Another example of being made to feel bad for hard work.

To clarify, I ran 15:00 so will start last

This sounds very tragic indeed. First world is tough.

Really?

Someone with a 30 minute PB could easily shave a full minute off that to win. You can't. This is to create excitement for new runners who will set new bests as they feel faster runners pursuing them. If you can't understand it and enjoy it, that's your problem.

Why don't you run a serious indoor meet instead of this lame race. You don't need to go to Boston to run sub 15. Unless you live in southern FL, HI, CA there is an opportunity to break 15. It sounds like you've outgrown this club anyways.

🎵In the arms of the angels…

Hi. I’m Sarah Mc Lachlan. Every day, dozens of sub-elite hobby joggers are denied a perfect season by running clubs that try to make running fun for everyone. This cruelty hurts the frail egos of young men seeking validation for participating in a niche sport. The pain that they suffer for not braking every tape is unspeakable. Imagine having no girlfriend, few friends, and co-workers praising power walkers while you toil in extreme conditions only to be neglected. It’s tragic and it doesn’t need to happen. For only 59 cents a day, you can help semi-talented runners feel good about themselves by donating to the American Society for the Promotion of Fast Club Runners. Join the ASPFCR today and we’ll send you this tech tee plus a picture of a slightly built man winning a local Turkey Trot. Your gift will help these athletes find the recognition they seek and the validation that they so desperately need.

🎵…may you find some comfort here.

Huh? Somebody is holding an event and they laid out the rules. Nobody is making you go out to dinner tonight. Nobody is making you attend a concert. Nobody is making you attend an NFL game. Nobody is making you attend this race.

Early candidate for 2024 Post of The Year!

The answer is yes

EOT

It's a handicap race. Those were really common before the early 70s but pretty much vanished after that. I imagine it was because the size of race fields got much bigger and it became too difficult to figure out how much of a handicap everyone got. The idea was to give people who would never have a chance to win or place well in a normal race the experience of doing so.

Some of us liked them. Others did not. I wasn't keen on them partly because there were people who deliberately ran much slower in normal races than they could have so they could get a bigger handicap. I did not do that so I usually finished farther back than I did in a normal race. And for me the idea of winning a race because I started before guys who would likely have beaten me started later didn't seem like a real win or high place.

As I recall, there were often two "winners" declared, one being the overall first finisher and the other was whoever had the fastest time "from scratch." So you could run and count your win streak as staying alive if you have the fastest overall time. And every now and again in the old days a "scratch" runner would haul everyone in and finish first. You could take a shot at doing that. Or you could decide that this sort of race does not appeal to you and just not run it.

That's Great! Thanks for Posting!

It's good to have some handicapped races like the Dipsea because it is a wild card. You never know if the 8 year old girl is going to beat the 85 year old woman or the 23 year old man at the end. To make 10% or fewer of races like this (in your club competition) doesn't exactly prevent you from breaking the tape in any of the others. In fact, probably much fewer than 1% of all races out there are like this.

Haha! Plot thickens. The woman who I know will win has just done a couch to 5k. She's well overweight lol.

All the pathetic fat body enablers are saying She's a "best improver" or something equally laughable.

She ran 30 minutes last week at conversation pace, so will probably run 29 minutes odd I reckon. That means I have to run 14 flat to win. Impossible.

I've messaged her as she's a a Facebook friend asking about something irrelevant(she is fb friends with everyone in the world). She's really nervous about tomorrow's race.

Because I can run 15 she looks at me as a running oracle.

She's never run over 5km. But I've insisted she needs a race effort 2/3 mile warm up to avoid injury. I will tell people I meant me not her. Meaning she will have to do 5/6 miles, She's never done over 3 lolol.

Also said its best to "bank time" by going out quick. She's going to blow up and I'll eliminate her easily lol.

You would be lapped in a Diamond League race and annoy people trying for a good time. STFU, you are about as much of a hobby jogger as she is.

Too much too soon bro.

Was kinda believable with the OP, but this is going too far.

Agreed, too obvious, though the second post is still pretty funny, I laughed at the creative bad advice he was giving the newbie runner. OP, the best trolls drop all their best details in the first post and then stand to one side and watch the results. Coming back and trying to keep it going never works. If your troll post was good enough, people will keep it going on their own with advice, arguments, speculation, etc.

It's a handicap race...so the point is exactly how the race is laid out. Everyone could finish at exactly the same time if all goes perfectly, which is part of the fun. It's not unfair, it's just for fun. Handicap races are common running club activities.

I'm sorry you feel that way. Competing and winning (or losing) has always been fun for me.

That is exactly the point of the race, and that being the case, the OP should understand that the handicapped (slower) runners have the OPs best interest in minds in challenging him to run their best, even if they are faster, as they have proven by their current record.

So, it's all good.

"Runners take your mark, get set, ..... "