5K run

Similar to other road running events, many organised 5K running events incorporate an element of charity running. Runners may elect to raise money for a chosen charity on the condition of their completion of the race. Raising money for charity is typically optional, with other participants running for pleasure. The 5K distance is particularly popular among women and a number of annual women-only races are organised over the 5K distance. Running USA's 2012 analysis of participation in American road races showed that 58% of participants in 5K races were women. The race participation contrasts with women's participation in sport in general and in longer distance races particularly, where the same report showed the gender bias was reversed.

The Hot Chocolate 5K in Chicago and the Mercedes-Benz Corporate Run in Miami are the largest organised 5K runs in the United States, having attracted over 20,000 and over 16,000 runners, respectively, in 2012. The number of runners ranked the Hot Chocolate 5K as the 20th largest road running event of any distance in the United States that year. There are several prominent 5K race series, including The Color Run, an international, mass participation, city-based series involving coloured water showers, and the parkrun series, which is a worldwide network of free-to-enter, volunteer-led races occurring each weekend, originating in the United Kingdom.

Unlike longer road races, such as the 10K run and marathon, the 5K distance is not commonly contested by elite distance runners. The Carlsbad 5000 is one of the few races that attract competitive elite fields and saw several world bests for the distance prior to the IAAF's 2018 decision to begin recognising world records for the 5K.

Another annual American race, Freihofer's Run for Women, also regularly has elite women competing in the road distance, as does the BOClassic in Italy. Elite racing almost exclusively takes place on the track for this distance.

There is no official world championship event organised for the 5 km road distance. Championships over 5 km are held nationally in some areas, including the United States and England. An annual North American 5K Championships was created in 2002, but the competition ceased after 2005.

The 5 km road distance was introduced by IAAF as a world record event in November 2017, with the inaugural record to be recognised after 1 January 2018 if the performances were equal to or better than 13:10 for men and 14:45 for women. Other statistical organisations, including the Association of Road Racing Statisticians, record best times for the event. Records for the 5K are often noted in national records in athletics.

Area records

• Updated 20 May 2026.

• + = en route to longer performance

Men

• Correct as of April 2026.

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 13:06:

• Berihu Aregawi also ran 12:52 (2021), 12:59 (2021).
• Yomif Kejelcha also ran 12:53 (2022), 12:54 (2025), 13:00 (2024), 13:02 (2023), 13:06 (2023).
• Jimmy Gressier also ran 12:57 (2025).
• Hagos Gebrhiwet also ran 12:59 (2023).
• Yann Schrub also ran 13:00 (2025).
• Addisu Yihune also ran 13:04 (2025), 13:05 (2024).
• Andrew Alamisi also ran 13:06 (2024).

Women

• Correct as of April 2026.

Notes

Below is a list of other times equal or superior to 14:39:

• Beatrice Chebet also ran 14:13 Wo (2023) and 14:35 Wo (2023).
• Ejgayehu Taye also ran 14:21 Mx (2022, 2023).
• Agnes Ngetich also run 14:25 + Wo + Wo (2023).
• Lilian Kasait Rengeruk also ran 14:26 Wo (2023), and 14:39 Wo (2023).
• Hawi Abera also ran 14:32 Mx (2025).
• Likina Amebaw also ran 14:33 Mx, 14:35 (2024), 14:38 (2025).
• Caroline Nyaga also ran 14:35 (2023).
• Senbere Teferi also ran 14:37 (2022).
• Medina Eisa also ran 14:38 Wo (2024).