Worst Race you have EVER run?

Senior year H.S. First cross country race 15:45 5k. Season is up and down, but not as fast. Seven weeks later at district, 18:02 5th from last complete melt down. Three weeks later 25:30 8k.

my one and only marathon

went through halfway in 1.15.02 feeling ok - got cramp around 17miles, stopped a bit, stretched, got going again albeit slower, got to 20miles in 2.00.00 and thought I'd still finish under 2.40 - ended up hobbling home in 2.58.32

ouch

Boston marathon

I went out fairly easy, I went in thinking I'd kinda cruise it much slower than my qualifier.

I did just that, but it was one of the years it was really hot, and I DIED like a dog around mile 14. Starting at Noon and waiting around all morning just killed me.

I was so so so disappointed and p!ssed about spending that much money to embarrass myself.

Not sure if this quite qualifies, but it is more about opportunity cost than anything else...

My freshman year at a top 30 D1 school, I trained with the team in an attempt to walk on. I trained with the team from September to April, with my eyes on a meet held at the beginning of April. The coaches wanted me to run the 1500m (at elevation...not that it really matters)so that is what I did.

I felt awesome until 300m left in the race. At that point, I had moved in front of 2 scholarship runners from our team, and I was in 3rd place. I felt like I was about to do some big things. Then, all of the sudden...BAM! my legs simply stop working. It felt like one of those dreams where you are trying to run faster but you just can't move...

I ended up getting passed by about 10 people in that last 300m. It was a terrible feeling. I finished the race in 4:12. It earned me a spot, but after realizing that our 3 fastest were between 7:57 and 8:03 in the 3000m, I realized that I was really far away from being an "ok" Division 1 runner. So, no walk on. Just ran for fun after that.

In all reality, I probably could have only hit 4:02-4:06 or something, which Is till realize isn't that great. Oh well.

Junior Year. State XC meet on a pretty brutal course. Nothing but hills. I probably wasn't the best runner in the race, but I was certainly in the top 5. I go out in 5:15 or so... not too terribly far back from the leaders.

At 1.1 miles, it hits me. To this day, I don't know what it was, but it felt like my hands were anvils and my head was a medicine ball. I felt sick to my stomach, like I was gonna barf. Over the next mile, I probably slowed to 6:30 minute pace. People were passing me left and right. The last mile was Hell. Some kid that looked to be about 4 feet tall cruised pass me, and I remember thinking "I'm getting passed by a toddler, but I can't f#$%ing do anything about it." And I couldn't. I've never felt worse in my life. Wanted to die.

Ended up running 18:50 or something (PR at the time was 16:0X). I think 100 people passed me in the last 1.5 miles. My whole family came to see. I was so embarrassed and ashamed. If I google my name, this f#$%ing race still comes up. Damn you, race. It's something I can't forget. It's a truly haunting failure that will shadow me to my grave.

I have been there. My entire family came to see me race, cousins, uncles too. I bombed so badly. I won't even post the time as it was so embarrassing. I'm pretty sure they thought I all sucked. I couldn't even bare to look anyone in the eye. What hurts the most is that I went out and raced two weeks later, took third, and earned a new PR. I suspect some anger/adrenaline took over.Of course, nobody was there to see it.

Section CC finals my HS senior year. I got the bright idea that suger was quick energy. I ate 4 tablespoons of white suger 2 hours before the race. I was so sick I walked about a mile of the 5K.

has been who never was wrote:

Hot November day (high 80s and no humidity).

Where the hell do you live that was 80 degrees in november? As for my story, I would much rather be ANY of the previous posters. At least they were running. I've had a new uncurable injury every week for 4 months

Might have been the league track meet my junior year of HS. I'd missed some training due to oral surgery, and my season had been going downhill as it progressed. In the 1600 I was lagging near the end of the pack through two laps, but still came through 800 in 2:22 (my 1600 PR was about 4:51 at the time, so the 2:22 split was FAST for me). Died something horrible the last two laps, and I was so far behind the person in front of me down the stretch that someone stepped onto the track in front of me. Had to yell "track" like it was a workout. Finished in 5:01.

24 minute 5k my freshman year, walked for a couple feet.

Now as a Junior in Highschool I ran 4:29 for a mile. My 5k still sucks 17:10........

Carnivore 69 wrote:

Peachtree 10K a few years ago.

