When did you realize you were one of "those" runners?

I kind of had this realization as soon as college ended. The context is that I was a D1 also-ran who was never really competive in a single college race that mattered. I thought about trying to get into road racing like a lot of guys here do. But for me, I was already more or less at peace with my running ability. I could go to local 5ks and win in 15:4x or whatever, but it would feel a bit hollow when I already knew that the real big boys could blow my doors off by a full minute+ if they wanted to.

So ever since college, I've been a 20mpw hobby jogger. It's fun and I like it, but there's nothing competitive about it.

If you take running seriously, and you run 16:05 at a local 5K and feel fulfilled afterwards then there's nothing wrong with that at all. It's the moments where you do all of that, and then get upset with yourself for not running harder, or training more or placing higher etc that the hobby becomes an unhealthy obsession.

Now a Weird Runner wrote:

...... Then that creepy and smelly middle aged basement dweller who wears a bandana and lives with his mom walked up to me and said "I see you at all of these things! What are you trying to run?"

.........

HELP. I don't want to be that 56 year old dude wearing split shorts and banging on tables and creepily asking people "what time are you trying to run?"

Get some smack talk going with the creepy, smelly dude. Tell him you're just hoping to crack 30 then let him lead for the first quarter mile. Generate some hate. Sounds like you need a purpose. If making the podium overall or in age group is too easy then find a tougher race.

As for the 56 year old in split shorts...

"Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light." Dylan Thomas

Now a Weird Runner wrote:

I had a moment of self realization where I realized I was one of those adult runners at a fun run who take the whole thing too seriously.

At my speed, all runs are fun runs, yet I still race 20-25 of them a year. I don't take it as seriously as others, and you shouldn't. It's just a hobby. We're not making money at it. So when I finish runs, I make small talk and make an effort to have a good time. I never ask about what someone ran timewise - I just ask "did you have fun?" Then I go have brunch after and talk to other runners but never talk about PRs. Join a running club and socialize and not talk about running.

Yyyjjjujujujjjj wrote:

Paying $50-$70 to run a 5k. No thanks.

keep on trunning wrote:

Pick a more competitive 5k. This is what happens when you pick a soft 5k.

You think people don't care what they run at the BAA 5k?

It sucks to pay that much to run a 5k but it's occasionally worth it in my opinion. Personally, I cannot get anywhere close to my PB if I'm running alone, or front running a small local race. I need a push in the form of a group of people who are running slightly faster than my current best. And that means a big race, which will have other people who are faster than local grade for me to run with. YMMV if you have the fortitude to do it on your own -- and I'm very impressed if that's the case!

I run maybe 10 miles a week, and race once a year, if that. I take delight in beating people who obviously take it far more seriously.

* I'm what you'd call a "hobbyjogger," but I'm actually more 'fit' than I was in my 20s, 30s and 40s, because I do stuff other than run 10 miles a week.

Small time 5k race, summer after I got out of uni. A few bucks on the line, plus some gift certificates. Scope out another kid, with his coach. We eyeball f*** each other during warm ups. He's decked to the nines in runner apparel. Made me mad. I wanted to smear him.

Well, I did. I front-ran a 15:0x. He came in second, in the 18:30s range. turns out he was in high school. The guy I thought was his coach was his dad, who drove home to the race. Slightly misplaced aggression, on my part.

gfdhsfghg wrote:

7/10 humblebrag about winning your local 5k

this

Wait till you are 66, battling a 12 year old in a 1500m race at a summer all comers track meet. No banana, no awards and no other people with gray hair.

Pretty funny. This is probably a pretty good definition of a hobby jogger.

Ghost of Igloi wrote:

Wait till you are 66, battling a 12 year old in a 1500m race at a summer all comers track meet. No banana, no awards and no other people with gray hair.

Hey Igy I am proud to say I resemble that remark!

btw That 2 x 400 1 x 1200 then smoke 2 more 400s. That was a killer workout and that is the point.

"I'm not interested in athletics, I'm only interested in achievement. Fix your goal and work for it."

-- Percy Cerutty

Charlie,

Thanks. I have another hard one in the morning. I need to take your lead and continue to push myself. Coach Igloi's phrase was "kill yourself!"

I will report back on Sunday.

Igy

wow..... wrote:

Like Literally wrote:

lol learn to read breh, he obviously wasn't referring to just the 16:05 when he said it

The whole f*cking thing was an excuse to drop that he ran 16:05. Didn't even break 16. Slower than f*cking Jamin. This board is full of losers.

I disagree. I believe it was a mating call of sorts. Read the part where he downs "an entire banana."

That's a euphemism for " Come and get me, fellas." Lol

45 year old here. Former college runner. I still race 30-ish times a year, mostly 5ks. My PRs are years in the past, but I still love racing, maybe even more than in my prime, because there's no self imposed pressure. I don't get upset about my times at all. I barely think about it after the race is over. I just like racing other old slow guys.

If that makes me weird, so be it.

scorpion_runner wrote:

Runners complaining about running in races, and what people think?

Where as in the mountains of mexico, the tarahumara run for transportation, and run weekly 100 mile races for competition. ...kenyans and ethiopians run in any race they can find

America's problem: always worrying about status and what people think.

Not comparable.

Middle-aged hobbiests are really a thing in Kenya.

I'm 20 years older than you and have been a serious runner as long as I can remember. I think that what's at play here is that the passion I've always felt has never gone away. While my physical abilities have obviously changed over the 45 years of my running career, I still enjoy it in the same way. One thing to look forward to, if you have this passion is that even though you slow as you age, the excitement and enjoyment doesn't necessarily change (or the drive). I realize now that this is what keeps the sport alive for me. Nowadays a sub 3 hour marathon is a real hard challenge, while in the mid 80's I ran under 2:35 a couple of times. Consequently I don't think too much about how I might appear at the start line of a race as I can only imagine what (or if at all) others might think about me and why should I care? This sport isn't just for the young, it's for everyone. I own my running, as do you. Embrace it, get over yourself and do your best. The most amazing thing about our sport is that you really do get out of it what you put into it. No one can do the work for you, whether you are coached or self-coached. It's all on you and if you try your hardest and give it an honest try can you expect anymore?

Don't worry about being that 56 yo dude wearing split shorts asking people their planned race pace. An old dude asked me exactly that as we were waiting for the gun recently, and we ran together for about 4 miles of a 10K, at which point he dropped me like a bad habit!

When I got so old I couldn't even break 18.

I'm pretty much the same. Sixty and have been racing since I was 13. I'll running anything from the USATF Masters Champs to a local 5k. I still train systematically, and aim to run the best times I can. If I go to a major 5k I'm going to be 3 minutes behind the winner; in a smaller race, up until about 3 or 4 years ago, I might be battling a decent local high-schooler for the win.

I generally go to the race by myself - I'm married, but my wife doesn't want to get up at 6 pm to go see another 5k - and I generally arrive, warm-up, do the race, warm-down and leave. For me it's about the running, not socializing (I train by myself too - just a function of there not being too many other runners in the relatively small town I'm in). Like Barra, the training and racing gives me some structure and something to look forward too. I'm also not worried about what anyone thinks, although in my experience generally people of all ages respect someone who is older and keeping in shape, or who seems relatively fast (and 16:05 is relatively fast), as long as they don't act like a d*ck about it.