If a 5K is good, a 10K must be better, and a marathon is Mt. Everest and you are Sir Edmund Hillary. Not true. While the marathon is indeed the longest Olympic running event, there is no less value in pursuing excellence in the 5K or 10K. Much of this "marathon-is-the-be-all-end-all" attitude is a reflection of the idea that if an event is longer and more tortuous, it holds greater value. In truth, honing your mile, 5K, 10K and half marathon prowess takes just as much energy and focus. Do not feel the need to join the marathoning masses if it does not match your desires or lifestyle. Use shorter races such as 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons for a few years before moving up to the marathon.
More: 5K or 10K: Which Distance Should Beginners Run First?
The More Racing, the Better
The running booms have brought millions of people to the roads and almost as many events, but too much racing can indeed have detrimental effects. When creating your goals and targets for the year, be certain to set up a few fitness tester races leading into your primary target race (or races).
More: Are You Racing Too Much?
Equally important, however, are interim weeks without racing to accentuate recovery and less frequent or non-existent racing during the base-building cycle that should happen early in the year. This stage promotes linear aerobic development.
Racing consistently throughout the year, without planned rest, will result in cycles of staleness and fewer top-end peaks in racing.
More: How to Peak at the Right Time
If You Run Enough, You Can Eat Whatever You Like
Food is important for athletes, particularly those who practice endurance sports such as swimming, cycling and distance running. What we eat and drink allows us to fuel for and recover from our training and racing effectively.
More: 25 Healthy Snacks for Runners
For many years, long-distance runners have held the misconception that because of running's "high-caloric-burn" nature, any food, regardless of nutritional or caloric value, suffices. Little is further from the truth. Runners need and benefit from healthy options as much as the general population. As we've seen in high-profile cases recently, issues such as coronary heart disease and are as likely to occur in endurance athletes as anyone.
More: 5 Heart-Healthy Nutrients for Athletes
Weight Lifting Does Not Help Distance Runners
Arthur Lydiard was fond of referring to hill running as the only weight work a distance runner needs. Times are changing. The top long-distance runners in the world continue to execute the high volumes of training they did in the Lydiard era; however, these runners also spend more time in the weight room. From strengthening muscular weaknesses to improving biomechanical stability, weight lifting keeps more runners healthy, and improves overall power and explosiveness.
More: 10 Exercises for Runners to Build Strength
Go Minimal With Footwear
The last four to five years has seen one of the largest "new footwear category" booms in recent memory as minimalism hit new heights (or in this case lows) with a wave of slipper-like running shoes. The philosophy: the closer to barefoot, the better, and runners flocked to the concept.
More: Should You Select Running Shoes by Feel or Science?
The no-midsole hysteria is now waning, and the feedback has been what biomechanists predicted from the onset: Runners will see greater frequency of injury in shoes with little to no midsole than traditional trainers. Are there exceptions to this rule? Yes. However, moving runners—particularly veteran runners who have been in "regular" trainers for years—from a traditional foam midsole into a shoe with little to none is a recipe for a visit to the podiatrist.
More: Is Barefoot Running "The Perfect Running Shoe"?
A Track Is Needed For Interval Training
Interval training, like all training for distance runners, can be executed in virtually any environment. Whether you live in Jacksonville, Florida, or Fairbanks, Alaska, economy, threshold, VO2 max and all other types of stimulus sessions commonly performed on the oval can be done just as effectively on the roads and trails of your home town. More runners are now finding that sessions normally thought to be "track only" can be implemented anywhere.
More: Why Lactate Threshold Is Crucial to Becoming a Better Distance Runner
I encourage runners to opt for interval sessions occasionally based on time and feel rather than specifically on pace. For example, try 6 to 8 x 1:30 pick-ups at a moderate 80-percent effort with equal 1:30 jog recovery between in lieu of a 6 x 400m track session. The torque of turning on the track can be eliminated by doing this workout on a straight dirt road or grass field.
More: Why Distance Runners Need Interval Training
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