the SA running community did not take the 5km seriously as a race , per se , even at the top level . South Africa has only once hosted a 5km series – quite successfully , I might add – in the form of the Old Mutual Victory races , but it only lasted for three years and then was no more .
That ’ s a great shame , as the series continuing could have made such a difference to the South African road running scene , for both the elites and the masses . So , the introduction of the 5km as a stand-alone event now can offer new horizons to the sport , help in growing it in terms of participation , as well as give the elite athletes a
36 ISSUE 148 JANUARY 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za
A 5km road race is sure to get the heart rate pumping … in more ways than one