Forums >General Running>New study: The 10k is increasing in popularity and on average, women are completing it faster than men
Latent Runner
Though I don't claim to be the authority... I did nearly weekly road races back in the day (1977-1980) during high school and early college years. Most were oddball club runs around San Francisco in the 4-7 mile range. However if there were bigger races, they were almost always 10K's. I don't remember seeing many 5K's even offered. And the "Half" hadn't been invented yet (why would someone run a race based solely on a percentage of an established race distance?). I ran a couple of 5 mile races and one 20 race, but other that those it was either 10K or Marathon. At least that's how I remember it.
Though I don't claim to be the authority...
I did nearly weekly road races back in the day (1977-1980) during high school and early college years. Most were oddball club runs around San Francisco in the 4-7 mile range. However if there were bigger races, they were almost always 10K's. I don't remember seeing many 5K's even offered. And the "Half" hadn't been invented yet (why would someone run a race based solely on a percentage of an established race distance?).
I ran a couple of 5 mile races and one 20 race, but other that those it was either 10K or Marathon. At least that's how I remember it.
I spent a lot of time in the Bay area back in the late 70s and early 80s and with one notable exception, I agree with your observations. In May of 1980 I ran the Bay to Breakers, which if I remember correctly was something like 7.66 miles.
Edit:
I just looked it up, the race was 7.51 miles in 1980 (it is now 7.46 miles or 12K). The year I ran it I was *just* fast enough to be far enough up in the pack to see Craig Virgin crest the top of the friggin' hill before he disappeared from view for the rest of the race.
Fat old man PRs:
more women are completing the race in under one hour than men." (link)
more women are completing the race in under one hour than men."
(link)
That news doesn't surprise me. Back in the 70's on my high school's cross country team, there wasn't even a women's team then. I remember we allowed 2 girls to join the team because of that. Yet now when I'm running on some trails I see lots of female high school running teams practicing out there. And many a times, I've noticed more women than men running out there. That was unheard of though back in the 70's. Give Jane Fonda and the whole women's lib movement credit for getting those girls off their butts.
#artbydmcbride
. Give Jane Fonda and the whole women's lib movement credit for getting those girls off their butts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX
Runners run
TOTES!
especially when a... not-rare consequence of Title IX is colleges drop their men's track and field programs...
Know thyself.
and do you blame the menfolk who make that decision, or do you blame Title IX and women......?
Options,Account, Forums
Blame em all - let Gd sort them out.
It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.
I blame Ilene!
an amazing likeness
TABLE 3: Number of 2012 U.S. Running Events
Distance
# of Events
% of Total
5K
15,000
57%
10K
3,200
12%
Half-Marathon
1,900
7%
8K/5mile
1,020
4%
Marathon
850
3%
Others
4,400
17%
TOTAL
26,370
SOURCE: Running USA powered by Athlinks
Typical U.S. Female Runner
Running Preferences Favorite race distance is the Half-Marathon (42.5%)
Interested in entering next year: Half-Marathon (80.5%), 5K (57.5%), 10K (57.1%), Marathon (41.1%)
And...this blast from the past.
Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.
But that was before people had running shoes.
<dammit, he's on to me!>
I believe my ire is directed at the AD's that decide they need to keep football and then drop men's track so they can balance numbers (particularly in 2nd tier D-I football schools). This happened to one of my friends who ran at a neighboring high school twice within 4 years.
I also believe I'm blaming the design and language of Title IX, since it can be interpreted in such a way requiring a school to cut existing programs.
MTA: The spirit of my original post is since there are fewer college track opportunities for men, I feel like fewer guys are continuing on with the sport, and exploring... other pursuits in college.
I've got a fever...
Masochism defined. It's nearly the pain of a 5k that lasts over twice as long.
Masochism defined.
It's nearly the pain of a 5k that lasts over twice as long.
+1
My one and only DNF was an attempt to crush my 10k PR which turned into an epic meltdown that crushed my soul. Evil.
With a 5k, if it's going south, you just suck it up because it'll be over soon. 15k and up -- you can always downshift into I'm-doing-it-as-a-hard-training-run mode. No such option for 10k -- it just grinds you into a twitching bloody pulp the whole way.
On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.
I'm from N. California as well (Seattle now) & this is exactly what I remember it back in the 70's & 80"s. 10k"s were the big event race distances back then & usually the only option. no 5k's or even "kiddie races" to go along with the 10k. smaller races there would be people writing down bib #'s & others writing down the times manually. Come along way since then.
Doesn't matter, if you around during the 70's, society had conditioned women to stay away from basic exercise then such as aerobics. The whole movement for women became popular right when Jane Fonda came out with her workout tape in the early 80's. Even my mom got started around then.