You will never become a top class sprinter. You should try long distance instead. I stuck with it, however as I loved sprinting and detested long distance. I never became a top class sprinter, but I was and am content. with trying.
I was running a Half Marathon a few years back and with just under 2 miles to go I approached an intersection where some local cops were doing traffic control duties for the race. They all went from polite clapping to huge cheers for me which was confusing until I heard one say, "way to do it for the big guys!" I am definitely on the larger side for a runner (6'1" mid 180s with a bit of muscle on my upper body). I was having a pretty rough race but they made me laugh a little bit and I was able to close decently from there on in.
I also had a girl tell me that I looked like a basketball player not a runner just before the start of my league championship 3200 junior year of HS. I won the race and ended up dating that girl for 2 years.
Being complimented for being gritty, hardworking, getting the most out of limited potential, competing with "better" guys because you "put in the work," which all can be a compliment but also feels like you're being called a donkey with limited-upside (forget about being a thoroughbred).
I had a guy at our track club (who had a 5K PR of 21:40) tell me that I was running well but I wasn't as talented as the other guys (one of which ran at the University of Dayton, I think, and he often led the workouts) and I was kind of insulted by that. At the time, I had only been seriously training for 18 months, while this guy had 10 years of competitive running under his belt.
To me, it felt like he was saying that no matter how hard I worked I'd never beat that guy from Dayton.
8 months later I beat the guy from Dayton in a marathon (he ran 3:07, I ran 3:01). I went to the 21:40 5K guy right away to inform him that I beat Mr. Dayton in the marathon to which he got quiet and said "Good job".
This reminded me of one I got working an office job just a few years removed from college. I'm talking to a new guy and we're just doing regular "get to know you" small talk when I mention I ran cross country and he goes "YOU ran cross country?" I had definitely gotten a little softer around the center but I wasn't even that far removed from running in college! Dude was a nice guy and obviously didn't mean anything by it but his genuine surprise was a real blow to the ego!
Ive definitely been used as an example by coaches in the sense that: "if you trained as hard as he did youd be a state champion", while i was clinging onto varsity for dear life lol
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At a public gym. Personal trainer next to me had a very huge client.
Was doing a threshold session, the trainer said something along the lines of 'sprinting on the treadmill is pointless, it's just good for the ego.' to her client, whilst looking at me.
Was in the middle of a 5 x 6 mins @ HMP, never felt so insulted.
I would take this as an (unintentional) complement. Your half marathon pace looks fast enough that normies think you are sprinting.
A runner went to a marathon with some friends/training partners with the intent of finally achieving an elusive goal of breaking 3 hours flat for the very first time.
After the 25 mile mark, he knew he was going to be close to finishing near 3 flat, but was too tired and fatigued to figure out how close. He just knew he had to run as hard as possible to the end.
With perhaps a quarter mile to go, he sees his friends/training partners next to the road excitedly screaming, cheering, and clapping. They were all faster and more experienced than he was. They had advised and helped him train and he trusted and respected their wisdom and guidance. They had all finished well before him and he was pumped that they came back out on the course to help him.
They were going nuts yelling things like 'You're going to do it!", "Push and you got this!", "Sprint now to make sure!", "Great race, finish strong!". He just knew based on their demeanor that he was going to break 3. A surge of adrenaline. belief and confidence allowed him to surge and increase his pace further, despite the effort.
Then he heard "Go! You can do it! You can break 3:01!"
The words deflated all momentum and hope he had. He wondered why they said that. Was it true? Were they insulting him and mocking his effort? Were they just trying to be positive and help?
He continued to run toward the finish, but without urgency. Then he finally saw the finish line clock. It read 3:00:4 something and was ticking.
He was pissed off and angry as he crossed the line in 3:01:08 'Damn them, they know running and they know me' he thought.
Not ability exactly but my HS coach used to constantly insult our work ethic. He seemed to think it was motivating but it was just frustrating. Especially when I was 14 and got a stress fracture because he had me on way higher mileage than I should’ve been running in 9th grade. I was super dedicated and he treated me like a quitter. Crazy thing is we were in the smallest division in a medium sized state with a lot of talented guys and a decent program (if you could handle the miles) so he ended up winning multiple team state titles and was lauded. How did I respond? I didn’t know any better and wanted the camaraderie with my friends so I just had an off and on mediocre high school running career. Like 4:58 in 9th grade/4:56 in 12th grade mediocre. Doesn’t affect my life now and I’m back to loving running but I roll my eyes if I ever hear people talking about how good that coach was.
A local coach told my partner, not me, but not me, that I run "funny." I did ask my partner how he replied, and he said everyone has their own style, haha
This post was edited 6 minutes after it was posted.
A man said I "ran like a spaz". I am not disabled in anyway but apparently have an unusual gait.
Anyway, justice was eventually done as I had him sacked for using discriminatory language. The look on his face when he was escorted from the building was truly a delight.