People who train loads but never race. Why?

Well now you're just trolling. No runner would ask these questions. Runners love to run, while not all runners love to race. The running boom that started in the 1970s was much less about racing than lifestyle and health. If you are a runner, you don't seem to understand running.

Oliver Wendell Douglas wrote:

HRE wrote:

Like so many people here do, you're assuming that everyone is like you. Just because you don't enjoy doing a lot of running or pushing yourself at times while doing it unless it's to race doesn't mean no one does. Yes, those people are probably a bit rare but they exist and they run as much as they do because they like to.

What if someone said they liked smashing their fingers with a hammer? Would you think that person was a bit off? Or would you shrug and say, well, people like different things?

One of those peeps wrote:

It can be fun to run races, but at big races I have no shot at competing and at small races I typically end up running a solo time trial off the front so races just become a way of logging official PRs.

Yup. And add to this that when you get older, PRs are much harder to chase. Why should I pay to run a time trial if it's not even going to get me a good number to share with my thousands of social media fans?

Training, for me, is enjoyable. My day job involves lots of sitting around. Training gets me out doing some physically hard work, clears my head, and gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

I don't feel the need to test myself against others very often as I know perfectly well where I stand at this point.

Self medicating most likely

Oliver Wendell Douglas wrote:

Mooiiiisssttt wrote:

There is so much more to running than racing. Health, lifestyle, enjoyment; I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that IMO a runner who asks why a non-racer would run is not really a runner at all.

The things running offers other than racing can be had on 30 miles a week. Running high mileage with long runs, intervals, tempos, ect. are NOT enjoyable, and are certainly not healthy. I cannot grasp what would motivate a person to train HARD without competition as a goal. Jogging several times a week? Sure. Actually training for...nothing at all is... completely illogical.

You cannot grasp this because you need the outside validation of getting that age group medal.

Running for fitness and health does now involve intervals.

Probably not more than 30 miles though. Recently in a book written for health purposes only, I read that a steady 3-4 hour low level cardio bout once every couple of weeks was important. Running for fun can be whatever the hell a person wants it to be.

Sufism wrote:

Running for fitness and health does now involve intervals.

Really? Google for "hiit for fitness." There are hundreds and hundreds of hits that proclaim how useful it is.

If there weren't races I probably wouldn't run but that's just me. It gets the competitive side of me going and it keeps me motivated. Everyone had their reasons for running and that's what makes us unique.

I haven't raced in almost 10 years and still train about 20 hours a week. I enjoy running but currently I don't get the same enjoyment from races. When I say I don't race I mean race in a race. I do enter a few races each year just to pace friends. I'm against bandits so I pay the $20.00 or so to the charity, then run a 20-23 5k. Just enjoy getting out there daily and running.

Are you sure? wrote:

Sufism wrote:

Running for fitness and health does now involve intervals.

Really? Google for "hiit for fitness." There are hundreds and hundreds of hits that proclaim how useful it is.

That's why I wrote "running for fitness does NOW involve intervals". Besides that, intervals are really fun.

Dufus wrote:

Are you sure? wrote:

Really? Google for "hiit for fitness." There are hundreds and hundreds of hits that proclaim how useful it is.

That's why I wrote "running for fitness does NOW involve intervals". Besides that, intervals are really fun.

Ah sorry. I always forget when reading this forum to correct for odd phrasing and lack of punctuation. My bad.

I'm a distance runner and rarely race (haven't run one in 6 years I think). Races are just too expensive for me at the moment, so I make due with time trials at the track. I've done up to 30 km trials (several times) and actually really enjoy it. It still feels like an accomplishment.

You say they "train." Maybe they aren't "training." Maybe they are just running because they enjoy it and enjoy keeping in shape to run. Different people can have different motivations to run. There's no "logic" to racing unless you have to do it to keep a scholarship or make money. Otherwise, you should race if you enjoy racing.

Oliver Wendell Douglas wrote:

The things running offers other than racing can be had on 30 miles a week. Running high mileage with long runs, intervals, tempos, ect. are NOT enjoyable, and are certainly not healthy.

This is not true. I race far less now then in college (and some years just the odd fun run depending on work and travel), but I still like running every day and I still enjoy how I feel both during and after a workout. You clearly don't like running so I don't know why you do it. It makes far more sense to run and workout because you enjoy it, rather than someone like you who apparently just does it to do races even though you hate the feeling. Why do you race if you hate running?

Trainyesraceno wrote:

Have come across it in every sprint training group I've been in, and have seen it with middle distance runners too. People who train and train, yet NEVER actually enter a race. Why is this? Is it fear? Is it ego of not wanting to run a time slower than people think you can run? What is it?

Obsessive behavior.

It's a mental health issue.

Why spend $$$ on a "race" when you can do the same thing every other day of the week for free on your own? For the cost of 3-5ks or one marathon you can buy a new pair of "wings" and enjoy them day after day.

Dufus wrote:

Are you sure? wrote:

Really? Google for "hiit for fitness." There are hundreds and hundreds of hits that proclaim how useful it is.

That's why I wrote "running for fitness does NOW involve intervals". Besides that, intervals are really fun.

So what do the grammar police think? Is there any thing wrong with the original sentence in question?

Running for fitness and health does now involve intervals.

There can be a lot of inherent satisfaction in building and maintaining a skill. There are a lot of activities that people passionately pursue entirely for their own enjoyment and I don't think running is much different. If anything, it's kind of illogical that the vast majority of runners are just competing against themselves yet go to such lengths and shell out so much cash to compete against others.

You are posting on LetsRun.com, people here like to run. I suggest you head over to LetsRace.com to be with your people.

Trainyesraceno wrote:

Have come across it in every sprint training group I've been in, and have seen it with middle distance runners too. People who train and train, yet NEVER actually enter a race. Why is this? Is it fear? Is it ego of not wanting to run a time slower than people think you can run? What is it?

I simply could not be motivated to train 5 days a week if I was not going to race. I just do not understand the logic behind it.

Why pick on sub-groups of runners when it's all kind of weird?