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

That's Great! Thanks for posting!

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.

Yup. Time was not needed at all for this story. Was thrown in as the crux of the humblebrag biscuit.

good try guy wrote:

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.

What about japan, where everyone runs, and they have the best running culture in the world?

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.

+1

Check it out man. If you're still rollin' when you hit 40, you can join the USATF and go to events and try to keep up with these guys. I'm sure they'll be glad to talk strategy and running, among other things.

USATF NATIONAL MASTERS MEN'S AGE GROUP: 50 - 54

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PLACE NAME AGE TIME RESIDENCE ST

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1 Kristian Blaich 50 15:49 Decatur GA

2 Carl Combs 51 15:55 Cheney WA

3 Nat Larson 54 15:57 Amherst MA

4 Robert Arsenault 50 16:08 Riverside CA

5 Michael Kent 51 16:23 Conklin Forks NY

6 Francis Burdett 51 16:37 Worcester MA

7 John Stadtlander 51 17:03 Clifton Park NY

8 Ron Lombardi 52 17:05 Southington CT

9 Ryan Mitchell 50 17:11 Troy NY

10 Michael Strickland 50 17:15 Marietta GA

11 Jeff Haertel 54 17:18 Atlanta GA

12 Alan Evans 53 17:18 Beaver Dams NY

13 Ruben Henderson, Jr. 54 17:20 Grand Rapids MI

14 Mike Nier 51 17:23 Rochester NY

15 Dale Flanders 51 17:37 Allegany NY

16 Jeffrey Brison 52 17:46 Schenectady NY

17 Dan Arsenault 53 17:53 Santa Ana CA

18 John Van Kerkhove 54 17:55 Rochester NY

19 Jorge Lopes 53 17:58 Linden NJ

USATF NATIONAL MASTERS MEN'S AGE GROUP: 55 - 59

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PLACE NAME AGE TIME RESIDENCE ST

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1 Dave Bussard 56 16:55 Elkhart IN

2 Kerry Barnett 56 16:56 Keego Harbor MI

3 Casey Carlstrom 57 16:59 Ithaca NY

4 Fred Zalokar 56 17:15 Reno NV

5 Gary Droze 55 17:16 Tallahassee FL

6 Matt Ebiner 55 17:19 Covina CA

7 Joseph Mora, III 55 17:21 Fayetteville NY

8 William Enicks, Iv 57 17:24 Signal Mountain TN

9 Charlie Andrews 59 17:31 Rochester NY

10 Derrick Staley 57 17:44 Ballston Lake NY

USATF NATIONAL MASTERS MEN'S AGE GROUP: 60 - 64

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PLACE NAME AGE TIME RESIDENCE ST

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1 Brian Pilcher 60 16:39 Ross CA

2 Tom Ryan 60 18:14 Johnson City NY

3 Kyle Hubbart 60 18:21 Broomfield CO

4 Brian Cummins 61 18:50 Cortland NY

5 Mark Rybinski 61 18:58 Manlius NY

6 John Holcomb 62 19:05 Pacific Palisades CA

USATF NATIONAL MASTERS MEN'S AGE GROUP: 65 - 69

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PLACE NAME AGE TIME RESIDENCE ST

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1 Tom Bernhard 65 17:32 Castro Valley CA

2 Peter Mullin 65 18:16 Houston TX

3 Doug Bell 65 18:31 Greeley CO

4 Kirk Larson 65 19:27 Atlanta GA

5 Bob Giambalvo 67 19:31 Delhi NY

USATF NATIONAL MASTERS MEN'S AGE GROUP: 70 - 74

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PLACE NAME AGE TIME RESIDENCE ST

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1 Gary Patton 70 20:03 Rock Rapids IA

2 Dave Glass 70 20:16 Glenville NY

3 Jim May 70 20:55 Williamson NY

You're still too close to the nerdy, self conscious HS and college runner mindset despite your age. Take a few, or maybe a lot, of years off from running. When you come back to it you might enjoy running for all the things you can't appreciate now. Getting outside, seeing a city or the countryside, staying fit and strong, going to sleep with that bone tired feeling that comes from pushing your limits, running balls to the wall just because you can. I'm decades past running anything impressive but probably enjoy running now more than I ever have. Gets me out of the house, in the fresh air, and gives me an excuse to have an extra helping or cocktail at dinner. Beats being a run down, fat, and sedentary slob like many guys my age.

Wow. All the guys from New York on this list should definitely try to start training together if they don't already. Insane. Where were these champs held? I'm guessing somewhere near NY?

When me and my friends were college level runners, and went to local races, you were not the guy we laughed at.

No, we laughed those who were slow, who had plain wives sitting at home getting fat, and who tried to chat to girls 10 or 15 years younger than themselves, thinking they could liven up their sad, averagely-boring lives with an affair with a younger woman (never happened), or at least by boring us into submission by their dull chat. Basically, the only acceptable wife/girlfriend (to us) is one who at least races to a reasonable level. Otherwise, better alone. Its really not guys like you we found laughable.

We just accepted guys like you. If there aren't guys like you, who exactly is going to be winning or even finishing in the top ten.

Who even cares about turning up to a race on your own or whether you're still racing at 34? Its not that old. Stop being so self conscious.

