Is running the only sport where participants are content to dedicate their life in exchange for mediocre results?

jamin wrote:

Why am I content with spending 10-20 hours per week (all things considered) just to try and run a 4:20 mile and 15:00 5k?

Because:

- you're pretty good at it;

- it clears your head and gives you some inner peace;

- it brings you together with others who enjoy the same thing;

- it has led to sustained friendships through the shared experience;

- it keeps you in shape and feeling ok about yourself;

- it can be a flat out mood changer;

- it gives you something to work for and a routine - discipline;

- in the right race, you know you can go faster.

Any sport, occupation or pursuit requires as much or more commitment and the results are also often very average.

10 hours max wrote:

Running is one of the only sports where training time is so limited by injury risk. In every other endurance sport 10 hours per week would be light...for a 13 year-old. Decent swimmers are physically IN THE POOL for four hours A DAY from their teens onward.

So your "dedication" is pretty piddling, really.

What a great thread! It's true that most of us runners don't actually spend as much time doing the sport/hobby/activity as people do in actual "skill" sports. And our time spent running is nothing in comparison to anyone who "burns the candle at both ends" to become a great musician. Think of all the people who have ambitions to be great writers. How many succeed? And yet they just keep trying, and they have big dreams. So many of us runners have big dreams of winning that state championship, getting that four-year athletic scholarship, becoming world-class, getting to the Olympics, winning the Olympics, and setting a world record. But how many actually make it even as far as the state championship? But isn't it still worth trying? Isn't it still worth enjoying? Think about one of your best runs--when everything was flowing and you felt like you were Superman (or Superwoman), that life was wonderful, and that you'd never get old. As I've gotten "old," I've increasingly come to believe that when it comes to running, all of that "success" stuff is nice, but it's not really why we run. And if any of those things are why YOU run, chances are that you will eventually stop running. I leave you with a quote by a great man. This is why I still run:

“For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear the leaves and listen to the rain, and look to the day when it is suddenly as easy as a bird in flight.”

― George Sheehan

Most people either dedicate themselves to something, and get "mediocre" results, or don't dedicate themselves to anything and are just plain mediocre.

Shawn H wrote:

What a great thread! It's true that most of us runners don't actually spend as much time doing the sport/hobby/activity as people do in actual "skill" sports.

Are you comparing professional runners with professionals in every other sport? My comparison was meant to concern athletes at the non-professional and non-collegiate level.

Also, you need to consider the "hidden costs" of running:

(1) Required consistency. Runners need to be training all year. Football players might be training 4-5 hours a day during the season, but then they can be lazy on the off-season. Runners won't go on a vacation without bringing their running shoes lol.

(2) Injuries. When runners get injured, they end up spending loads of time cross-training -- like 3 hours cross-training for every hour they would be spending running.

(3) Nutrition and sleep. Another consequence of running being so fitness-based is that perfect nutrition and sleep are required. Runners obsess about those things.

All in all, runners end up having to plan their life around their training.

Sorry, guy. All this is true of swimmers or cyclists, and they do 4+ hours a day from childhood onward.

Running actually takes much less time than other endurable sports to get decent. Think about it. A serious runner doing 10 miles on Saturday and 20 on Sunday (way more than you did) would spend maybe 3.5 hours running. I know masters cyclists and xc skiers who wouldn't call 3.5 hours a long effort IN ONE DAY.

I can't believe that you think that:

(1) football players are lazy during their offseason,

(2) injured runners are the only ones who cross train, and

(3) other athletes don't pay very close attention to their eating and sleeping

You are very naive.

Not sure what you're looking for, here. You have a hobby that you spend a lot of time on. Presumably, you do so because the benefit exceeds the cost. This isn't nearly as unusual or unique as you're trying to make it out to be.

Good points. Especially that last sentence. You're right. Just because runners don't spend as much time actually running as other people do in various sports and pursuits doesn't mean that your whole world--as a motivated competitive runner--isn't centered around your training. It certainly is. And no, endurance sports don't take vacations.

Jamin has a good point. Even running a 14min 5k is only equivalent to playing AAA minor league team. I think a lot of runners training like it is their job to run 17 min 5k just don't have anything better to do. This is how they fill their empty lives with purpose. Own up to it. It can be worst when most American fill their miserable lives with just getting fat.

