Why so few 10k races?

LordSutch

Just curious if any of you fellow athletes know why we have so few 10k road races here in the South, & why this distance is so popular up North & across Britain . . . . .

Years ago I lived near London & there were 10k road races every weekend in every Town & City, it was great, just throw the bag in the boot & off to another 10k, you could then mark your progress on a regular basis for the event & keep an eye on your progress ~ I am not saying that the 10k is better than any other distance, I am just curious & asking the question 'why' our races seem to fluctuate betweek 5k, 5mile, 6mile, 7k, 10k, 4mile, 12mile, 1/2 marathon etc, etc, with no consistency to the distances & very few 10Ks (6.2m) throughout the year!

Any ideas as to why we have so few 10Ks & why they are so popular throughout the UK ...........

copacetic

we are tiny compared to the uk and the numbers just don't turn up at races here..

Timmaay

A lot of our local races here seem to be marked on the basis of a convenient loop or route, and they can often be odd distances. Organizing races is not 1/2 as easy as the runners themself seem to thing. It often is not worth having longer distance than 4 miles because of the bigger hassle of more marshals, longer race time (there will be walkers in all 10k races taking 2hours or so :rolleyes:).

I certainly wouldn't stay there are less 10k over other distances, it is just that there are more of as spread as you said. Two of the biggest road races in the year are 10ks (mini-marathon and bupa).

And yes, as Copacetic says, we just dont have the numbers turning out in races in general, our fit4life race league here in Wicklow is suffering from poor numbers. Despite reducing the distances and trying to better cater for beginners, we seem to be getting the usual 30/40 club runners out.

Stupid_Private

copacetic wrote: »

we are tiny compared to the uk and the numbers just don't turn up at races here..

I don't really buy this as an excuse. Races don't have to have mass participation for them to be a success. Although the BHAA 10 mile race in Rathcoole has disappeared from the calendar this year and I think that's because they weren't happy with such low numbers turning up (about 170 people last year, 250ish the year before).

Obviously time and effort comes into it but I'd see it as the more races there are the more people that will be doing them. I know the club I train with in London hosts a 5k every month. They limit the numbers to 250, charge £2 and it always sells out well before the race day. The £2 covers the insurance for the race and thats it. They rely on volunteers from the club for marshelling and time kepping. The club don't get much in the way of cash from this race but they definately get a bit of exposure from it.

geoff29

whats this fit4life thing? is there a website?

my biggest annoyance is the cost of races. I would do every race there was if they didnt cost 10-25 euro a go. I think I paid €80 or so to do the marathon. Now I know when you add up all the entry fees and take away the costs - there's not really going to be a huge profit at any race - but I still find the fees a killer. I haven't done it but I see the Raheny Lord Mayor races are a fiver a pop - now that's my kind of price! I gave up drinking a year or so ago though and thats my race-entry/new-runners-fund money! At least that helps!

but as the others said - there's no way we can compete with London and places like that. I've looked into doing some races there myself and the amount of clubs is amazing. And sure dont they have something like 40,000 a year doing the marathon there alone!?

LordSutch

copacetic wrote: »

we are tiny compared to the uk and the numbers just don't turn up at races here..

There were more 10k road races up North in May & June this year than we have in the South for the whole of the year, so I am not convinced that its a numbers thing, maybe more of a cultural/tradition thing

spurscormac

Not sure where you're based, but there seems to be enough races to keep me happy over in the west.
The Galway 5k series finished a few of weeks ago, 6 excellently organised races, and hoping to do a good few of the Mayo road series over the summer.
Again the distance varies between 5/8/10k, but for my needs, a novice in it just for the fitness, its great to have the variety.

If you're specifically looking for 10k runs, you maybe limiting yourself, but as someone has already stated, there's a lot of effort in organising a race, and 10k requires road closures or Garda assistance, over a longer course, for a longer duration of time plus extra volunteers to marshall it.

There's a good calendar of events on the Athenry AC site, www.athenryac.com - not sure if its absolutely complete, but it has a lot of stuff listed, so you might find more races than you know exist

LordSutch

Thanks for that Spurscormac but I am a hardened road racer based in Dublin (13 races so far this year) but it was the specific lack of 10Ks that got me thinking & asking the question "why so few 10Ks" ?

I actually travelled up to Enniskillen last saturday for their 10k, it was well organised, well marshalled, the Police closed off the roads, and it was my first experience of a 'Chip' race (attached to my shoe laces) ...

Great day, but bloody hilly ~ and the rain held off too

Regards.