Events from 5,000m up to the marathon are included within this group and although that covers a large range of distances, athletes who often begin their careers at 5,000m often graduate to the marathon, a prime example being Britain’s Paula Radcliffe.
5,000m
For all athletes contesting these events, training is principally about getting the miles under their belts. Races can often be run at a varying pace and an athlete has to have vast energy reserves to be able to cope with a rapid increase in tempo mid-way through the race.
Unsurprisingly pure speed cannot be neglected; Ethiopian athletes from Haile Gebrselassie to Tirunesh Dibaba to Kenenisa Bekele have demonstrated that no matter how fast the early pace they still possess a withering sprint finish and with this kind of all-round ability they are unbeatable. Radcliffe’s approach has always been to start off very fast and just keep going at the same pace and for the marathon that can be hugely successful, but even over that distance a last lap “kick” has been the decisive factor on occasion.
Statistics
The current men's 5,000m world record-holder is Ethiopian Kenenisa Bekele, with a time of 12.37.35, set in 2004.
The current women's 5,000m world record-holder is Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba, with a time of 14.11.15, set in 2008.