> 5k is not a distance. 5km, 5 thousand feet or yards are.
I answered that question already, try reading my earlier comment. And if you think it's weird, take it up with people from last century when they started using that abbreviation.
It's in relation to a run, though - what else could it mean but distance? Steps? Maybe, but I've genuinely never heard of that being used as a goal when running. Seconds? Again, it's a possibility, but it'd be more usual to say something like "1h23-ish" - and, besides, that'd be a really odd time to pick.
And even in the UK, where many people still measure longer distances in miles, I've never heard anyone talk about a run being however many thousand feet or yards or chains or whatever.
All of the first page results for a USA-based google search for "5k" are running-related too, so it can't really be all that ambiguous there either.
I mean I feel annoyed every time I see a new technology on hn, only to find it is another js framework after clicking the link, finding it says nothing useful, then typing it into Wikipedia. I don't typically come on and complain about it.
I answered that question already, try reading my earlier comment. And if you think it's weird, take it up with people from last century when they started using that abbreviation.