You're offered $100K to never do another timed run or race. Would you take the cash?

hypothetical wrote:

Suppose that you were offered $100,000 on the condition that you could never do another timed run or race again. That includes timed interval sessions, solo FKT attempts on trails, and sports where running is a major component (i.e., triathlons). However, you would be able to go on solo untimed runs and do easy runs with friends.

Would you take it?

Nope never! Offer me a Billion dollars--the answer is still no! I'm old injured and barely run/walk anymore. I wouldn't take it strictly on principle--you can't buy my silence. Sure there are people that would take it--and that's fine. I'm sure they have their reasons, but the thought of someone giving me money to take away my right to choose/freewill is just too much--the price is too high. For all you naysayers out there, I've already crossed this bridge. Almost 35 years ago I was offered 1.5 million in blue chip stocks if I did x, y, and z. At the time I was in college working for $3.35 an hour cleaning toilets. One of the xyz variables was to quit the track/xcountry teams I was part of and not run in the Olympic trials that upcoming summer. My parents absolutely detested running and could not understand why I did It. Yes my parents offered to buy my future so to speak. All I had to say was yes--I told them to shove it up their ass! Long story longer, I got injured, didn't run in the trials and all my siblings took the money. Those stocks are now worth over $70 million dollars. My siblings all retired by the age of thirty. Not one of them pursued a career in anything even though they all had college degrees--they basically just sit at home and live off the money. My parents are gone now, but before they passed they offered money to me again--this time two million in stock options/cash if I would just admit I was wrong the first time I refused their offer. Guess what--I told them to shove it up their ass again! That was the last time I ever spoke to my parents or siblings again. I couldn't be happier! I've lived a great and successful life, and I sure as hell wouldn't give up timed racing for a mere $100,000--I love the local road races. Yes I'm a turkey trottin kingpin and proud of it!

bitcoin? wrote:

gladly wrote:

Sure. I could still race and do workouts. I just couldn't time them. I've never been one to chase times, anyway. I just like to compete.

If I felt like racing, I could pay people to run or offer a cash prize under the stipulation that the race would be untimed. I'm sure there are a dozen 800m guys in Philly who would be willing to show up at a local track and run for less than two minutes for the chance to win $1K, even if the race would be untimed.

The thread's title and post says no racing, so that won't work. You could do untimed workouts and untimed all-out runs, though.

No. It disallowed timed races specifically.

This subtlety might be difficult if English isn't your first language, but an adjective modifies all the nouns that follow it. So when one disallows a "timed run or race," they are disallowing a timed run or a timed race. One would say "race or timed run" if they meant to disallow all races (timed or untimed) and timed runs.

gladly wrote:

bitcoin? wrote:

The thread's title and post says no racing, so that won't work. You could do untimed workouts and untimed all-out runs, though.

No. It disallowed timed races specifically.

This subtlety might be difficult if English isn't your first language, but an adjective modifies all the nouns that follow it. So when one disallows a "timed run or race," they are disallowing a timed run or a timed race. One would say "race or timed run" if they meant to disallow all races (timed or untimed) and timed runs.

I understand your assertion and appreciate the attention to detail.

But isn't a race also a timed run?

And if so, a race by definition would be not allowed under the conditions of the offer.

That said, clearly the intent of the post was to disallow races, so there's that.

seattle prattle wrote:

gladly wrote:

No. It disallowed timed races specifically.

This subtlety might be difficult if English isn't your first language, but an adjective modifies all the nouns that follow it. So when one disallows a "timed run or race," they are disallowing a timed run or a timed race. One would say "race or timed run" if they meant to disallow all races (timed or untimed) and timed runs.

I understand your assertion and appreciate the attention to detail.

But isn't a race also a timed run?

And if so, a race by definition would be not allowed under the conditions of the offer.

That said, clearly the intent of the post was to disallow races, so there's that.

* ok, I would like to amend that last post. I see how you could do a race and not subject it to timing, just a competition for placement among finishers.

That is a point that would need clarification, but again, I think it is safe to assume that the intent of the original offer was to exclude racing of any kind, though, of course, I could be wrong.

bitcoin? wrote:

local sheep wrote:

Yes. Would take like 6 years off of my retirement goal.

6 years? I doubt it'll last half that long unless you live really frugally or get really lucky in your investments.

I'll explain the 6 years thing. If you invest $1200/month with a 7% interest rate for 6 years, you will end up with $106,993. 1200/month is a normal amount to be investing. Therefore if you got the money at the start of saving for retirement, given a normal level of investment, the 100k would jump start your portfolio by about 6 years. The less you invest, the more this would be a benefit.

seattle prattle wrote:

seattle prattle wrote:

I understand your assertion and appreciate the attention to detail.

But isn't a race also a timed run?

And if so, a race by definition would be not allowed under the conditions of the offer.

That said, clearly the intent of the post was to disallow races, so there's that.

* ok, I would like to amend that last post. I see how you could do a race and not subject it to timing, just a competition for placement among finishers.

That is a point that would need clarification, but again, I think it is safe to assume that the intent of the original offer was to exclude racing of any kind, though, of course, I could be wrong.

