From 5K to Half Marathon: Which Distance is Right for Your Runner Era?

In this episode of the Dogs Per Mile podcast, host Bridget Gaug guides listeners through the process of selecting the right race distance for their running journey. She discusses the importance of matching training loads with time commitments, debunks common myths about race distances, and provides insights into the training requirements for 5Ks, 10Ks, and half marathons. The episode emphasizes the significance of understanding one's current fitness level and lifestyle fit to avoid burnout and ensure a fulfilling running experience. Bridget encourages listeners to reframe their goals and consider performance over distance, making running accessible and enjoyable for everyone.


Takeaways

• Choosing the right race distance depends on your time commitment.
• 5Ks are a great starting point for new runners.
• Training for a half marathon requires a significant time investment.
• You can train for a 10K with a mix of speed and endurance workouts.
• It's important to consider your current fitness level when selecting a race.
• Debunking the myth that you need to look a certain way to run races.
• 5Ks are accessible and can fit into busy schedules.
• The 10K serves as a good stepping stone to longer distances.
• Visualizing your race day can help motivate your training.
• Reframing goals to focus on performance can lead to greater satisfaction.

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Transcript

Choosing the Right Race Distance

Speaker 1 0:00

I truly believe in my heart of hearts that everyone can train and run a half marathon . Hey runners , you're listening to Dogs Per Mile , where we're making running work for your life , not the other way around . I'm Bridget , with over 13 years of running experience and approximately 4,892 dogs seen on my run . I'm now here to help you find your own path to running happiness . Ready to run on your own terms . Let's get going .

Speaker 1 0:35

Hey guys , welcome back to the Dogs Per Mile podcast . I am your host , bridget . I'm so thankful that you're here today and I'm so excited to start this series with y'all . So , if you remember my history with running , I started running after the loss of my puppy Beta , and for me , I entered running as a sense of finding myself after loss . And if you have thought about starting your running journey , for whatever is motivating you whether or not you've seen people on social media and you think I want to try that , you're inspired by other people or whatever I'm here to help guide you through those steps . I'm here to help you find out what distance to run , whether it's a 5k , a 10k , a half marathon . We're going to talk about that . I'm going to help you , in this series , figure out what race to run . Are you going to run one that's local to your house , near your city ? Are you going to do a destination race ? And then we're going to talk about how are you going to train for this race . So how are you going to get from being all excited , like you are right now , to getting to the start line and then actually getting to the finish line ?

Speaker 1 1:44

So I want to do a three-part series , and so today , this episode is going to cover picking your race distance , and the other episodes will follow on the other elements . So , if you've ever wanted to enter your runner error and you are ready , well , 2025 is here . Let's do this , baby girl , okay . So obviously , you've been scrolling on TikTok and Instagram and you've seen people signing up for 10Ks and half marathons and 5Ks and looking at all the different distances online and you don't know which one is going to be best for you and your goals . And so today , my goal is at the end of this , you will know which race distance is right for you , which race distance can you actually train for , and which race distance is actually going to be the one that's going to fulfill you and inspire you and bring you the most joy and motivation and make you want to motivation and make you want to keep going and make you want to sign up for another race . And I know my story goes from running a 5k and jumping right into a half marathon and I don't particularly recommend that . It doesn't always work out great , but I'm going to guide you through how my process would be if I was you and I am branded and running and I needed to think about what resistance I was going to do .

Speaker 1 3:08

So , before we get started , I want to kind of clear up some of those myths , rumors or whatever that you may see going around that may keep you from wanting to sign up . So the first one is it's just a 5k . I was literally talking about this with my husband yesterday , and one of my personal goals for 2025 is to sign up and do more races , because last year I actually did two races last year . That's it . And one of them is to sign up and do more shorter distance races , because I fucking hate the 5k , because it's so hard . People who do the 5k are crazy . It hurts , you're sprinting , what it feels like , you're sprinting the whole time , and so a 5k is not anything to to like just say , oh , it's just a 5k , it's nothing . No , 5ks are hard . 5k is a very tough distance and it's a very good challenge , especially if you are new to running , especially if you've never been running . And this is your , your , you're dipping your toe in and you're going to start with run , walk and I don't know if you know this that competitive runners that's why track and field is so big is competitive runners train for 5Ks only exclusively . That is their race because they're so hard . So if you're signing up for a 5K , regardless of how fast you're going to do it in , so take that number in your brain , put a big X in it , throw it out the window . We're not paying attention to that . If you are choosing the 5K , know that you're better than a lot of people who won't sign up to do the 5K . It is still a respectable distance , so think about that . So we're going to move on to myth number two .

