Forums >Racing>How often do you race?
If I participate in a contest of speed but choose to take it slow and stop for pictures and maybe ice cream, did I race? (or did I not truly "participate" in the contest). If I run with my buddy around the block to see if I can beat him, was that a contest of speed? (actually, this one seems easier. Yes, sure it was. Should it matter whether a club counts it or not? Maybe to some but not to others. Should I be swinging it around if I beat my buddy? Eh, maybe in a small group of people. Should I be swinging it around if I raced my buddy around the block last year 50 times, irrespective of bragging rights regarding who won... just bragging on running around the block 50 times... Should I get super offended if someone else points out that I ran around the block 50 times?)
If I participate in a contest of speed but choose to take it slow and stop for pictures and maybe ice cream, did I race? (or did I not truly "participate" in the contest).
If I run with my buddy around the block to see if I can beat him, was that a contest of speed? (actually, this one seems easier. Yes, sure it was. Should it matter whether a club counts it or not? Maybe to some but not to others. Should I be swinging it around if I beat my buddy? Eh, maybe in a small group of people. Should I be swinging it around if I raced my buddy around the block last year 50 times, irrespective of bragging rights regarding who won... just bragging on running around the block 50 times... Should I get super offended if someone else points out that I ran around the block 50 times?)
On a similar note, I'm struggling a bit with deciding whether I want to run a local 1/2 marathon this Spring. It's just a few miles from my home, and I would otherwise love to run it, but it's not a certified course. I ran it last year and set a PR, but in the back of my mind it doesn't seem "official" after finding out it's not certified.
I know it's pure vanity, and that I should just run it for the joy of racing, but it still nags at me. I'll only race 2 or 3 halfs next year so I want them all to "count".
Resident Historian
Obi-Run, If an established course is substantially short, people will know it and talk about it, even if the race doesn't - or if they do know and don't care. If that half marathon has been around for a while, there will be comments - check for those. Sometimes the race set-up makes it damn near impossible to certify (multiple repeat wheel measures on busy streets).
Neil
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“Some people will tell you that slow is good – but I'm here to tell you that fast is better. I've always believed this, in spite of the trouble it's caused me. - Hunter S. Thompson
I have a weekly 5-miler.
old woman w/hobby
I entered 18 races last year. I raced most of them. A couple I did not.
I plans planed some in advance. Some were by happenstance.
I DNF'd 2 of them. I enjoyed the heck out of all of them but one.
I call that a win for the year
steph
Obi, which race is it?
I dunno, man, these aren't questions I spend much time thinking about. All I know is tomorrow morning I'll sharpen my elbows and toe the line for 15 laps around a 200 meter oval. For the dozen or or so other competitors on the track at the same time, there will be no mistaking just exactly what in the hell is going on there.
Runners run
Yeah, I'd like a year of my life back for the time I spent thinking about them too.
Sharpened elbows sound painful. You should consider a costume like an Oakland Raiders fan. But, you know, functional, and not just fake. Titanium is lightweight.
Sammamish Half
http://lakesammamishhalf.com/
Actually I don't think they can certify it because much of it is on a gravel road. I heard you need to be 100% pavement to be certified?
I hear that lots too, and I'd love to hear from folks who know more. Because....
Light at the End of the Tunnel is certified and marketed as the course that will get a PNWer to Boston. And.... not paved.
As for that event, that's a Roger race. Damn nice guy. Didn't know it might be short. Fooey.
In 2012 I did 2 5Ks, 3 10Ks, and 1 half marathon.
In 2013 I want to do approximately 1-2 halfs, 1 full if the halfs go well, and 2-3 each 5Ks and 10Ks.
Tessa
Certified or not doesn't bother me. Hatfield-McCoy isn't certified, for instance, probably because some of it is across a golf course. But it's a fun race and an enjoyable event.
Ultras and trail races tend not to be certified because trails weren't built to be exact distances. And in many cases you're going to run more than the stated distance because you're not going to do the tangents perfectly. (See Diamond Valley Lake.)
I would not rule out an event because it wasn't certified.
Sammamish Half http://lakesammamishhalf.com/ Actually I don't think they can certify it because much of it is on a gravel road. I heard you need to be 100% pavement to be certified?
It's possible to certify courses that are at least partially on gravel. That alone wouldn't prevent certification.
Marathons for example: Towpath, North Central Trail, and Bizz Johnson.
There's a fair bit of discussion on the measuring process for gravel on the certifiers' site on USATF.
I DNFed 2 events. Rocky Raccoon 100 in February and White River 50 in July.
You forgot R2R 50M. I was bad luck for you this year.
For me, 8 marathons and 7 ultras (50k - 100M) in 2012, and a few shorter races. I DNSed a few as well -- I spent too much time injured.
I am somewhat reluctantly planning to race less in 2013, train more, and try to stay uninsured. Once my hamstring starts working again.
I do several non certified course races each year too, but as you mentioned they are cross country, or on trails, or involve taking a quick dip into a lake like the race I plan to do on New Years day! But none of those are advertised as "Flat and Fast". They generally have something else going on that makes them unique.
I only do 2-4 a year.