Yes, obviously you can race without timing it. Find another runner. Say "we're going to run two laps around the track to see who finishes first." Don't start a watch. There, you have an untimed race.

And no, it does not require clarification. If the thing you want to do is not disallowed per the letter of your agreement, why open a discussion about it and give the other party the opportunity to object? You are allowed to do it, so go do it. Nothing in the OP's proposal prevents it.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

This thread is kind of weird. I'm not an attorney but I'm pretty sure that since the contract would be unenforceable, the $100K would be considered a gift. The answer to the OP's question is that any amount would be fine.

No one is asking you about that. The thread is cleary a hypothetical to gauge how much you value running. That you didn’t get that is kind of weird.

running69 wrote:

bitcoin? wrote:

The thread's title and post says no racing, so that won't work. You could do untimed workouts and untimed all-out runs, though.

OP should clarify because "timed run or race" can be interpreted as timed run or timed race.

I'd say, hand me the money! I enjoy running just to run. I GPS my runs to see where I've gone on a map, and record distance, but I pay no attention to time, so it would be easy enough to just not record.

Even when I was last winning a lot of local races, the times were meaningless, because I pretty much only raced in a weekly trail/cross country type races without accurate distances and never once reliable timing (popsicle stick style with 1000+ finishers in 3 different courses finishing together means times were always off).

To clear up the confusion, races (whether timed or not) would not be allowed if you were to take the $100K.

letter of the law wrote:

bitcoin? wrote:

The thread's title and post says no racing, so that won't work. You could do untimed workouts and untimed all-out runs, though.

The OP's criteria are impossible to meet. He said you can go on easy runs with friends but if we agree to meet at 9 and run for an hour it's a timed run. If I check the clock before heading out and then check it again when I get home it's a timed run, even if I don't know how far I ran. The only way to fulfill the terms of the agreement would be if I didn't know what time of the day it was when I started and ended my runs.

You could agree to meet at 9 to do 4 loops around a large park. That would be fine as long as you don't look at the clock or know the time right after (or shortly after) you're done running.

...next they'll be asking if the proceeds are taxable (not that I'm asking or anything),

Unless you're getting paid to race, you would be dumb not to. Running for the pleasure of it is a great joy anyways, especially with friends.

I guess you could still do untimed races lol

In an ironic twist, I’m going to use half of the $100K to buy a really nice watch, and the other half to set up a local road race with decent prize money (and obviously not ever run in it…).

hypothetical wrote:

Suppose that you were offered $100,000 on the condition that you could never do another timed run or race again. That includes timed interval sessions, solo FKT attempts on trails, and sports where running is a major component (i.e., triathlons). However, you would be able to go on solo untimed runs and do easy runs with friends.

Would you take it?

That's exactly what our friend Greg did.

Your post got me thinking about pursuing an experiment. Essentially, run a time trial or race to establish a performance benchmark. Then, spend the next 2-3 months just running while also doing fartlek and hill reps without a watch - totally on feel. At the end of that period, run another time trial or race to see what you gained or lost.

Everyday runs could just be running to County Park and back or doing three loops of the Forest Reserve trail at perceived easy pace. Fartlek is just that - pure speed play until you have had enough. Hills are easy, just run a certain number of reps and then call it good. If you really needed to quantify things after the fact, just have your spouse, partner, or friend log your watch data for you. Turn off your Strava. It might be fun to see if running became more or less stressful without knowing the numbers? Maybe you would do better workouts or run more without the tyranny of the watch?

Hmmmm. I'll have to think about this.

what you said in the part I bolded above is what consumed me most during my run.

One thing i figured for sure is that I would do better recovery runs, precisely because I couldn't allow myself to time them, even if i wanted to,

But more than that, I thought I would be getting into the whole experience of running for the pure act of doing it, and speed, to the extent it was pursued, would be something that was felt rather than inferred from the numbers on a watch face. Would it make me faster? I guess I would never know, But like I said before, running would still be fun,.

And it would be very different, At least at first, if not for always.

This question should be on a sliding scale with age. At 45 I would definetly take the money. At 25 no way. My best racing years were 10-20 years ago.

Yes, but then my knee is pretty much done in.

This is a great question. I think I'd do it for $400k. I'd then switch to cycling for all my competitive kicks as others have said.

of course wrote:

Just Another Hobby Jogger wrote:

100k would mean much more for a younger person. If you put that money into an index fund and do not touch it for the next 30 yrs, it will grow to a significant amount.

For someone already retired or close to retirement, the value is much less.

Honestly, I thought it would be within a rounding error for most posters on this board. (j/k)

The value of 100K is less for someone older but the value of timed runs becomes less motivating once your PRs are only distant memories. Timed runs are the most motivating when you are still striving for improvement.

I bet Gene Dykes would disagree.

I find it interesting that many (most?) posters assume that timed runs are less motivating once you are no longer able to improved your PB. Really? How many people stop racing as soon as they realize they have no more PBs left in them? Winning your AG becomes easier every five years. Breaking AG records becomes easier as you get older. Doesn't that motivate you?

Well, maybe if you were an elite who had open age record and won major titles. But other than that, wouldn't you be interested in winning titles you could not win in your younger years or breaking records you could not touch in younger years?