Run-Down Forums

Guest · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2001 3:54 am Post subject:

There is a phenomenon among runners... They train relentlessley, put so much heart into everything they do... and yet there will only be one winner. How does one deal with the mediocrity of not winning... What if you never win? Time and time again you run the race. What if you *know* you're never going to win in your lifetime? What keeps you running? What keeps you from quitting, knowing that just another mediocre finish is around the corner?

Micah Ward · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2001 4:31 am Post subject:

Every person will have a different answer and every answer will be intensely personal. Mine comes from 24 years of running road races as often as injuries allow. It is true that only one person will finish first, but there are as many ways to WIN as there are people on the starting line. Years ago when I recognized the level of performance I was capable of, I set a standard of trying to finish in the top 20% of any race I entered. I considered that a win. And I have done it in about a fourth of the races I have run. As I have gotten older the emphasis has been on age group competition. Sometimes I place very well against the other guys in my age group and I get to bring some plastic home for my efforts. And each time my name is called at the awards ceremony, and I get to walk up there and pick up that plastic, I feel like an Olympic champ! Now, is that just cheap ego gratification? I don't know, and frankly, I don't care. I do know however, that it gives me a chance to be an athlete all my life and I have never felt mediocre at the end of a race.

But not all people run to pit themselves against the other runners. Sometimes the competition is yourself and everyone else is irrelevant. A new PR is a win. A new distance run is a win. The fact that they enter a race to do so is a testament to the atmosphere and camaraderie that is found at races. Each person who enters a race has a different level of competitiveness and some have none at all. And sometimes it varies from race to race. In short, there are as many different answers as there are runners.

And now the questions I have had since reading your post. Are you a runner? If so, do you race? And if so, why?
Micah

Micah Ward · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2001 4:35 am Post subject:

Some how I posted anonymously. Glad I put my name on.

Conway · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2001 5:05 am Post subject:

I agree with Micah regarding the fact that there are many different types of wins when it comes to running .. But my question is how do you know you will never cross the line first ??? There are all types of runs/races .. And if you are just starting how do you know what your potential is .. The world is full of storeis of people who just started running for whatever reason and suddenly became quite good at it !!! Don't impose limitson yourself from the very start .. Run and have fun and see what develops ..

Dan · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2001 7:10 am Post subject:

Very well said, Micah. I also agree with Conway's point that you should never rule out the possibility of success, even if you don't set that as a standard for "winning" (sounds eerily familiar to another thread we have going on goal setting).

Dan

Justin · Varsity Joined: 08 Oct 2001 Posts: 312 Location: London

I would look at the question slightly differently. All good athletes spend most of their time winning - in the playground, at school sports day, in the town champs - until they reach a point when they start to get beat. For me, I beat everyone in my school, town and county most of the time, but lost at regional level every time.

It's the same for athletes at all levels. Runners we see going out in semis at the WC probably win 9/10 races at home, are national champs and very used to being feted as winners.

The challenge is to deal with the transformation between levels. That's why so many junior champs struggle in their first few years as seniors - they go from winning nearly all the time in their age group to coming an anonymous 6th with the same times the next year.

As a consequence, there is far less physical difference between athletes at the top level than there is difference in mental strength. Does the increase in standard, and the decrease in your profile, drive you on to ever greater heights or is your ego so bruised you skulk away? Having the courage to set a target which you can match - Roger Black aiming for 2nd in Atlanta over 400m for example - is, to me, a sign of strength and confidence, not weakness.

I skulked away, to my eternal regret! (I only have a single regret in my life - I gave up running in favour of beer and girls at University having been a 10.9 runner at age 1 Cool

.

Justin

Dan · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2001 5:46 pm Post subject:

Good point. I guess, never having been in a position to take winning for granted, I tend to overlook the fear of losing factor as a de-motivational tool.

Dan

Micah Ward · Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2001 7:12 pm Post subject:

Conway is right about there being different types of races and different ways to win. I will not win the Peachtree Road Race or even the Glennville Onion Festival Run (yes there really is one of those). But when I was in the Air Force we ran 1.5 mile fitness tests and more recently when I was a SWAT team member we ran 2 mile fitness tests. There is a competitive streak in most of us that turns those fitness tests into races. Sure it was a limited field with limited talent...but even winning a few of those sure felt great. Sometimes anyone can win if they find the right race.

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