How would you answer the question "are you fast?"

I'll never forget sitting in the stands at a duel track meet at the University in March of 1983. Got in a conversation with a British guy who was sitting behind me. Said his name was "Tim" and that he was in the states doing some training and was going to run in the Tucson Sun Run (Tucson's biggest race (15K)) the next morning. He said he "hoped to run in the 45's or so" the next day. I realized the guy was either really good or he was a full of it.

To gage whether he was a bs'er or not... I asked... "what kind of miler do you have to be to run in the 45's for a 15K"

Dude says... "Well, I'm not much of a miler. I've only got a 3:54.5"'

To which I say... "what does your last name happen to be"...

And he says "Hutchings"...

I guess in Tim Hutchings' world... you weren't "fast" if you "only had a 3:54 mile".

I’ll probably get downvoted but I don’t care, I’m proud of my times so I’d reply with ‘quite fast but there’s still plenty of people faster than me’

For reference I ran a 1:09 half yesterday

I remember winning a local 5k in like 19 low a few years ago and a woman came up to me afterwards and asked “do you run for one of the colleges around here?” To which I replied “No, I just run for fun.” And she said “You should try out, you’d probably get a scholarship!”

Needless to say, usually if somebody asks me if I’m fast I just say “Not as fast as I’d like to be.”

The average person who asks "are you fast" with no other context usually considers a 30 minute 5k as an average time. The other day someone told me they used to be really fast when they were younger because they could (barely) get under 10 minutes in a mile and a half for the military

I get asked my mile time a lot. It was 4:03 and I always follow that up with that sounds fast but it's not. Wasn't even close to making nationals as it took around a 3:57 back then.

"Are you fast?" No.

"Were you fast?" Yes.

Dude...you were fast.

"I was once"

If someone asks, “Are you fast?” the answer is “Faster than you.”

Fast approaching insanity and old age, my friends.

the only objective answer is to immediately challenge them to a race, though.

I normally say I’m respectable for age, but not going to win anything important.

Nobody ever asked you that question.

Yes, with an altitude conversion.

If I could be remembered here for one post, it would be this:

“The key to enlightenment in running is the acceptance that no one cares about your running.”

A 65 min HM runner thinking they're not fast is like someone with $100mil net assets thinking they're not rich. Like sure there are magnates and oligarchs out there whose wealth absolutely dwarfs theirs, but that doesn't change that they are still ludicrously rich relative to the vast majority

Even a 90 min HM runner would be a millionaire in this metaphor

A little faster than molasses

People ask me if I'm good.

I say, I used to be.

They say, you LOOK good.

I say, If I can't run good I want to look good.

That's true, but people have told me I'm fast when I tell them average mile pace in races. That leads me to think about if I consider myself fast, and the answer to it is the one I originally gave.

Me fast for Ramadan.