Gawd, what a douche-troll, backdoor brag indeed. Guess you better quit your 10-15 hrs of running and start something more meaningful like watching reality tv and getting CVD. Oh wait, the avg american already spends 19.6 hrs/week watching tv, doh!

A better question is why do participants dedicate their life to a running forum for mediocre emotional exchange.

o.p.,

did you mean to say is running the only sport that REQUIRES that you dedicate your life? if so, that's absolutely true.

or

did you mean to ask if runners are the only ones WILLING to dedicate their life to training? if so, all runners are not willing to do that. nonetheless, it is still the only sport that requires full time dedication.

I think I can sum-up this entire thread by saying that running, as a whole, all comes down to 1 simple word.......MAINTENENCE. RUNNING TAKES ALOT OF MAINTENENCE.

gotta give a shout out to the thugs down in Oklahoma. gotta give thanks to the state that made me.

I mean, really? wrote:

Gawd, what a douche-troll, backdoor brag indeed. Guess you better quit your 10-15 hrs of running and start something more meaningful like watching reality tv and getting CVD. Oh wait, the avg american already spends 19.6 hrs/week watching tv, doh!

A better question is why do participants dedicate their life to a running forum for mediocre emotional exchange.

Sorry, dude. I'm disenchanted with running at the moment. This board is my emotional haven.

England has 40,000 affiliated soccer teams. 94 of those are professional.

Let's say every one has a squad of 25. Most of the players outside of the Premier League are decidedly mediocre.

It is tough. I think part of the problem is that a lot of people don't find running to be an enjoyable activity like say, hockey or basketball or softball, so they have a hard time understanding why someone would enjoy doing it.

As well, it requires a lot of maintenance and since performance is objective (times), it is easier to see when you aren't training adequately. If you are highly skilled in basketball, you can do quite well in pick-up even if you're out of shape, even dominate some rec leagues at a fairly high level without working much to maintain your athleticism.

I have a fried that played D1 soccer at a fairly high level. He is a lazy shit now that might go to the gym a couple times a week at most, elliptical/bike and some machine weights at most. Couldn't run a 7min mile to save his life or do more than a couple pull-ups. He absolutely dominates any rec league soccer or corporate league or whatever else and people think he is a freak athlete, simply because his skill level is so much better developed than everybody else he is competing against. He doesn't need to maintain much athleticism when his skill level is so high.

succmydicc666 wrote:

o.p.,

did you mean to say is running the only sport that REQUIRES that you dedicate your life? if so, that's absolutely true.

or

did you mean to ask if runners are the only ones WILLING to dedicate their life to training? if so, all runners are not willing to do that. nonetheless, it is still the only sport that requires full time dedication.

I think I can sum-up this entire thread by saying that running, as a whole, all comes down to 1 simple word.......MAINTENENCE. RUNNING TAKES ALOT OF MAINTENENCE.

gotta give a shout out to the thugs down in Oklahoma. gotta give thanks to the state that made me.

This is put much better than I could have typed. Running requires an awful lot of maintenance to maintain performance level. Most team or skill type sports do not require the same maintenance, especially when you're looking at what it takes to dominate in 'average' leagues. That's simply because running has little to no skill/strategy that can be used to overcome athleticism.

jamin wrote:

Why am I content with spending 10-20 hours per week (all things considered) just to try and run a 4:20 mile and 15:00 5k? Why are others content with the same absurd ratio of work versus reward?

When did you run 4:20 and 15 flat?

jamin wrote:

Why am I content with spending 10-20 hours per week (all things considered) just to try and run a 4:20 mile and 15:00 5k? Why are others content with the same absurd ratio of work versus reward?

Baseball - There are a lot of players who stay in the minor leagues for years without every making it to the majors. They are living the dream and sacrifice everything and for many it never pays off.

Critical Thinking wrote:

jamin wrote:

Why am I content with spending 10-20 hours per week (all things considered) just to try and run a 4:20 mile and 15:00 5k? Why are others content with the same absurd ratio of work versus reward?

When did you run 4:20 and 15 flat?

I said I'm trying to. It consumes my life.

Parenting...?