I never worked in a coal mine but grew up in a place where loads of people did. It seemed a pretty miserable way to make a living and a lot of them were barely able to breathe by their 50s or 60s thanks to black lung disease. And cave ins and explosions were perhaps not common but they weren't all that uncommon either. Being buried alive seems an awful way to die. I only hope the blast killed them and they went quickly.
It's much harder for today's runners to think about racing, I believe, because of the size of today's fields. I had good years when I might place in the top five or ten in a race with a few hundred people and even managed a small number of wins. That mattered to me.
But finishing, say 2,677th in a field of 8,000 doesn't seem to mean as much. I think that explains the focus on times rather than places. I remember there was a thread here a few years back from someone wondering if he should run Boston because the forecast was for a warm day and he didn't think he had a chance at a PR. I suggeste setting a goal of beating a certain percentage of the field as everyone else would also haveto deal with the poor conditions. I can't recall hs exact reply but it was pretty clear thathe didn't think much of the idea.