Fabulous five kilometers

My Dad ran his first marathon when I was a small child. His training took him away from home so much, that my Mum threatened to leave him if he ever ran another. He went on to run another five marathons. One or other of them never took the hint, and they are still married. During his last marathon, my Dad injured his hip, around 18 miles in. Given that he was 'nearly there', he carried on, in agony for the final eight miles. That's right, he ran EIGHT MILES in agony. Fortunately, he recovered fully and didn't suffer a recurring injury as a result. As a child, I didn't see the grief; I saw the heroism of his running and thought that running a marathon was the ultimate proof of being superfit and determined. From a personal challenge point of view, I think all runners dream of the marathon, but in terms of fitness, the 5k race is a superb distance to run. Not only is it a metric distance - what era are we in, the 1950s? - it is also offers benefits for your health, wealth and sanity.
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Here are my five favourite reasons for loving 5k:

1. It's motivating. By timing your runs, you can keep track of your progress, and quickly see improvements in your 5 km time. You are racing against yourself. Apps such as Runkeeper, Strava and MapMyRun make this job easier. You can adjust your time by your age and sex using the WAVA age grading system - to make a fair comparison with your differently aged, opposite sex running partner.
2. It's realistic. You can have a normal life while training for the 5 km race. I have a particular loop, a little over 3.5 km that I like to run on a weekend morning before showering, which keeps me just fit enough to know I can always do 5 km. It takes 20 minutes, give or take, and then I get on with my day. 
3. Parkrun! It's a free, weekly timed run. If you go often enough, you'll start to get to know the regulars - my motto is that running is the new pub - and you will always be welcome as a Parkrun tourist in a new city. Every now and then, you volunteer at an event and get a warm glow of smugisfaction.
4. It's sustainable. My ethos is always about sustaining exercise for life, and the 5 km run offers just that. It is perfectly reasonable to continue to run this distance for many decades. Any flat surface running will put some repetitive strain on the joints, but with good technique and adequate recovery time, it is possible to enjoy a long running career without ill effects - provided you do not train through injury. In fact, runners have been found to experience less pain as they age than non-runners.
5. You can work at higher intensity. High intensity training is now thought to offer greater fitness benefits than longer exercise bouts at lower intensity. Or you can walk it, if you need to.

Dedication and superhuman fitness are seen in the 5 km race too. Mo Farah set a British 5,000 m record of just 12:53:11. Mind you, even Mo had to give a marathon a try, so perhaps the call of the marathon is just too strong to resist.