I was not in the shape that I was in younger days, so I wasn't going to break 40, but I thought sub 42 was in the bag and was going to give 41 a shot.

So I "ran" over 49, with plenty of dehydrated walking thrown in. My pace was slower than my normal recovery pace. Just one of those days, and I have never DNF'd and didn't feel like starting then.

Peachtree for me too, last year. Had the intention of running under my age (38). First 5k in 19:10, so already a bit off pace, however it was the down hill portion so I knew things were going to be tough. Hit the long hill that goes by the hospital, and was reduced to a jog, and it got worse. Stomach cramps forced me to go to a portajohn and take care of business. Finished in 46:xx, which is slower than my average training pace for the whole year.

At some big invite in high school I was entered in the 3200 and 1600. At the times my PRs were 10:34 and 4:43, respectively. The 3200 was first and I cruised a 10:15 to place third in my heat, one of those amazing races where I felt like I was just walking on air. The 1600 is something like three hours later so I start getting really excited because I feel like I have plenty of time to rest up and can run a great time.

Since this meet is so huge, there were something like 11 heats of the 1600. I got confused about which one I was in and missed my race, then the one after that (the heats went fastest to slowest). I argue with the registration lady a bit and she lets me run the 10th heat, where the fastest PR in the field was 4:54. I get on the starting line thinking I'm going to blow everyone away.

Disaster. I went through 400 in 7th place in 72 and felt absolutely awful. From there I was just slowly dying, each lap slower than the last, well aware that I'm making an idiot out of myself as random scrubs pass by me. The final 100 meters were absolute death, I got passed by at least five other people and felt like I was running through concrete. Ended up running a 5:04, the same time as my split from the 3200.

I actually found a video of this online later and it was incredibly painful to watch, I look like I'm about to collapse on the infield. Good memories.

fell six times at a high school championship race on one of the messiest race days i have ever seen. ran 18:something the week after running low 15s. talk about embarassing. recovered by winning states in the 3k indoors.

In my first college xc season I got a foot injury a couple of days before the first meet, but gutted it out and ran 29:12. After that I took a week off and just cross trained, and then I went out and ran a 28:54 8k. I then picked up runner's knee, and I couldn't run for 4 weeks, but I still wanted to run in the last 2 meets. The first meet ran 30:12. But then came the 2nd meet. It was at about 3600 feet, and I'd never ran above sea level in my entire life. It didn't help that there were 25 mph wind gusts that day and the air was as dry as a bone. I ended up running a 34 minute 8k, and having to stop and walk to try and catch my breath during the race.

Ran a 10k confident of a sub 35 after a mid-35 on a hilly course a month or so earlier. Was sick for 2 days early in the week, felt recovered quite quickly, then had insomnia for days before the race and proceeded to barely break 40.

Had the jelly legs feeling within the first km and it became an actual effort to actually just run to the finish, felt absurdly hard running so much slower.

Over the summer I stopped racing for a month and a half to focus on training and not have to worry about racing so much. I had ran 18:05 & 18:07 in the two weekends before I stopped racing - so I was hoping to break 18. I picked an awful race to come back on and ended up running an 18:57. I was so down on myself. I then picked another really hilly course, the run thru hell, and I ran it in 18:18 or 18:21 - don't remember. Either way I was pissed! Finished the season with a 17:32 less than a month later though.

I recently entered a marathon, and the organizers had the audacity to put timing mats and spotters on the course to make sure that everyone ran the full course. That was the worst day of my life.

I'm loving the communal commiseration.

This past summer I was psyched to run an evening, local 5k that draws a lot of fast post-collegiate runners (and old high school rivals). My PR was 15:50 and I had run 16:01 a month or so earlier, so I figured I could get pulled along to a new PR.

Wrong. The race went out so-so, and I cruised through the first mile with the leaders, in about 5:05. After that everything failed me... my legs turned to jello, and I felt like I was breathing through a snorkel. I was trying to keep form, but it was all futile. Ended up slogging home in 18:30-something and getting nipped at the line by the first female finisher.

Nothing too different than what's been said already, but it helps to know that mostly everyone has "one of those days."

In high school as a junior, I once ran a 1600 in a meet in 5:02. That was crazy slow for me back then...actually the slowest 1600 I ever ran in high school. Later in the same meet I ran the 3200 in 9:59, with the last 1600 in 4:55.

Coach thought I wasn't trying in the 1600, but I really was. I still don't know what happened.