The 5000m: Rules, Records and Fantasy Scoring

What the event is

Twelve and a half laps of the track, a little over three miles, and the shorter of the two championship distance races. The 5000m blends sustained speed with a long finishing drive: the winner is usually the athlete who can run the last lap in under a minute after twelve laps at a hard, even pace.

How it is run

Athletes start from a curved line and run without lanes for the whole distance. In championship finals the race often has two phases, a cagey first half where the pack runs together and a long, escalating surge from about a mile out. At Diamond League meets, pacemakers set a fast, even tempo and the race becomes a time trial for the leaders.

Championships run heats and a final, with no semifinal round. The 5000m is often held on the same programme as the 10,000m, and several athletes double.

What a world-class mark looks like

Sub-13:00 for men and sub-14:30 for women is world class. Championship finals are typically won a little slower because of the tactics involved. The men's world record of 12:35.36 was set in 2020; the women's record now sits under 14 minutes.

How the 5000m scores in Heatsheet

The 5000m fills the distance roster slot, along with the 3000m, 10,000m, half marathon and marathon. Your lineup can start two distance athletes. Finals pay 10 down to 1. Because championship 5000m races run heats and a final without a semifinal, athletes who reach the final earn the heat-advancement bonus and the final bonus but not the semifinal bonus.

Distance runners are lower-volume scorers than sprinters: the best in the world might race the 5000m three or four times in a summer. What they offer is reliability and the chance of a double. An athlete who contests both the 5000m and 10,000m at a championship scores in both. Full rules on the scoring page.