I'm not being elitist, but I HAVE slow runners.

this thread used to be funny

what happened!?!?

:'(

so are they like for sale? you have slow runners for sale? craigslist, perhaps, may be a more appropriate avenue for your bottom line

It took awhile before I finally decided to take a look at this thread. I honestly thought that it was posted by a coach lamenting the lack of talent on his team.

Dude, same here! But then it would have made more sense for the title to have been "I have SLOW runners" or some deviation of the spelling of "slow."

If you were "man enough" to post under your real name, then no one would be pretending to be you...

I suppose bikeman is your real name?

Sorry, late night post. I'll work on my stand-up routine.

I find it annoying when I see people walk a 5k in 50 minutes or more. They had no intention of running. Everyone has to stand around and wait for them, roads have to remain closed, water stations open, results delayed, etc. The longer the race, the worse it gets. Unfortunately, you can not prevent people from entering an open race. One way to discourage them is to clearly state that it is a running race, not a participation walk, and all timing and race support will stop at a certain point, say 36 minutes for a 5k. Then clearly state when the awards would be handed out, making it difficult for walkers to attend. Perhaps this would encourage them to take their leisurely walk on their own time.

Of course, if some 80 year old is out there, and clearly trying, you would give him or her the and a finishing time. Those people are typically not the problem.

So, Mr. Annoyed, I do not think you're an elitist. You are just frustrated with people who enter and participate in an event that they have no business doing.

To dpmrunner: Your message was well stated. You are not one that annoys Mr. Annoyed because you obviously train, strive for personal improvement, set goals, and run the entire race, and have race etiquette. I believe Mr. Annoyed is irritated at the people that basically do not train, yet enter races anyway. They are the problem.

quote]

"I'm not a fast runner, and I have to agree that people should line up appropriately for the safety reasons mentioned--especially young kids. Standing near the front with five-minute milers and an anticipated pace of maybe 8-9 mpm feels to me somehow suicidal. Also, the temptation in lining up with much faster people is to go out too fast and burn out.

Since I don't expect to be the overall winner, I think it's fair to yield the front of the line to those who have a shot at winning or placing near the top.

And to be honest, I'm not racing those runners. I'm racing my midpack peers. I'm pushing to stay with the person who is maybe 10-15 seconds per mile faster--that's the person who will stretch me and motivate me to push harder. The slightly faster person and I might not even have a chance at age group hardware. But we might have a chance to find a little more in ourselves and thereby become better runners.

I don't like to navigate around the folks walking with strollers either, and although I usually line up about in the middle of the pack, I still find myself having to do so at times. Why does it happen? Often it's due to people who are newcomers to races, unfamiliar with race etiquette. Race directors often announce before the start that the front of the line should be reserved for those planning to run 5 min. miles or so. But there will always be people with no clue what that means. Of course, you always get those who feel their race entry fee entitles them to equal footing on the starting line, not thinking that it's like the driver who goes 50 mph wanting to stay in the passing lane with people driving 65.

Liberal Democrat that I am, I still think that in a race, you have to respect traffic flow and yield to the faster moving runners.

People have different gifts and abilities. Not everyone has speed. Not everyone can play the violin well. Not everyone can write a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. People who assume that they are equal in status to the fastest of the runners in a race are being greedy or have envy issues. Well, okay, I'll admit, I look on fast runners and think "wish I could run that fast!" but while I might feel a satisfaction and pride in achieving a time that's good for me, I'm not harboring any illusions that this makes me equal to the person at the front. I enjoy my modest successes knowing they are modest.

Mostly, I simply enjoy running and racing--and the benefits to my health and well being in having some kind of goal to help focus my training. Awards can gather dust. Recognition is temporary and often scarcely lasts until the next race. But keeping at the game because you love it, regardless of whether people admire or scorn you--that lasts as long as you're willing to make it last. I feel sorry for people who consider exercise to be a "necessary evil," something that they approach grudgingly or dismissively. Not everyone is an Olympian. But we can all chase that faster self we want to become, whether the "faster self" runs 8 minute miles or 5 minute miles or 4:30 or less.

I don't have or hate slower runners than I am. I know of runners who now regularly finish behind me but who, when they were younger, had me for lunch in races. They stay in the game and I admire their endurance."

Very well stated. I'm usually in the top 10 at most of the smaller local races, in this particular 5K I finished 30th and lined up probably in the second row. I have no illusions that I'm going to run with a 14:45 guy, so why do 10 minute milers feel the need to corwd the start as well?

I do think you are correct that some of the newcomers are to blame, hopefully they learn and line up appropriately in the future. What gets me is the argument that "they paid their entry fee and can line up wherever they want." No, they can't, or at least shouldn't. Respect the race and the sport.

I think all races should have qualifying times like the Boston Marathon.

Out.

[K]ilgore wrote:

I think all races should have qualifying times like the Boston Marathon.

Out.

If you think this through at all, you'll see the obvious flaw in your logic.

I think some people aren't really following what I was getting at originally. A few things:

1. The spelling mistake was unintentional. I was tired.

2. I am most definitely not a troll.

3. I really, really care about running, but as a SPORT, not as some kind of charity circus. I mean, how can you possibly argue against people raising money for good causes? But it's destroying the sport from within. As several posters have mentioned, no longer are people trying to improve, they just think that finishing is an accomplishment.

Of course I don't want to sweep the course of all the slow runners. We all have different abilities. If someone improves from 20 mins to 17 mins, that is something to be applauded. Everyone should be aiming to perform the best they can. Even if their training opportunities are limited, surely EVERYONE who is fit and well and under the age of 70 can run under 10 minute miling, if not considerably faster. We have begun to accept some really mediocre standards in the middle / back of the pack.

4. I never got fat. I ate well. I exercised. Where's my prize? We celebrate the overweight man getting off his couch and shuffling a 5k. Why? He shouldn't have stuffed his face in the first place. You can call me a liar, but if I woke up tomorrow and I was 200 pounds, I would damn well get rid of the weight and get myself fit before I attempted to 'race'. And if I took up a completely new sport tomorrow, again I would make sure I was at least competent before entering a competition. Alas, in running it seems, anything goes...

PRs please

What on earth do my PRs have to do with what I just posted? I'm not elite, not crap. Experienced enough to have an opinion.

I have ethnic minorities, but I dont go around complaining about them all the time.

I have broccoli.

First off, thanks for your comments, Roger That and Birdlegs... and come to think of it, yours too, srsly?

Still Annoyed, but Mellowing... glad you're mellowing! (Nothing like a microbrew to take off the edge....)

Some things likely won't disappear: people running races with strollers, dogs, iPods, and sometimes all of these simultaneously (scary, I know!) or people standing right on the starting line in full sweats with fanny packs.... But maybe there can be ways to encourage the more serious runners regardless of speed.

I don't agree with the above poster about *all* races having qualifying times. But I can also see where some kind of incentive system could be set up that would motivate people to aim higher.

I don't know... maybe a rating system such as chess has, something that scores yearly or lifetime racing and gives you, maybe an average age grade.... a series of qualifying races in different cities, at different distances, with a variety of qualifying standards, some harder than others, and of course many remaining open to all (people do have to have a chance to qualify, right?).

Just a few thoughts... shoot them down or try them out as warranted. Good running to all!

I think he meant "I have a slew of runners." As in he has a lot of runners. Perhaps a college coach with too much talent on the team? Does Vin post on letsrun?