BRUTAL RED PILL: mid-pack runners look MUCH HEALTHIER than road race winners

Has it ever crossed your mind that some people may run and not be that bothered about the placings or times that they achieve? 🤔

Yet it is STILL surprising ( or maybe not) that there are a good few in this forum who either don’t know, or more likely, just can’t accept, that there are runners that run for reasons other than placings and PBs.

Reminds of that old saying The brightest flame only burns for a little while.

One of the most famous examples. Age 67. Perhaps the cold salt air on the coast of Maine is a contributng factor. Take a look.

I acknowledge that she would finish far ahead of me in any race at any distance.

newscentermaine.com

Maine's Joan Benoit Samuelson ran her barrier-breaking run 40 years ago

The 1984 Los Angeles games were the first time women were allowed to compete in a marathon at the Olympics. Cape Elizabeth's Joan Benoit Samuelson won gold.

Open link

Ran my local Shamrock 5K last weekend. 22-25 minute Chads were getting dates and phone numbers from cuties in the beer garden while fast matchstick boys were jogging a five mile cooldown so that a couple of them could hit their mileage goal for the week.

20 years ago, I was a sponsored matchstick boy obsessed with winning local races. Gave it up for gainful employment, started lifting, put on 15 pounds…boom! Marriage and a huge life upgrade within three years. Chef Ramzi is correct and you all know it deep down in your souls. Nothing sadder than a slightly built single man in his 30s clinging to the notion that a 15 minute 5K means anything outside of his half dozen equally obsessed club frenemies.

Nothing sadder than a dude in his 40s or 50s saying things like "Chads were getting dates and phone numbers from cuties"

I’m afraid that I have to agree with that last sentence of yours…

How do I know? Like you, I was very similar in attitude in my younger years (although not nearly good enough to be sponsored).

Looking back on how I was ( and how a good few in this forum appear to be) makes me cringe somewhat. I’m much more content now that I have this exercise lark in a better perspective. It’s now part of my life, not all of it.

Of course he's allowed a point of view. I do get that. But if he thinks people who run hundred mile weeks are doing it to be healthy or to look good he doesn't get it.

I don’t think that’s what he’s saying (although I suspect that some who run that much have some aesthetic considerations)…he’s just observed what we both seem to be agreeing on…for health reasons you certainly don’t need to run much, or be obsessed with performance. In fact, as he has highlighted with his anecdotal example, too much of an emphasis on performance can have a negative impact on health (physical, social, mental). Anyone who says otherwise is, sadly, delusional.

I've known for decades that there are people who run for reasons other than placings and PBs. I'd bet maybe most people who run are like that and that's fine. The problem here is the OP's last sentence where he says something like "the modal (model?) athlete should do modest amounts of running and (do other forms of exercise.") I know I don't have that quoted exactly but there's no "should" here. Some of us do run for times and placings. I ran well over 100 miles a week and it was never for my health. It was to get the best results I could.

I am one of those slightly built single guys in his 30s who wins local races with a 15:xx and jogs a few miles afterwards to get in my mileage goal.

What's sad about that? I have enough time and cash to pursue my dozens of other non-running hobbies, there's satisfaction in reaching my goals and being fitter than the vast majority of the population, and I'm not delusional enough to think I can make the Olympics.

You can get in a good amount of training on 60-90 minutes a day. It's not like I'm spending 6-8 hours a day on running like it's a full-time job.

You're either trolling or a mid-pack hobby jogger who's jealous of the winners.

Your last sentence speaks volumes. You are either arrogant, or emotionally charged due to someone attacking your “favourite activity” which seems to be what defines you.

Just because someone has an opinion, based on observations, makes them someone who is jealous of the likes of you does it? How arrogant and delusional do you want to appear?

To be fair, the guy he quotes was posting ragebait like "22-25 minute Chads getting phone numbers from cuties", "matchstick boys obsessed with winning local races" and "nothing sadder than a slightly built single man clinging to the notion that his 15 minute 5K means anything".

He took the bait. What other kind of reaction would you expect?

A 15 minute 5K may not mean anything, but the guy he quoted mentioned putting on 15 pounds, lifting, hanging out in the beer garden, and finding gainful employment.

If running a 15 minute 5K doesn't mean anything, why would putting on 15 pounds and lifting X amount of weight mean anything? Is it impossible for people to hold a good full time job while also running a 15 minute or even a 13 minute 5K? Are race winners banned from the beer garden?

OP where is Femke this weekend? Wussed out of racing?

To be fair I’ve expressed the same message more eloquently on several threads and STILL been slaughtered for it by arrogant types that regard anyone who doesn’t share their views, or who can’t run their times, or faster, as lesser beings. There are too many on here who get emotionally triggered when you dare criticise their favourite activity. They are too emotionally invested in an activity that defines their self worth to see it being questioned in any way, however the message is delivered.

You are right that they are not training for health benefits, but they are not “training to run the 5K as fast as possible” either because they are a couple minutes too slow for that.

Their “skill” is about as useful as masturbation.

Why would you want to criticize another person's favorite activity?

Grinding out 100 mile weeks for a fast 5K is indeed excessive.
Now 60-70 mile weeks for a good marathon time, that is the sweet spot. I could do that, maintain a busy law practice, raise a family, love every bit of the training -- no "grinding" involved -- and have "superior health markers" by every objective measure after 20 years of that lifestyle.

I thought you were about healthy looking people