Training for Different Race Distances

Speaker 1 5:00

You have to look a certain way to run a 5K . You have to look a certain way to run a 5K , 10k or a half marathon Absolutely the fuck you do . Any body type , any body shape can run those distances . There is no particular body number , circumference , size on your shorts , shirt , sports bra that correlates on whether or not you should be at that start line , don't ? Any person that says that stuff , fuck them . There's nothing more than seeing . I love more than seeing people of all sizes , all shapes , all lifestyles at the start line .

Speaker 1 5:41

Every person deserves to be there because they also took time out of their day to train for the race . They took their hours and they did their long runs . Everyone deserves to be there . Don't think I can't train for this 10K because I don't weigh a certain amount , or I will train for half marathon once I weigh this number or once I am this size . Once you start putting those limits on yourself , you are always going to be living in that . So let's let year of 2025 be the year that we ignore those and we try and run for these new goals Without that . Every person deserves to be at the start line .

Speaker 1 6:19

And number three is training for a race takes over your entire life and it can if you do it wrong or if you let it . I know that there are ways that there are runners who will train for a half marathon and they run six days a week and they're pulling out 70 miles a week and that's fine for some people . But you can train for a half marathon , a 10k or a 5k by running three , run walking three , four days a week , by combining your group fitness classes , your Barry's Boot Camp , your Peloton bike ride , your Orange Theory Fitness . There are ways to do both and not let it take over your entire life and feel like all you're doing is training and working . And how are you fitting this all in ? It is easier than you think it is and we're going to talk about that in later episodes , but absolutely you can fit it into your life . We just need to find out the best distance that fits into your life .

Speaker 1 7:24

So now that we've dispelled some of those myths and we know that we can train for this we don't need to be a certain size and a 5k is still a respectable distance let's kind of talk about what each distance actually involves when it comes to training . And so if you are new to running , I want to at least give you guys some number information . So a 5k is five kilometers or 3.1 miles approximately . A 10k would be double that , so that's about 6.22 miles , and a half marathon is 13.1 miles . So that just kind of gives you a little idea of how long those mileage are , and so I'm not going to talk about these and how long it takes you to do them , because that is dependent on you and you as a person .

Speaker 1 8:15

So the 5k . So we're going to start with . How many ? How long does it take in a week to train for it , bridget ? How many hours a week do I actually need to dedicate to this so I can actually get over the finish line ? And you need to at least be able to dedicate . You need to at least be able to get two to four hours a week to the 5k training plan . So that's a good amount . It's not crazy , but it's still a good amount and that is over .

Speaker 1 8:47

If you are a absolute beginner , six to eight weeks minimum . You may want a little bit more , closer to 12 weeks . If you are starting from not running at all and you're going to start with a run walk , you may want to . I've done the couch to 5k when I first did my first 5k back 2012 . And if you are a more active individual , you may only need four to six weeks . So it's a really quick way to test . Do you like training ? Do you like running without really burning yourself out . It's really an easy one that you can . There's 5Ks almost every weekend places , so you can run a 5K every weekend if you want , and you can turn and burn them if you really enjoy this quick distance which , if you do , I have questions and it's also the most accessible distance for busy schedules . So if you are a person who is really busy but you still want to be able to do a race on weekends , the 5k is going to be great for really busy people because you only have to dedicate two to four hours . I'm not saying those two to four hours are going to be easy , but I am saying that it is only two to four hours out of your week to be able to get you over that finish line . Now that all sounds great . The con is the speed workouts for 5Ks . They're going to suck . They're going to be because the shorter the distance of the race , the faster your speed workouts are going to be , so that's going to be a lot more intense If you're shooting for a hard race , if you are just trying to get over the finish line and you are new to this running . Ignore that con . That con doesn't even exist in our world , we don't need to worry about her . So your con is just that it's a short distance , that's all . That's the only con . That it is 3.1 miles , that's the con .