Similar feeling happened to me once. I was running a lot in my early 30s and at one of the races in cold December, I went to race a 5k by myself and pr'd. I felt empty and thought, what the hell am I doing? Then I quit running for couple of years. Then I started running again and same thing started happening but this time racing half marathons and marathons. But now, all I do is run to stay in shape and focus more on my family and career.

+1

I'm pushing 60, and can verify that I feel like "that guy" when I go to races alone and stand there by myself before and afterwards, or maybe striking up some inane conversation with a stranger that goes nowhere. I live near a park in an urban area and can also confirm that almost every male runner over 45 I see there looks like a fellow one of "those"--someone past his prime, without a life, trying to hang on to something that was gone a long time ago. And honestly, every old guy I see alone at a park, ballgame, movie, the beach, or other place of entertainment or leisure looks kind of creepy or sketchy, and gets treated as such, so I'm pretty sure I'm no different.

I realized I was one of those guys at 14. Ran my first 10k in 45 had to walk a few times. Right before the finish line I heaved all over the place. Took about 25 years off. I started running again last year did a blazing 31:30 5k which really pissed me off. Two months later got down to 26:10. I still do not understand the people that enter races to have a good time. They are races not social events.

I'm 37 and hear what your saying, I still show up to 4 or 5 road races every summer in my racing gear trying to run a 16:30 5k or break 28 for 5 miles or something like that. I show up by myself and rarely talk to anyone else except to tell someone "good race" maybe. I ran 15's and 25's back in college. There's worse hobbies to have, at least I stay in shape for winter skiing and I still weigh under 140 like back in college. I still think it's fun to try running "fast" against other runners and it encourages me to eat a little healthier and take better care of myself, If anyone else thinks i'm a dork they can go f#$k themselves. It's one of the few things in my sad life that gives me joy and makes me feel good.

I think this thread just improved my self awareness

I'm 44 with a 20:50 5k PR from last year and have been trying to break 20 for like 3 years. It's really sad. I usually find a friend to go to the 5k with but I'm faster than all my friends so I drop their a$$ right at the start heh

It's super important to me to race hard, possibly progress, and push myself to the limit--as sad as my speed happens to be.

I don't see this changing any time soon. I was a college swimmer but never amounted to much. That might be why I try hard now at running (and biking for straining), and I still swim but it's different now

Join a club and/or training group. It helps give perspective and value to shared obsession.

Cool old guys wrote:

USATF NATIONAL MASTERS MEN'S 5K

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Wow. All the guys from New York on this list should definitely try to start training together if they don't already. Insane. Where were these champs held? I'm guessing somewhere near NY?

I believe that was in Syracuse, NY.

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?

^This.

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.

When I was only in my late 40's, I did run a 3200 at the last minute at a summer all comers track meet. I only did it because I was there with my daughter who was running a 1600 in her first track meet and because there were older men running in the 3200. I was in the middle of the 3200 when I hear a woman screaming 6 feet from me "beat that old man". I look around and see her son behind me. He looked like a middle school runner and realized I was the "old man". That was the first time and only time someone called me an old man in front of me. The other disappointment is I looked behind me at the finish line to see all the runners I passed finish their races. I saw few. I thought either they or I miscounted laps. Then I realized that at least some of them dropped out of the race because they did not know how to pace a 3200m race.

I too run because I enjoy it and at times I need an safe, healthy outlet where running with pure hate comes in. So either I am running and getting out the frustration of issues at work or home or I am in a zone where my mind just wanders and is relaxed. I started counting calories and walking 2 to 4 miles a day about 5 years ago due to a BMI of 31, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. I was in my mid-40s at the time and saw how quickly some older relatives went from active and seemingly healthy to having trouble walking or doing anything physical. I saw myself heading there. I got down to my college weight (BMI of 23.7). I eventually started running and dropped running and cycling. I had not run for nearly 30 years. I stopped running after high school. Since I swithced to running I got down to my high school weight at times (BMI of 22.4). I have had three injuries since getting back to running that kept me from running for several months to about 6 months. I ran my first races over 10K last summer and even qualified for the Boston Marathon. After running Boston I suffered my latest injury. I am now just getting back to running. My newest challenge is not setting a new PB but just being able to run the Chicago marathon after 10 weeks where I could not run at all. I do enjoy running in races but am just grateful that I am able to run at all. I am also grateful that with the help of exercise I have been able to keep my weight down to healthy levels. I was also overweight in grade school until I started playing in sports in middle school. I may not be as fast as I was in high school but I have managed to put in more weekly mileage than I did in high school and have run much farther in training and races than I ever did in high school. I think the general population of the United States of which the majority is overweight think that anyone who runs is a little crazy. I thought those that run marathons were crazy. Now I am one and hope to do it again so soon after my 3rd serious injury. I did consider my obsession of running after my latest injury and have decided that I may have been putting too much time into it and not enough time with my family. I think I need to avoid looking for the next new race thrill or PB. I am not sure that I will return to Boston in 2018 even though I have a BQ time for it. I also think I should not pursue a bunch of other new marathons around the country. For now I have enough challenge just attempting to get ready in a short time for Chicago which is a relative easy drive for me. Chicago may be my only race this year other than maybe a 5K turkey trot with a friend at Thanksgiving.