Speed and distance are perfectly balanced With any distance under 10k should work more on speed than endurance. Anything beyond 10k concentrate on endurance rather than speed.
10km is the perfect satellite point for any other sport You notice improvement in other sports you practice such as biking and swimming. This is because running is an excellent aerobic conditioner (by working your heart and lungs) and easily transfers to any other sport. Or simply climbing the stairs at home.
There are thousands of exciting, fun and challenging 10K events. I couldn’t even begin to list the best races here, there are just too many. I love the Gloucester 10k and the Cheltenham Challenge, but you can look up some local events.
Maintaining your fitness level is less difficult than building up to it. Once you’ve built up to your 10k training you’ll be able to “cruise” with a lot less effort. 10K is my personal default distance at the moment. As long as I stick to a 100 kilometre monthly mileage I can bump up my training and run longer distances, when I have the time and energy to go to 15km.
Want to try the 10K for yourself? Let me know and you can join me and build up to the distance.