Speaker 1 10:40

Moving on to the 10K 10K is kind of the sweet spot . It's the Goldilocks . I'd say it's the middle child . But I'm the middle child and it's not the middle child . It takes about three to six hours a week of training . When I say training , we're meaning running , meaning on the feet , on the treadmill , pitter-patter training . If you're a beginner , you're going to want to train at least eight to 12 weeks , especially close to that 12 weeks if you are new to running haven't been running and if you are more advanced , you might be able to squeeze it in six to eight weeks if you're more active . Now what's really nice about the 10k is you get to balance speed and endurance and a true 10k training plan . You'll get to get some of those longer runs that you would get like with a half marathon . So you may get to build some longer distances past that six mile mark , which , for me , anytime I get to go past five miles or creep close to double digits , I get this little mental boost in this . I enjoy that . So that's a fun element that I love about a 10K training plan . But you also get to do some of those tempo speed runs or longer time , faster runs , so that is always fun .

Speaker 1 11:58

It also is a large sense of accomplishment . I know the 10K being six miles is , or 6.2 miles , can feel like a larger accomplishment than the 5K because it's you know , it's double the distance . So a lot of people can feel more accomplished when they run a 10K because if you look at the average 10k time it's a little bit over an hour hour plus , and so to have done a race where you run over an hour , that's pretty impressive . For me at least , I always am really proud when I run for over an hour because you're doing something consistently for an hour and it's also a really great stepping stone , a really great test to see if you're ready to do a half marathon . It's kind of that one if you're on the fence between doing a half and a 10K and you're just not quite sure We'll go over a little bit more . If we can kind of think about that , it's a really great test to your endurance . Like , okay , if I can run a 10K I can probably run a half marathon later on down the line . But you can train for that without getting hurt , without falling out of love with running , since this is your first time trying to fall in love with running and we want to make sure we fall in love with it and not suffer too much right away .

Speaker 1 13:15

So the cons , obviously , is that it requires more time . If you're training for a 10k , it's going to require more time to train because you got to run at least a little bit longer and with the 10k you're probably going to be doing closer . You're doing some long runs which will be above your race distance , really only in the marathon , typical in a traditional marathon training plan . That's the only distance and above where you're not going to run longer than your race day distance . Maybe in a half marathon , that's up for debate . So you will probably be running several times longer than your 10k . So it will take longer time out of your week to train for a 10k .

Speaker 1 14:02

And then , finally , we are moving on to my favorite , which is the half marathon , which I understand is the kind of the the Mac Daddy , the big boy , not quite the marathon , but it is a really fun and it's a fantastic goal . I truly believe in my heart of hearts that everyone can train and run a half marathon , and I'm not saying everyone's going to finish in a crazy good time , I'm not saying everyone is going to have a good time , but I believe everyone can train and run a half marathon full stop . So to train for a half marathon , you're looking to have committing at least four to eight hours of your week to training and you're looking at a training plan of at least 12 to 16 weeks if you are a beginner and eight to 12 weeks if you are an active individual . Personally , I like to keep mine at least 12 weeks , just because that's what has worked for me . I sometimes will bump it up , but you have to at least start that far out from your desired race to be able to feel like you are prepared to be able to go through the appropriate , to be able to feel like you are prepared to be able to go through the appropriate ebbs and flows of a training

Choosing the Right Race Distance Considerations

Speaker 1 15:22

cycle .

Speaker 1 15:22

So the pros of the half marathon it's a huge sense of accomplishment . I mean , think about it . You train , you go through it . You show up Monday , everyone asks hey . Or you show up in your all hands virtual meeting and they say how's your weekend ? You say , oh , I ran a half marathon this weekend . Everyone's going to be fucking impressed . They're going to be impressed when you tell them that you did a long run this weekend of 10 miles , or that morning before work . You did 10 , you did five miles . Everyone's always going to be impressed and I personally love that feeling . So that's what keeps me doing the half marathon is that sense of accomplishment .

