How many of you have won money racing?

I have won $2775 in the last 2.5 years. Along with that all of the free shoes, gear, clothes I could hope for. Am I pro? No.

It is however a cost free hobby, race entries are free, and my prize money covers any travel costs I would incur.

As a side note, I've also made $1500 dollars doing running clothes modeling in two shoots in 2012.

Since you asked, Ford has turned a profit every year 2009-2012. Same with General Motors. Those are the only two Detroit automakers I have public information for.

If you read the IRS definition, intent is a key part of the definition. You can be a for-profit business that sucks and never makes a profit. I'm guessing that was the point you were trying to make. Lol... assembly lines and such.

I won 2 double cheeseburgers in a parking lot race, does that count?

professional is about the end result: can you make enough money to support yourself by running? if yes, then you're a professional runner. if no you're not.

but really it's all semantics.

you know if you're a professional or not.

i've had part of school paid for by running, and have won races post-collegiately, but by no means do i consider myself a professional runner.

and then i've had part of my school paid for by academics, but by no means do i consider myself to be a professional scholar.

so at some point you could say professional, or the concept of being a professional is more of a lifestyle and not about the end result

My wife and I make a decent amount of prize money through out the year. We took home probably around 2500 dollars last year. We both work full time and don't miss it if we don't win, but it's always nice to go out for dinner with money you just won. We were able to fill our oil tank with the winnings from our fall marathon this year though!

No hard feelings bro, I was just making the point that there is more than one definition of "professional", and what definition we use affects how many posters are professionals. Flagpole, for instance, defines it as something a long the lines of "an activity that one has been paid to do at some point in time," whereas you seem to define it along the lines of "an activity that is a consistent source of profit for an individual."

In my last six races I've won:

100 for 4th

50 for 9th

75 for 2nd

50 for 3rd

70 for 2nd

100 for 3rd

I do not consider myself a professional. I've never even broken 16:30 in a 5k. I just do races that give out lots of money and the fields aren't very deep.

I've also benefited from finding the right races that I can compete in with not so deep fields. Won $500 total last summer and have planned races that could pay $2000 this summer (would be happy with half of that). Do not consider myself professional...just appreciate the extra cash.

Well, like I said, even though "technically" if you make money, in my mind, you are (or were) professional (that's what used to define professional from amateur athletics in the Olympic days when you weren't allowed to make money and still compete).You would be silly to describe yourself as that though unless you did it for a living, because too many people would question you on it (because most people don't adhere to strict definitions of terms).

just a thought... wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

Technically speaking, as far as I'm concerned, if you make money doing any kind of activity, then you are a "professional".

That's crazy talk. Maybe if you make money after deducting expenses. But to win $25 in a local race while buying 3 pairs of $80 trainers in the same year is hardly a) a professional; and b) making money.

Of course, some people around here seem to have a different definition for making money. Just like some people around here calculate investment returns in different ways.

Perhaps the IRS can clarify. Hobby vs Business:

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Business-or-Hobby%3F-Answer-Has-Implications-for-Deductions

Yep. Someone brought up the IRS Hobby thing, so if you want to go with that, then fine by me. The IRS wants that tax money!Back in the "needing to be an amateur" days for the Olympics, you couldn't make any money and compete in them or otherwise you were a "professional". NCAA rules are similar.From Merriam Webster:Professional = "participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs"The "for gain" part doesn't say how little the gain can be.Again, technically I say ANY made money makes you a "professional", but if you describe yourself as that to people, it is assumed (the fault of the one doing the assuming) that you do it for a living, so I wouldn't do that and haven't done that.I've made WAY more money as a musician than as a runner, and even there, I wouldn't ever call myself a professional musician, even though I've paid lots of taxes on that money, and technically I AM a professional musician; people just equate that to meaning that you do it for a living, so I don't ever in conversation describe myself that way.

Telling it like it is wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

I have. I won enough in one month once to pay my rent for that month.

Technically speaking, as far as I'm concerned, if you make money doing any kind of activity, then you are a "professional". ...

Lol, by this definition do you have an estimate of how many professional gamblers there are in this country?

chappy wrote:

If so, do you consider yourself or have you claimed to be a "professional runner," in a vague way, for any purpose (coaching, bragging, resume, etc.)?

.

Yes, the most for a single race was $100. One year long ago, I even counted it on my taxes when it was more than a hundred in a year. I did not consider myself a pro.

The past couple years, since I've abandoned 100 mile weeks for less mileage and more workouts, I've raked in $2,000-$3,000 a year in cash alone, with a high of $3,750 in 2012. I've probably also gotten about that value in goods, gift certificates, food and three big-@ss diamonds from a race in PA. The diamonds alone are probably $1,000+. I have paperwork for them from the jeweler (clarity, cut, etc), but haven't gotten them appraised, as I have no intention of selling them. Being a girl, it is easier to pick money races, but I also risk running into the problem of picking a race with a single massive payout, only to show up race day and compete with a bunch of Kenyans out of DC who had the exact same plan as me.

I would consider myself a professional since I actually net a profit from racing when my racing expenses are deducted.

I once won $100 for 3rd overall in a local 5K. My time was about 17:20, and the guy who outkicked me for 2nd was a masters runner. I'm a guy, and was in my 20's at the time. I realize that for the purpose of NCAA eligibility and such, that makes me a "professional," but I wasn't even fast enough to run on the team at my school (as evidenced by the 17:20 5K) and I do not consider myself a professional runner in any sense of the term other than the meaningless (for a guy running 17+ minute 5Ks) NCAA eligibility sense.

I have won Pizza and Beer.

I've won several thousand over the course of a couple of years. Mostly in $100-$150 small races, with a couple of $500 paydays.

I guess I would SORT of call that a semi-professional, but really it just funds the trainers you go through to put in the mileage it takes to be competitive at the local level.

I've won a ton of money "racing". Being a native of the Louisville area, I visit Churchill Downs on a regular basis. Best day ever, Kentucky Derby 2009. Picked the winner of races 3-9, it was ridiculous. Bought a lot of drinks that day. Only race I missed was the Derby, but nobody had Mine That Bird. That horse never won again.

My career earnings (!) stand at $300. If you count comp'd races (I don't) then it would be more like about $900. Yep, I is PRO-fessional.

Won a case of Leinenkugel at a race in Michigan once. It was better than money.

My total cash winnings are less than $300 life-time.

I've won a carpet, tools, all kinds of odd things. I love the small-town festival races just to visit and have fun.

Gave away 10 free movie passes because we were from out-of-town and couldn't use them.

Also, won 10 free rounds of golf and a lesson that I gave away. I wouldn't waste a club pro's time on my awful game.

$150 in one race. Only cash prize I've ever received. For second place too...