You against you, five times round

The short version

On Tuesday 28 July we swapped our usual intervals for something scarier: an honest 5k. Five laps in the English Garden near Dietlindenstraße, together with Mizuno and STOX, with everyone who was not running standing along the path and making noise.

The idea was simple. Forget racing the person next to you. This one was you against you.

Why a 5k?

Marathon season was getting close and most of us were guessing at our shape. A 5k answers that question very quickly, and not always politely. You get a number, and suddenly your training paces and your goal time stop being guesswork.

It worked for every level. Some people were chasing sub-20, some were running their first 5k ever. Same laps, same noise.

How it worked

Everybody signed up with a recent time and a prediction for the night, grabbed a bib and wrote their name and time on it. Then we ran in heats by pace, so you could race your own 5k and cheer for your friends in the other heats.

Five laps means you pass the crowd five times. That is five times a tunnel of people shouting your name, which is four more than you get in most races.

The result

It was a warm evening, which is not what you order for a fast 5k. People ran personal bests anyway. A lot of them. Enough that we started to wonder what we have been doing in the other 51 weeks of the year ;)

Everyone who ran a PB went into the draw for two full race kits: a ticket for Munich Marathon, a pair of Mizuno running shoes and a STOX arm sleeve kit.

Thank you

To Mizuno for the test shoes and the tent. To STOX for the socks. To Vitamin Well for the drinks. And to everyone who came only to cheer, because you were the reason those laps went so fast.

Want to try it yourself?

We run every week: an easy social run on Sunday with brunch at Convivio afterwards, and intervals on Wednesday evening. You do not need to be fast and you do not need to know anyone. Have a look at the schedule and just come along.