Forums >General Running>Why aren't 20-mile races more popular?
The marathon and the half marathon are relatively popular races. I was trying to figure out, well, why isn't there a 3/4 marathon race? That's 19.65 miles, so rounding it up to 20 miles makes sense.
since the jump from the half marathon to the marathon involves (potentially) crossing over the wall, wouldn't it make sense to offer 20-mile races as intermediate steps between the half and the marathon?
I seems that most events are slanted toward marathons and half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks.
You see a few 5 and 10 milers, but most odd distances are unique local races.
Our local running club has a 14K and an 11 miler that are fairly unique distances. They match up with where the races are run instead of trying to match up a course with a distance.
Age: 50 Weight: 224 Height: 6'3" (Goal weight 195)
Current PR's: Mara 3:14:36* (2017); HM 1:36:13 (2017); 10K 43:59 (2014); 5K 21:12 (2016)
an amazing likeness
Despite being unencumbered by facts...I'll offer a guess as to why: It probably costs as much money to organize and stage a 20-miler as it does to just tack on the extra 6.2 and stage a marathon, and when you stage a marathon you get a lot more entrants. Folks who are running to check a bucket-list, or running their annual long race want the full 26.2.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
There are a few 20-mile and 30k races around here.
They are popular among serious runners who are training for marathons for the most part. Hardly anybody makes a 30k or 20-miler their goal races, my guess because it just doesn't have the same tradition and name recognition as the marathon.
Runners run
Labrat
There are the Chattanooga stage races (which IIRC are 18,22 and 20 miles run over three successive days) at/around that distance.
I'd like to run them one day.
5K 20:23 (Vdot 48.7) 9/9/17
10K 44:06 (Vdot 46.3) 3/11/17
HM 1:33:48 (Vdot 48.6) 11/11/17
FM 4:13:43 (Vdot 35.4) 3/4/18
my guess because it just doesn't have the same tradition and name recognition as the marathon.
This
And...Have you ever seen and oval sticker that read "20". If it ain't on an oval sticker it can't be a race distance.
Good Bad & The Monkey
Marketing
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Consistently Slow
There are the Chattanooga stage races (which IIRC are 18,22 and 20 miles run over three successive days) at/around that distance. I'd like to run them one day.
Decided not to run the series because it was not 26.2. Would be nice if it could count as a 60 mile three day race.
Run until the trail runs out.
SCHEDULE 2016--
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
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The Irreverent Reverend
There's a 20-miler here in the Cities, about a month before the Twin Cities Marathon. It's a training run in a race atmosphere. I missed it last year, but will run it this year.
Husband. Father of three. Lutheran pastor. National Guardsman. Runner. Political junkie. Baseball fan.
They do the same in the Detroit area, 3 weeks before the Detroit Marathon, an LRS puts it on. Mile markers, aid stations, finish line clock, they even give you some secondhand bibs. Very nice event. I ran much better than I did in the marathon 3 weeks later...those pesky extra 6.2!
Dave
A Saucy Wench
We have a 30K race staged appropriately for Boston and other spring marathons. And several orgnaized 20 mile training runs
I think other than people training for marathons/serious runners there just isnt the market for it. "Almost as hard as a marathon, but not as much bragging rights"
Probably the only group who could make it popular enough to justify the headaches would be TnT. Which might send everyone else screaming.
I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets
"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7
It the past there were two the same day in the same town, White Bear Lake, before the Twin Cities Marathon. I have run one a couple times but I don't know if they still have both. I thought it was very strange having both the same day just a couple miles apart.
Yep. Final Stretch does one (Ready to Rock) that I did once before TCM, and the local Lions club does the Bear Water 20 miler on the same day usually.
I always thought that was weird, too.
My wildly inconsistent PRs:
5k: 24:36 (10/20/12)
10k: 52:01 (4/28/12)
HM: 1:50:09 (10/27/12)
Marathon: 4:19:11 (10/2/2011)
Squidward Bike Rider
There is one 20-miler that I know of held near Philly in October, the Delaware Canal 20-Miler.
not bad for mile 25
...those pesky extra 6.2!
Pesky. I'm going to be thinking pesky, come Sunday.