"Quenton Cassidy knew what the mystic-runners, the joggers, the runner-poets, the Zen runners and others of their ilk were saying. But he also knew that their euphoric selves were generally nowhere to be seen on dark, rainy mornings. They primarily wanted to talk it, not do it. Cassidy very early understood that a true runner ran even when he didn’t feel like it, and raced when he was supposed to, without excuses and with nothing held back. He ran to win, would die in the process if necessary, and was unimpressed by those who disavowed such a base motivation. You are not allowed to renounce that which you never possessed he thought."
I think most have read this at some point. There is something lost in training when there is no competitive edge, no desire to be the best. I don't "hate" uncompetitive runners. Running in any way is good, but "true" running is done with raw, animalistic instincts in the heat of intense competition where you will do whatever it takes to beat the person next to you.