I will say after seeing this particular mutual friend complete this race, I was in total awe of her determination and dedication that was needed to do so. I admire her and those that can run that long. I can see where the comaraderie would be different. I do like the fact that its not about speed and its all about the finish.
So does that mean that there are no winners and no ranking? Everyone who finishes is a winner, no matter what the time is? What distance are we talking about here? 50, 100 miles? I can see that being the case in a 100 miler... It's about survival, and not who finishes first.
PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013
Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013
18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010
I believe that you are still ranked and there are placings like other races, but I can't really chime in because I've never run one before.
Running is my mental-Ctrl-Alt-Del.
Refurbished Hip
There is a great quote in some video somewhere about the Bear 100 (a mountain 100 in Idaho) where a guy is talking about how the race is your competitor, the distance is your competitor. The other people in the race with you are your support group.
Running is dumb.
I promise I am not at all butt hurt, Lily. I was just making a point. I don't claim to know anything about road marathons - I've never run one.
Ok. For you, I promise I'll shut up about ultras until I do one. But it will have to be a 50 miler or longer. If it's a 50k, I'm going to treat it as a marathon and I'll try to pass as many people as I can. No mercy on anyone. I'm not a soft heart, like Jay. Asphalt roads have turn this old heart into pure stone.
That's cool. That, I can grasp. When the distance is the danger, it becomes your competitor, yes. Seen under that angle, I can understand what you're saying.
I find it interesting that people can make judgements about ultras while never having run one, never volunteered at one, or spent any time at one.
I make judgements about the NFL although I never played outside gym class or my neighborhood.
Healed Hammy
There is also research that shows that women tend to gravitate more towards ultras at 40 or older, mainly because they have more endurance then. I'll see if I can find the article because it was very interesting. They expect women to continue gravitating towards ultras as they reach their 30s and more so after that.
If this is true then Fuzzy may have to start growing boobies since 50 is on the horizon. Being a girl may give you more endurance.
My favorite distance is 10 milers, though they can be challenging to find. Second favorite is 10ks. Really, really, really (did I say really) hate 5ks but do those more than any other distance since they are the most common.
If I had boobs I might never leave the house. Wait...what?
I've run one ultra and I didn't run it for the companionship or to bond with my fellowmen nor did I need a flipping support group. I ran to finish as fast as I could and to beat as many people as I could. It's why I run any race. I will run more ultras and I will run them for the same reason. It irritates the crap out of me that any race allows someone to pace you or to run along side you. An awful lot of what racing is all about is how you handle the mental demons when you and you alone must deal with them.
Short term goal: 17:59 5K
Mid term goal: 2:54:59 marathon
Long term goal: To say I've been a runner half my life. (I started running at age 45).
This is cool. I like it.
5K Specialist
800 meters is awesome. You get to where it is hard to breathe the last 200.
5k is great too. It is a big mental battle to keep your pace in mile 2.
Personal Bests:
800M - 2:38 (5/28/13) | 1 Mile -5:54 (5/28/13) | 3K - 11:55 (12/29/12) | 2M - 13:00 (12/1/12) | 5K - 20:00 (4/12/13) | 13.1M - 1:37:24 (2/3/13)