Am I the only one who has never won a race, even an age group?

[quote]Flagpole wrote:

If people are to be believed here, there are lots of runners here faster than I ever was, and I was a race winner and large meet champion in high school, college and beyond.

I don't remember any good runner at Cleveland State nicknamed Flagpole. Is your real name Marc Hunter?

I won exactly one race in HS, one in Junior College (against 1 other guy), and one at the D2 NCAA level. The D2 race was the slow heat of a 1500, so I don't know if it truly counts.

I have since won a couple of road races, but none in the last 8 years or so.

It's really not that hard to win your age group in a small road race. Even when I was an 18:30 5k guy I won my age group a few times.

I'm new to road racing (was a field event guy back in my day). I've never won an individual RACE even on the track in high school but got 2nd in an invitational 200m back in high school(it was a very weak meet in the 2...I'd be embarrassed to tell you the time). I've won my share of field events though.

won races in HS in cc and track(1 in cc 3 in track events). won a couple road races since. i just kind of expect to win the age group.

I won some races (cross country, indoor track, outdoor track) while in high school.

I have also won a road race once (somewhat laughingly).**

But I have yet to win an age-group medal out-right. Maybe it's because I am still young.

Whenever I have won my age group (currently 20-29), it has always been because one, two, or three of the top finishers were also in my age group and were thus removed from age-group scoring.

**A teammate and I ran a local 5K for kicks the day after a big invitational. I lost my teammate on a half-mile long wooded hill and, with no one in sight, ran back down the course to see if he was okay. I found him, we made it up the hill together, and then he gave me the go-ahead to coast the last mile on my own. I think I ran 20:21, 20:23, or 20:26. I coasted the whole way and ran at least a half mile extra.

This isn't to try to be awesome (the race I didn't win the day before was much faster), but to say that there ARE winnable races out there for runners who aren't 15:30 5K runners.

I suppose I could have both been disqualified for illegally aiding another runner and he for receiving that aid, but it wasn't that sort of road race. The medals, strangely, were all left over and used from the invitational the day before. So I have a 24th place and a 1st place medal from the same meet. The other reason that we weren't disqualified was that they gave third place to a kid who rode his bicycle. This made the 50-year-old who finished fourth (and without a medal) really mad. But my teammate and I beat a kid on a bicycle!

Lesson: if you want to win a road race, go find one like the one I described above.

Good for you guys. Part of what got me hooked on this sport was winning a lot in high school. It's like a drug - I'm always trying to recapture that feeling.

I don't think I would keep doing it if I'd never won. Good for you.

I won a lot of races and age group awards, some because I ran very well (but nowhere near world class or the next three tiers below world class)and some because there just wasn't anyone else good in the race. In the summer in the Northeast, there are so many races on the same weekend and the talent is stretched so thin you'd have to literally be lame not to win something.

palindrome wrote:

If you can run a 5K in under 20 minutes, you can find a small 5K to win. It might take a few shots, but it'll happen eventually.

Really?? Is that true?

I've run a lot of 5ks in UK and Ireland under 18 and I've never even come close to winning. Are small town races in the US(assuming that is where you are from) that diluted?

No, Americans are just fat and out of shape. So our races are more watered down generally for walkers and joggers etc.

Pull up, Bob, pull up wrote:

palindrome wrote:

If you can run a 5K in under 20 minutes, you can find a small 5K to win. It might take a few shots, but it'll happen eventually.

Really?? Is that true?

I've run a lot of 5ks in UK and Ireland under 18 and I've never even come close to winning. Are small town races in the US(assuming that is where you are from) that diluted?

In the US we have loads of charity races. It makes a bit of sense, but there are often so many (breast cancer, polycystic kidney fibrosis, etc.) that the fields get watered down. Often the supportes of the causes come out and they are not always the fastest runners, plus the local road warriors who race three-four weekends a month. Often taking from the same pool, I'm not sure how much money these smaller races raise for their causes.

I agree this is a good thread. I have a 14:30 5k PR and the honest-to-god-truth is that I have never won a cross country race in my entire life (4 years of high school, 4 years of college). Of course, I won lots of track and even a few road races, but not a single cross country race - ever. Just wondering if there are any more like me out there...

[/quote]"Only losers wine about trying their best. Winners go home and bang the prom queen."[/quote]

Most winners in life can spell too..

show me the numbers. wrote:

[quote]Flagpole wrote:

If people are to be believed here, there are lots of runners here faster than I ever was, and I was a race winner and large meet champion in high school, college and beyond.

I don't remember any good runner at Cleveland State nicknamed Flagpole. Is your real name Marc Hunter?

I did not go to Cleveland State.

I won my first road race last weekend!

I must admit that those who have said that there are plenty of slow races in the northeast are right. I won in 17:36, but second place was 18:14 so I could have theoretically won it in 18:10 or so. I've only been running a couple of years and once I realized I was going to win I got kind of nervous and wanted to make sure I got a PR so the guys I train with wouldn't bust my balls too much about "a cheap win".

If you use previous years' results you can find some slow races. Next on my race calendar is a second year 5K that was won in it's first running with a time of 21:05! Hopefully none of my buddies find out about it and show up to spoil my bid at win #2! :)

Since (and including) high school, I think I have won 4 cross country races, one age group (19 and under) and maybe some heats of track races.

Three of the cross races were sophomore year of high school, all in the 17's against other small schools. I was injured, then won one race my senior cross season. After high school, I won an age group in a road race.

Most notable, though, is a time I finished last (I think the only time, although I have been close other times). This was in a indoor 800 my freshman year of college. I ran PR by 4 seconds, finishing in 2:08. However, there were four others in the race, and they all finished in a bunch right around 1:57. That was an experience - last by more than 10 seconds, but still a significant PR.

i do... well use to until i won a local 5k i even had my little bro record when i won... feels good to win for once :-)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU

i haven't won anything legit, except maybe highshool where I won some local conferences.

I won our local (i.e. hometown) 5miler a few years. It is still really soft except for the 4 or five guys that run it when on break from college.

I was the usatf pntf 10k champ when I moved to the northwest once. I had been there a month and thought the whole region must be a joke, i ran like 33:30 or something.

But really the only reason I have won races, since I was 17, is because they are week. I was much happier running a pr in a stacked race, and I really don't miss winning.