Five kilometers, or 5K, is 3.10686 miles long. When people talk about running a 5K, they’re talking about running five kilometers to test their own abilities. Rarely is it a chance to try and beat others, though they rank runners by finishing times. For those who are more comfortable talking about distances in kilometers, for those who still struggle with conversion, thinking about running 5 kilometers doesn’t sound so scary when it’s converted into miles. This is because the amount, comparatively, is less.
While it’s the same distance, the prospect of running 3.1 miles over 5 kilometers makes it seem less scary. It’s the same reason you break a large project into smaller pieces; by breaking it up, it doesn’t seem as daunting.