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Progressive Marathon vs 5K (Read 814 times)

drrbradford


    Sorry, I should have defined Progressive Marathon more clearly. The idea is to run 23.1 miles on your own and then the final 3.1 miles on race day. There's no time limit or other restrictions on logging the miles, though you are supposed to have someone sign off on them, it can be any adult.

     

    I don't see a problem with finishers awards for a 5K in general; it's a perfectly respectable distance. And I really like Dean Karnazes, who happens to be local...

     

    Wow. Is this 'Progressive Marathon' a real thing? Fuck the marketing fuckwits who came up with it.

     

    And fuck Dean K, too. He can't even run a sub 6 mile (in his words, right?).

      I don't have an opinion on the original post, but speaking of course names, I love the fact that your profile pic was taken at the Big Gay 10k.

       

       

      Thanks! That's my favorite race. It benefits the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. I can't wait to run it again this September (I'm fundraising this time!)

        So it sounds like something for kids, to expose them to running and how far a marathon is? That sounds less goofy and kind of okay, even to a cranky bastard like me.

         

        No, it's for all ages. The bit about an adult needing to sign off is from the tracking sheet instructions (form linked from the race info page): "You need to complete 23.1 miles before Race Weekend. The first step is to fill out the information below. Next, your coach, trainer, exercising partner or other adult can sign off on your completed mileage. Your final 3.1 miles will be completed in the 5k Run/Walk on Sunday July 29, 2012."

          My 2-yr-old got a popsicle for finishing a kid's race.  I think I got a medal for finishing a mile race when I was perhaps 9 years old, it didn't mean much to me then.  But I can see it with kids.  I can't see why an adult would need such material edification for finishing a 5K.  Sure, it's a decent race distance, but unless you just last 100 lbs and it's a personally special moment, a finisher's award for a 5K seems hokey.  Medals I care about denote something special, I can see why many people like finisher's medals from marathons.  Virtually any upright person can finish a 5K.

           

           

          I like getting a finishing ribbon simply as a memento of the occasion, not as proof that I accomplished anything special or challenging. But the point of my post wasn't to whine about the fact that I'm not getting a ribbon or other memento this Sunday. I'm just irked that people running the exact same course, distance, and starting time as I am have the word "Marathon" in their event and get a finisher's medal simply by virtue of self-reporting 23.1 cumulative miles run at some point in the past. And by paying an extra $5 at registration, I suppose. :-P Just seems silly to me.


          Feeling the growl again

            I like getting a finishing ribbon simply as a memento of the occasion, not as proof that I accomplished anything special or challenging. But the point of my post wasn't to whine about the fact that I'm not getting a ribbon or other memento this Sunday. I'm just irked that people running the exact same course, distance, and starting time as I am have the word "Marathon" in their event and get a finisher's medal simply by virtue of self-reporting 23.1 cumulative miles run at some point in the past. And by paying an extra $5 at registration, I suppose. :-P Just seems silly to me.

             

            I get it.  And I agree with you.  I'm just an old grizzled racer who doesn't see a whole lot of commemorating in a 5K unless there is really something special to it (like with kids or something).  Apart from motivating kids, attaching the word "marathon" to anything other than a real marathon grates on me.

             

            I mean, unless you're a kid completing your first 5K off absolutely non training, is running a cumulative 23.1 miles before the race really any significant accomplishment??

            "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

             

            I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

             

            AmoresPerros


            Options,Account, Forums

               

              I mean, unless you're a kid completing your first 5K off absolutely non training, is running a cumulative 23.1 miles before the race really any significant accomplishment??

               

              Maybe look at it this way -- maybe this takes place in one of those countries with an epidemic of obesity, and kids that sit and play electronic games instead of going outside, so maybe this is to help them become active.

               

              (Disclaimer: I'm only speculating wildly, in order to put a positive spin on it, for the sake of argument.)

              It's a 5k. It hurt like hell...then I tried to pick it up. The end.

                Wow. Is this 'Progressive Marathon' a real thing? Fuck the marketing fuckwits who came up with it.

                 

                And fuck Dean K, too. He can't even run a sub 6 mile (in his words, right?).

                 

                So this isn't a kids thing I gather.

                 

                Wow....

                 

                I mean I guess people pay extra but still, wow...

                They say golf is like life, but don't believe them. Golf is more complicated than that. "If I am still standing at the end of the race, hit me with a Board and knock me down, because that means I didn't run hard enough" If a lot of people gripped a knife and fork the way they do a golf club, they'd starve to death. "Don't fear moving slowly forward...fear standing still."

                  Just a follow-up now that the race is over. After running this 5K last year I said I would probably not do it again, not only because of the silliness of the "progressive" thing but also the announcements being almost inaudible at the start, no pace markers despite a field of over 1500, poorly placed/missing mile markers, and lots of walkers with zero sense of race etiquette constantly getting in my way.

                   

                  All those problems were still in place this year, plus my official results are still missing. But, assuming my watch time was even roughly accurate, I set a PR Big grin (Very slow by most experienced runners' standards, but a PR nonetheless.) And, my husband joined me and completed his first road race ever. So, yay. (But next year, I'm doing the half or full if I participate in this event at all; I'll stick to my running club for future 5Ks.)

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