Everyone's a Winner (Page 2)

I'm thrilled that the participation is increasing in 13.1 and 26.2 "races".  I see a lot more people running around here now that we have the San Antonio Rock'n Roll marathon and half marathon (25,000 people combined).  It's a good thing that more people are getting into shape.

I have to say, however, that I was very surprised by how will I placed relative to others last year in my first 13.1.  I consider myself a mediocre runner, but was top 3% overall and top 7% in my AG.  I'm a much better triathlete than a runner, but I seldom place that high in the run portion of a triathlon. 

I like that there are a lot of people out there running just to finish.  I just wish that there were more out there who trained year round for years on end with the goal of finishing fast.

Brian

I think that a lot of people start with "I want to do a marathon to say I've done one" and then keep going.  That's what I did... ran my first marathon in 4:45, thought "hey, I could go faster" and now run a 3:50 marathon.

And can we put this to bed already ?

If you want to race to win, great.
If you want to race to finish, great.
If you want to race to meet girls, great.
If you want to race for the post race cookies, great.

If you've paid and you aren't breaking the rules, you belong out there - IMHO, of course.

How slow to finish and still be called a "winner" is really up to the race director.   As long as the RD is willing to have volunteers manning the aid stations and finish line, pay for road closure support, and order 45,000 finisher medals, keep the marathon open for 7 or even 8 hours and take everyone's registration fee.  If the RD doesn't want to hassle with that many volunteers and the the extra expenses, install a lower time cutoff and voila!  They could insist on a 4 hour time limit and cater to a specific subset of the population that's willing to pay for the event. 

When I was coaching youth soccer, my first meeting with the families went something like this:

"Hi, My name is Mike, and I'm volunteering to coach your child for this soccer season.  My top 3 goals as a coach are for the kids to:
1)  Have fun
2)  Get some exercise
3)  Learn some soccer skills
There will be a time and place for wins and losses and if that's your goal, please find a different team, or, YOU can take over coaching these kids who have never tried soccer before.  If they're having fun, they're more likely to continue in this sport where more experienced coaches can better develop their talents.  Please do your part and maintain a positive attitude on the sidelines." 

If you want to participate, find a program that caters to that need.  If you want to compete, find THAT program.  Some summer softball leagues are ultra-competitive, others are an excuse to drink beer on a warm summer evening.  Just recognize which you want and get into the appropriate league. 

'Casue eveyone's a winner...and everyone's a loser...and the best that you can hope for  is to die in your sleep!  - with apologies to Kenny Rogers

When my son was about 8 he played basketball and they had rule that every player had to play at least one full quarter.  This was a good rule for 8 yo's.  When he got to HS he found that his lack of athletic ability earned him the right to sit on the bench.....teh entire game...so he quit and now focuses on the things he is gifted at - academics.

If people want to think of themselves as winners because the completed a triathlon, good for them!  If know people who won't even race if they think they don't have a chance to take home some hardware.  That's ok too.  Not for me...but for them.

~Mike

Maybe so, but it may also be those people being realistic. For some people, this is just a hobby. Could they improve enough to podium if they had 40+ hours a week to train, no families, no job, no other hobbies or priorities? Maybe. But maybe they don't want to give up or compromise on those things. And then there's the physical aspect. Some people, for whatever reason, may not physically be capable of going that fast. Some people might not be able to handle the intensity of the running training necessary to run a 30 minute 10K (after biking 25 miles), because their knees would give out long before that, and perhaps they'd rather run 9:00 miles instead of not being able to run at all. Or perhaps many of us weren't elite athletes when we were teenagers and trying to catch up on decades of intense training and conditioning can very hard to do without injury - esp. when you factor in "life" obligations. Your body ages. It breaks down, and there's only so much you can do to stop it. Some people are genetically gifted enough to jump into this stuff at the age of 30 and be amazing. Some people aren't. And I don't think that there is anything wrong with either of these scenarios.