The 5K (or 5,000m) is a gateway race distance and a useful guide to performances at longer distances. A rough rule of thumb is to double your 5K time and add two minutes to predict your 10K time; multiply your 5K time by 3.5 to predict your 10-mile time, or times it by 10 to predict an aspirational marathon target.

Not every runner goes beyond 5K, but practically everyone is familiar with the distance, whether via a Couch to 5K programme or their local parkrun. So, do you know your 5K pace? Can you manage 7min/km (35:00 for 5K); 6min/km (30:00), or an impressive 5min/km (25:00)? If so, you could be just behind the new world record holder in the women's over-80 category!

On Sunday 19 May, Jan Holmquist celebrated her 80th birthday by running the 32nd Great Bear Run 5K in her hometown of Needham, a suburb of Boston. Jan was accompanied every step of the way by her granddaughter, Story Bracker, as she set a W80 world record of 24:16 (24:08 chip time) wearing bib #80 in honour of her new age group and past achievements.            

Jan was already 52 when women were first allowed to run 5,000m in the Olympic Games. That historic race, in Atlanta on 28 July 1996, was won by the Chinese athlete Wang Junxia in 14:59.88. British runner Paula Fudge set the first official world record for 5,000m on the track with 15:14.51 in Norway in 1981 when Holmquist was 37 and not yet a regular runner.

Jan was a late developer, having started competing at 50 to join her daughter in races. Her PBs include 6:01 for a mile; 19:54 for 5K; 41:18 for 10K and 69:30 for 10 miles in her 50's. She moved up to longer events and aged 61 ran 69:30 for 10 miles and 1:33:48 for a half marathon. She has also finished the tough Boston Marathon 11 times, with a best of 3:38.   

It does seem odd that women were prevented from competing at the equivalent distance to a parkrun in the peak showcase for athletics events until 28 years ago. Women are now racing the same events as men – sometimes better than the men – right up to the longest of ultra distances.

The boundaries are being pushed back even further by inspirational people like Jan Holmquist, who show us that age is no barrier to exceptional performances, provided we can stay injury-free and healthy. 

Photo courtesy Great Bear Run