Speaker 1 16:00

It is a very immersive training experience . You have to do very quick speed workouts . You have to do longer tempo , longer progressive runs where you're running on tired legs . You have to do slow runs . You have to do keep your strength mobility up . So it is a very immersive training cycle which some people do not like and there are ways to simplify it and make sure that it's not overwhelming . For sure it can have a lot of fun elements and if you love the training cycle and the training process , it can be a lot of fun for you . And obviously the cons is that it has the highest weekly demand and it has the highest burnout rate because you are training so much and there's some weeks when you're building your long runs up to . If you're going by mileage you're going 10 , 11 , 12 , maybe longer than that . Maybe you're running for 90 minutes , two hours , two , two and a half hours , three hours , depending on your training plan , and that can be . That can be a long time to dedicate to do something . If you have family , you have kids , you have dogs , you have commitments , it's just a big commitment that you have to kind of weigh between your motivation and your lifestyle .

Speaker 1 17:17

Now it's time for interactive element , where we're going to make your decision on what race distance is right for you . So grab your notebook and get ready to pause or reflect on the following questions . And so we're going to first start with your time commitment . Time commitment how many hours per week can you realistically dedicate to training ? So think about your current workload . Think about current activities you're already doing . Think about what vacations you have coming up . Do you have a busy season at work ? Do you have a group fitness class that you already do ? How many hours can you realistically do ? And be honest with yourself , because the only person that will suffer from this is you . Write that down . You can put as much information as you want .

Speaker 1 18:09

So next we're going to think about can you comfortably run for 10 minutes without stopping , and comfortably is in quotation marks . It doesn't have to be a fast run , it can feel like a shuffle , but can you move quicker than a walk for 10 minutes give or take ? And so you can always do this at a later time and see can you do that , and then the next one is okay . So if you're driving , please don't do this . But if you are sitting listening from home , hello , please close your eyes and think about the finish line .

Speaker 1 18:51

Think about how you want to feel at the finish line . You have gotten over the finish line . They're there to pass out the medals . How do you want to feel ? Do you want to feel exhilarated and fast ? Do you want to feel accomplished ? Do you want to feel steady ? Do you want to feel like you spent every ounce of energy and you couldn't have possibly given one drop more of yourself to that finish line ? How do you want to feel ? How does that vision look ? So , open your eyes and write that vision down on how you would like to feel Next .

Speaker 1 19:29

How flexible . So this is our lifestyle fit . How flexible are your weekends for long runs ? And the fun thing about long runs is they do not have to only exist in the weekends . So is there one day of the week for my retail workers , my service workers , anyone like that , or people who just don't like running on Saturday or Sundays Is there one day of the week , or a couple of days , where you know you can commit to getting a long run in , and that is a run of at least , probably starting at about a . It'll eventually go up to 90 minutes to two hours . So is there a day where you can consistently know you can show up for and that is the important part that it's consistently and ideally roughly the same day , so that way you can have recovery afterwards ?

Speaker 1 20:26

And last , think about training and the weather and where you live . So will the training align in the season where you live ? So , for example , I used to live in Maine and I love to train for a spring half marathon . However , training for a April half marathon means I start my training in January , and if you have ever been to Maine in January , it is a little bit cold , it is a lot of bit snowy and it's really rough out there , and so I have to . I had to adjust a lot of runs . I couldn't always get some runs done , and so you want to consider that On the other side , do you live in a very warm climate ? Are you a Florida girly ? Are you in Texas , california , where you're going to be running in summer and then going in to do a fall half marathon ? So think about the time of year in which you'll be doing these 6 , 8 , 12 weeks , 16 weeks , what season will it be in and when will you be doing your training in ? So that's just kind of the other thought process of we're forward thinking a little bit . We haven't picked our distance but we're thinking like oh , I'm going to be running for three months and it's going to be from May 1st and through August . No , that is not possible . So we need to look at . Maybe I do a shorter one Now that you've thought through these questions .

