The 5K and 10K races are a Trojan horse. Safe and approachable from the outside, they're filled in the middle with danger—waiting to inflict pain on those who let their guard down. “It's the worst feeling in all of running,” says Ben Rosario, coach of Northern Arizona Elite, describing the pain of oxygen debt in these seemingly simple races.

Not even the strongest among us are safe. Molly Huddle, the American record-holder at 10,000 meters, says that as the race turns tough and the finish still seems far off, “usually no one feels good.”

The races are so short, yet so long—a long time for runners to spend on the edge of the red line. Rosario calls it “gut-wrenching.” It's not the dead-leg sensation of the half marathon and marathon. It's something possibly worse. Here's how to approach the meat of the race.

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It's sage advice for any race distance: Don't go out too fast. The same is especially true for the 5K and 10K.

Eric Heintz, cross-country coach at Marist School in Atlanta, says he sees the slowdown in the middle miles from those who go out too hard, overextend themselves, then try to recover and get back in their comfort zones. He should know—his teams have won 12 Georgia state cross-country titles.

Christo Landry, a former U.S. road 10K champion, says staying relaxed and controlled early sets you up to negative-split the race and gives you the best chance of running fast. “There's a reason that all the world records at the mile and above have been run negatively,” he says.

Because you won't get a split in most road races until the mile mark, and because real-time GPS data can be untrustworthy, Landry recommends focusing on your effort to gauge if you're going out too hard. It's also helpful on a course with significant hills or misplaced mile markers.

The effort in the beginning of a 5K or 10K race should feel similar to a tempo run, Rosario says. “You're very amped up, so even though the pace will probably be faster than tempo run pace, the feeling is pretty similar,” he says.

Heintz also recommends being realistic about where you line up on the starting line—if you are in the appropriate place, it's more likely you'll begin at a sustainable pace. “We often get a little too big for our britches at the start of a race,” he says.

Mastering the Middle Miles
Even with a smart start to the race, the middle miles will still be difficult. Scott Simmons, coach of the American Distance Project, says the challenge is maintaining pace after fatigue and pain have set in. Your training has to be designed in a way that helps you meet that challenge.

Danny Mackey, coach of the Brooks Beasts, says that most adult runners are not prepared for the intensity of an all-out 5K, which he compares metabolically with an all-out mile. Mackey says your brain and nervous system need to be prepared “to be okay with that intensity and know that it's safe to go that hard.”

That training can take a variety of forms, but the common thread is workouts that specifically simulate aspects of the race. “In theory, the more specific the workout is to the race, the more prepared the athlete should be come race time,” Mackey says.

A workout doesn't need to be at race pace to be race-specific, Rosario says. Although a three- to four-mile tempo run isn't as tough as a race, the lack of rest means that the workout will still test you at roughly the same place in the tempo run where the race will get difficult.

Aiming for race-specific workouts also doesn't mean that each one needs to feel as hard as a race. Mackey says that you should only “go to the well” in a workout once every 14 to 18 days and warns that doing too many of this type of workout can wear you down.

Mental Exercises
Although practicing pain in hard workouts can help build mental toughness, the race itself is a difficult psychological experience. When the pace starts to lag in the middle miles, Ben True, who has won U.S. road championships at 5K and 10K, says it's usually a psychological rather than a physical issue. “Most people pick it up at the end of the race,” he says. “If you can pick it up at the end of the race, that means you could have gone harder in the middle miles.”

It's the challenge of competing—can you keep pushing when the finish line is still far away? Thinking about the finish during the middle of the race is “way too daunting,” Mackey says, and can cause you to get distracted. “I tell my athletes to think about what they are doing right at that moment,” he says.

Landry's coach, Alex Gibby, cross-country coach at University of Charlotte, tells him to “go dumb” during the race—to not overthink things and just focus on racing.

Other coaches recommend finding positive energy to keep your thinking upbeat. Mackey says finding cues that work for you during hard workouts is helpful so you can keep them consistent on race day.

Finally, Heintz says to admit that the race will be hard. He recommends reminding yourself that your hard workouts have prepared you mentally for the tough parts in the middle of the race to help “take the mystique away” from the event.

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Workouts to Master the Middle Miles

Heintz's Marist Miles
CA Notice at Collection

Workout: 200m-400m at “starting effort” (untimed), directly into 1 mile at 5K pace + 10 seconds. Repeat three times, taking 3 minutes of rest between sets.

Coach Says: “It's a chance to settle back in and find that pace. You don't need to do it often, but you need to do it a little bit to know how to turn it down after that quick start and settle in so you're not drawing yourself out too long.”

Mackey's Ride the Line
Mackeys Ride the Line

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Coach Says: “I usually want the athletes to go out at goal pace straight away. I want them to ride that line as much as possible during [the workout] versus being too conservative early and not having to focus in the middle and end reps.”

Simmons's Hammers
Health - Injuries

Workout: 12 x 400m at goal 5K pace or slightly faster with 60 seconds rest; hammer rep 11 (faster than race pace)

Coach Says: “We inject a 'hammer' or two in the last part of that workout to mirror what the challenge of the race will be. The hammer is faster than race pace. The athlete really pushes herself and crosses into the anaerobic area. Coming into the last interval with a higher level of fatigue, the athlete tries to get back to race pace, practicing increasing effort to maintain pace.”