Someone recently asked me how many races I've won. "It depends on what you mean by won", was my reply.
There are several racing situations that someone may consider a win, and others wouldn't. I just wanted to take an informal poll of the runners here and see what other people consider a win.
Here are several situations where some people would call it a win and others wouldn't.
1) When I was in high school, they would often combine the varsity and frosh soph 2 mile (they were scored separately though). If you win the f/s division, but get beat by a varsity runner, were you the winner?
2) You win the B (slow) heat in a track meet. Is it a win?
3) You are the first woman in a road race, but are beat by a few men, is it a win? (How about vise versa?)
4) In a college dual meet, they allow alumni to run in a race, even though they can't score for the meet. If you take second to one, but still get first place points, is it a win?
5) In a handicapped race, you start last, and pass most of the field but finish second (and record the fastest time). Is it a win?
6) In a chip timed race, you're in the port-a-john when the gun goes off. You start 2 minutes late, but manage to pass everyone except the winner who finishes 1 minute ahead of you. You had the fastest time, are you the winner?
7) You win your age group in a race (but get beat by runners in other age divisiions, either older or younger). Is it a win?