How do you know what race distance is right for you? (Read 694 times)

Like everyone that's ever purchased dedicated running shoes, I want to run a marathon. I have no other reason for doing so than it's there. I've signed up for the Marine Corp Marathon in two months but I'm considering deferring until 2009 because I don't think I can meet my meager expectations and I don't want it to be a miserable and disappointing experience. I got to thinking about it and I have no reason for running it other than to say I've done it. Even if properly trained, my time would be laughable by any remotely serious runner. That got me thinking about why people are so hell-bent on running a marathon, which then led me to wondering what the right race for me really is. I'm never going to be elite and I'm never going to win anything so it would seem that I should run distances/races that are "fun". Does that seem about right? Am I missing something? How do you decide what races/distances are right for you?

Why can't you race multiple distances? I love the marathon. But sometimes I wonder if I should be striving for a 200 meter sprint, what with how my legs are built and all.

I did what Scout suggests, and over time decided that the half is my favorite distance. Also, don't just sample the menu once. It also comes down to what kind of training (and time for training, and desire for certain TYPES of training) you put in. This may change over time. Point of perspective: in the Maniacs, there is a hardcore set of us who have done tons and tons of marathons. After awhile, many people in this group go through the whole "well, what's next??" exercise. And they gravitate towards the next holy grail-like event: 100 milers. Not me. I don't care if it seems to hold some magical quality for some runners. I'm not built for it and I don't have the time to train for it. I'd much rather run a fast half or a medium-but-fun sociable half than run a 100 miler... Similarly, people who have yet to do a marathon seem to get encouraged that the marathon is a holy grail. And it can be! But it doesn't have to be. Unless you and your family's life depends on it, do what makes you happy. BTW, "happy" and "fun" can still imply hard work. Sometimes my most satisfying races were the ones that were hard as hell. Then again, sometimes the hard as hell races are just... hard as hell. I will not do the White River 50 Miler again for this very reason.

There are some 30K's around. In New England there are a few in the spring and the fall and I always try to include one in a marathon buildup. I really like them. I really don't see a need to specialize too much. I think my favorite distance to race is the half marathon, but I like to race them all. I tend to aim my training at a marathon, mostly because I feel like I have the most upside at that distance right now and the impeding event helps me stay focused. Mostly I just think of myself as a runner. If people ask me what distance I race, I say, "5K to marathon, mostly."

For me, one good reason to run a marathon is that it gave me long and short-term goals to strive for. I could not stick to running merely to stay "fit", though I wanted to always be fit. The unique challenge of the marathon presents a puzzle to be solved with each round of training. I have also vastly improved my race times at shorter distances as a result of marathon training. My 5K PR for instance went from 20:17 to 17:37. The marathon translates into the shorter distances but not the other way around. Though I have won local 5K's, I will never win any marathon I run, but there is a sense of pride and accomplishment that I feel after a marathon that the shorter races do not give me.

you need to go to a sports scientist and get your ratio of slow twitch to fast twitch muscle fibers tested....jk you just need to try out different races and see what you are most comfortable with

I'm currently training for my first marathon...mostly just to experience it at least once. I already know that I LOVE distances from 15-25k, so if I decide that one marathon is enough, so be it. It's a much greater time and money commitment, so that works against it. Also doesn't help that my first significant injury came 2 weeks before training started and has nagged me for 3+ months, now. That kind of thing really wears on a person and colors their perception. Plus concentrating on a specific range of distances allows one to specialize and get relatively good at that range. I'm really bummed that I won't be able to fit a HM in this year, as a matter of fact. I always enjoyed training for my halfs (halves?) and 25ks, but I'm not really lovin' the marathon training, thus far. Right now I am 11.5 weeks into an 18 week training plan and the taper cannot come soon enough, at this point. So it's great to have a lofty goal like the marathon, but it's also OK to do one and never do another...or be content with shorter distances from the get-go, too. Most of us who start running in our 30s find that all distances are a major accomplishment and something to be proud of.

We have a couple 30Ks here. One of them is timed in the spring to be a nice training race for boston. Its a wicked fahhhst race considering most of the runs done by that club are "pedestrian" in pace. I like HM's the best. I ran 4 or 5 last year and felt I was weaker in the 10K so this year I ran a lot of 10K's I learned a lot more from 10K's that is helping me at all distances, but I still like HM's best. Next year I'll probably do more HM, 20K and 30 events and fewer 10's. But I try to get some of all the distances in, including 5K's which I detest. What we dont have many of that I see a lot of people talk about are 10 milers.