Finding Your Perfect Race Distance

Speaker 1 22:06

Let's go over the answers and try to figure out which one of these is the best fit for you and your life . So we're going to first go over the time commitment which is going to match the training load to what time you actually have to commit to this . So go over your sheet and let's look . If you have only two to four hours a week that to dedicate to training , let's try to stick with maybe just the 5k , and I don't want to say just the 5k . Let's just stick with the 5k for now as your goal and remember we can adjust that accordingly . If you can give three to six hours a week of training , we're going to shoot for maybe the 10k for your entering your run of error goal might be your spot . And if you have four to eight hours to give a week and you really love an immersive , challenging training , then the half marathon could be for you . As a little challenge for you , I want you to print out your Google calendar for the week and try and block off some of these . How long these runs would take where you would fit in four to eight hours a week of runs .

Speaker 1 23:05

You're not planning what runs you're doing . You're just trying to find that amount of time consistently in your week . Can you fit it in there and that'll just let you know . Is this even possible to do so , going into your starting fitness , your current fitness level , if running 10 minutes straight even I would say even running for five minutes straight is too much , I would stick with planning to do a 5k as your first entry into your runner era If you're already comfortable with running between 20 and 30 minutes straight and I say comfortably , is just any sort of movement faster than a walk then I would say you can consider the 10K as your challenge into your runner era and anything longer than that . I would say we are considering maybe entering the half marathon as your entryway into the runner era .

Speaker 1 24:08

And obviously all of these are with a grain of salt , there are . We're not putting ourselves in any sort of box with any of these . We're just kind of getting a gauge of where we can maybe fit and then we're going to go into that finish line vision that we talked about . This is kind of the motivation , how you feel at the finish line . So if you picture yourself feeling exhilarated and fast and almost like you gave every ounce of you consider the 5k because you finish that with a sprint , you finish that with leaving everything on the course . If you kind of picture a kind of a balance between that speed and that endurance , that 10k may be calling your name because you get to have those moments of zoning out and enjoying that endurance . But you also get that fun kick at the end .

Speaker 1 24:52

And if your dream is conquering that big , big , big personal milestone , the half marathon is a powerful , powerful choice for that , choice for that . So visualize your race day . Write down how you feel that day will go , how you picture yourself going over that finish line , how you picture yourself starting the day . Write that down and imagine how that will go for you . Next we're going to go into the lifestyle fit and this is going to help you avoid burnout and help you from quitting halfway through and feeling discouraged and upset at yourself . Have , every early morning is packed . You work 90 plus hours . Maybe the shorter distance , the 5k , will be easier to fit , the shorter amounts of runs around . If you can set a little bit more time aside , the 10k will provide you a little bit more flexibility .

Speaker 1 25:59

But if you can dedicate a significant amount of time on weekends or any weekday for that matter to a long run , the half marathon is something that you can consider . Definitely . Make sure that when you are looking at these , talk to your friends and your family that I've done , especially my half marathons , without at least making my partner aware of it , that , hey , there's going to be some weekends where I'm going to be up early and I'm going to be out the door and running for two , two and a half hours and it just means that you may need to walk the dogs or you may just need to be aware that I'll be out of the house . So just keep an ear . It doesn't necessarily mean they need to do more for you , but it just means they need to be aware that you're going to be doing something for yourself and it's for you and that is perfectly OK and you have permission to do something that is just for you .

Speaker 1 27:00

And then the last element was the season and weather and choosing the best timing . So 5k is great for all year weather . So because it's such a short training cycle shorter in comparison so it's great for if you live in a climate where you want to train for a May race , you can start that in March . It's much easier to fit at any time of the year where 10K can fit into a lot more different areas where the half marathon has a lot . Since it's a longer you know I picture it being a little bit longer you kind of have to fit it , fit it in different little areas , so it's a little bit harder to fit in . And also there are less half marathons that are available of races to choose from , so they typically are in the bookends of the years . So definitely take a peek out there at your running stores to see what races are available and that also might kind of inform your decision on race day . And a lot of times races will have a five , 10 and a half , so that way you have multiple to choose from .

