Carlsbad 5000 marks 40 years of super-fast racing
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Meb and his Carlsbad 5000 runners. Photos: Courtesy of Carlsbad 5000
The Carlsbad 5000 race draws elite runners from around the world hoping to smash records, and this Sunday, the race celebrates a milestone birthday.
Why it matters: This will be the 40th year that runners pound the streets of Carlsbad for what's come to be known as "the world's fastest 5K."
Flashback: Meb Keflezighi remembers watching the 5-kilometer (or 3.1-mile) race as a track star at Memorial Academy in Logan Heights.
- He became an elite runner and ran the Carlsbad 5000 twice, in 2001 and 2002, finishing both with exactly the same crazy fast time (13 minutes, 34 seconds).
- Keflezighi went on to win a silver medal in the 2004 Olympics and in 2014 became the first American to win the Boston Marathon in 31 years.
Now, Keflezighi is one of the owners of the Carlsbad 5000 and helps put on the race.
Fun fact: You can find Keflezighi at the finish line every year handing out medals and high fives, and sometimes he runs the race.
- But a little slower than 13:34 these days.
By the numbers: Past world records for the "road 5K" (meaning 5,000 meters on roads, not a track) have been set at Carlsbad.
- In 2000, Kenyan Sammy Kipketer ran it in 12:59.5.
- That's about a 4:11 per mile pace.
- In 2006, Ethiopian Meseret Defar set the women's record by running 14:46.
Those records have been broken by even faster times at other races.
Fast forward: The Carlsbad 5000 course changed slightly in 2024 to avoid crossing the train tracks, Keflezighi told Axios.
- In the past, if a train was coming, runners would have to pause their races, and sometimes didn't want to stop, he said.
- "The gate was coming down, and people were always like, 'Oh, I can make it,' so it's better to just have a safe competition," he said.
Runner Skip DeYoung has done all 39 races and plans for Sunday's race to be his 40th.
- He completed the first one in about 21 minutes.
- And while he's since had a medical issue and now uses a walker, DeYoung told Axios he's still planning to finish.
- "As long as I can still walk, I'll keep on doing it," he said.
Keflezighi said the spirit of the day in Carlsbad hasn't changed since he saw the race back in high school.
- "The city understands how beautiful the community is, how fantastic the race itself is," he said. "I think that tradition will just keep on going."