Today’s Tuesdays On The Run topic is favorite race distance. As you can tell from my race calendar in the sidebar, my favorite race distance is the 10 Miler. Here are my top ten reasons for loving 10 mile races.
10 miles or 10 kilometers? 10 miles of course!
Reasons 1-3: 10 Milers are better than 10Ks
1. Logistics. For me a 10 mile race means about 1.5 hours of running, and that’s worth the logistical efforts of picking up my race bib, getting to a race venue early, and waiting around for the start. For shorter races, the ratio of running time to non-running time makes me question the return on investment, and I can’t help but think that I could be done with my run and enjoying my Starbucks before the race even starts. 😉
2. Training. I enjoy running 8-10 miles on the weekends, which is the perfect distance to train for a 10 mile race. For a shorter race, I’d have to focus more on speed than distance, and would miss my favorite long runs. Plus, I have a hard time doing speed workouts without getting injured, although training at the track instead of on the treadmill seems to be less risky for me.
3. Effort. Maybe because I do so many 10 mile races, I am getting pretty good at pacing myself (except for this ugly PR). I have a hard time pushing my pace for a 10K, but I can sustain a hard effort for 10 miles and be proud of my finish time.
Reasons 4-6: 10 Milers are better than Half Marathons
4. Price. I know there are some pricey 10Ks, but race fees seem to go up with race distance, and Half Marathons can be quite expensive, with many popular ones topping $100. Most of my favorite 10 mile races are still in the $75 range, which is a price point I’m comfortable with.
5. Training. While I enjoy running 8-10 miles on the weekends, running much longer seems to aggravate my cranky ITB and/or piriformis. It is possible to train for a Half Marathon without running longer than 10 miles, but during the few I’ve done I’ve always wished I had gotten more used to running for more than 1.5 hours so maybe that last 1/2 hour wouldn’t be quite so hard.
6. Effort. This is probably where my Type-A, self-competitive personality works against me, but I have a hard time adjusting my race goals for the extra distance of a Half Marathon. I want to finish in the sub-2:00 range, but it is hard to sustain a 9:00 min/mile pace for 13.1 miles! Plus, I have never finished a 10 miler and wished I had another 5K to go!
Reasons 7-10: Great 10 Mile Races
Maybe one reason I love 10 mile races so much is because we have so many great ones in the Washington, D.C. area. (Click the race name to read my latest race recap.)
7. The Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run
9. The Reston Perfect 10 (Just did this one for the first time!)
[Tweet “10 Reasons to Love 10 Milers #runchat”]
What is your favorite race distance?
What is your favorite race?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Agree with #5 above for sure. I went with the 10k for today for that reason. A 10 miler takes a little more training. Having said that, see you at ATM in a few weeks?
I love the 10-miler too and so agree with reasons 1 – 6! I’m totally jealous of #7 – 10 you have so many great 10-mile races near you!
I guess I need to move to DC.
We have a great one in upstate NY at the end of June. I ran one in Palm Springs, CA and I have one in NJ on Oct 26 (The Perfect 10).
I can’t wait to say, I like to run 8-10 miles on the weekend! I am getting there! I am signed up for a 15K so I am getting close! Great inspiration!
Great reasons. I did my first 10 miler for the Cherry Blossom this year and loved it. It seems like a good distance for me. A half is fun to me, but the 10 is in a sweet spot without requiring a ton of extra training. I want to run the Army 10 miler and have eyed the Reston Perfect 10 as well.
I’ll be doing my very first 10 miler race on Saturday. It’s at night so i’m a little nervous!
All great reason!!! Lately I’ve been doing a lot more 10 miles runs just as training – I really like that distance because it feels like a great run but doesn’t leave me drained for the rest of the day!!!
Totally with you, the 10 miler is definitely my favorite distance!!
All great reasons! I’ve never done a 10 miler race before but I do like the 15k distance and that’s pretty close. Thanks for linking up with us today!
We don’t have any 10 milers around here so I could add – instant PR.
Fabulous list! My favorite distances are the 10 and half (the 10 having a slight edge b/c of your #6). I’ll need to get the Reston 10 this spring. I would love to sign up for the Broad Street 10 Miler in Philly, have you? It looks like it so popular (like the CB10) they went to a lottery system.
I’ve never run a 10miler, although there is a very popular one around October here.
Pingback: Love Your Lady Parts - End Women's Cancer | Got2Run4Me