Speaker 1 28:00

Now that you have all your answers , circle your answers for the questions above , so kind of know where you are in all of them and then figure out which distance aligns best with your responses . So I guarantee there's one that kind of . You have the time to do one , but the motivation to do another . Which one are you more leaning towards ? And now I want you to write on your piece of paper in big , big , big , big , bold letters I am training for a blank . Insert your answer here I am training for a 10k , I am training for a 5k , I am training for a half marathon . Write it down , be excited . And also I want you to do an extra bonus step . I want you to dm me on instagram at dogs per mile pod and tell me what you're training for . Because I want you to DM me on Instagram at Dogs Per Mile Pod and tell me what you're training for , because I want to celebrate you in the decision that you made .

Speaker 1 28:51

Okay , in the dream world , we just went through this framework and you know exactly which race you would like to do . But what happens when you have them big , big goals of training for a half marathon , but they don't align with your lifestyle goals , and I know it's really hard to let go of that vision and that dream . You see yourself getting over the finish line and you want to do a half marathon , or all your friends are doing the half marathon and you want to do one too . And so let's kind of walk through and kind of , how can you still have the achievement and have that accomplishment and still kind of have your cake and eat it too ? So first , I want you to know that it does suck to feel that way . I want to acknowledge your struggle . I want to acknowledge that I'm excited that you want to set big goals . I'm proud of you for that . So please , please , hear that in your heart of hearts . But I'm also proud of you for thinking realistically . And that is something to be even more proud of . Is that you even saying maybe signing up for that full marathon or even a half marathon isn't my smartest decision . So you are already setting yourself up for success .

Speaker 1 30:07

Let's talk about maybe reframing the goal and let's maybe look at maybe the goal could be on performance rather than distance . So I know I don't like to talk about pace and speed here too much , but instead of running the half marathon just to finish , maybe we aim to absolutely destroy a 5k or the 10k and we have a bold finish time and we can work later on to figure out what that finish time could be . Then you're running . Your training plan is hard and you're running with a hard goal time , so you're still getting a sense of accomplishment , but without having to add those extra two to four hours into your week that you just cannot fit in there . It gives you the same accomplished feelings that you might get from the longer race , but without having to burn yourself out in the long run .

Speaker 1 31:07

Let's wrap up this first episode in our Entering your Runner Era series . So we've covered a lot of ground today , from busting those just a 5k myths to helping you figure out which race distance actually fits your life right now . Remember whether or not you've been eyeing a 5k , a 10k or a half marathon , you're already ahead of anyone who's sitting on the couch . So let's just quickly recap what we've discovered . Every race distance is legit . Yes , even just a 5k .

Speaker 1 31:37

Your perfect race distance absolutely depends on your time , commitment , current fitness and lifestyle , and success isn't necessarily about picking the longest distance . It's about picking the right distance for you . And if you're still sitting there and you're feeling a little bit torn because the dream race that you have in your mind doesn't match your current reality , it's totally okay . Remember , you can absolutely crush a 5 or 10k with just as much pride as a half marathon . It's all about adjusting the goal , and the goal is start your runner era in the way that sets you up for success and not burnout . And don't forget to DM me at DogsPerMilePod on Instagram to let me know what distance you've chosen . I want to know what you picked .

Speaker 1 32:23

Next episode we are going to go into what actual race you're going to pick . Are you going to pick destination ? Are you going to pick a local community race ? Until next time , keep counting those dogs and keep running and see you in the next one . Bye for now . Thanks for sharing another mile with me today

Staying Connected in the Running Community

Speaker 1 32:46

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Speaker 1 32:46

Before you cool down , here are three quick ways to stay connected with our running community , first hit , subscribe wherever you're listening to this right now . It's the best way to make sure you never miss an episode . Second , if today's show helped you or inspired you , please leave a review . Your words help other runners find their way to our community . Lastly , want more running adventures , follow at Dogs Per Mile pod on Instagram , where I share daily motivation , behind the scenes moments and plenty of pictures of my two running coaches , yogi and Maple . Be sure to tag me in your run photos and use hashtag dogs per mile to share your own dog spotting stats . I love celebrating your victories , big and small , and thank you for being a part of this journey . Until our next run together , remember every step forward is progress and every dog you see is bonus motivation . Keep running , keep smiling and keep counting those dogs .