Agree with this. Additionally, it seems so silly that in college, many people think you're a better person/human being if you make nationals or are all conference verse being 30 seconds slower in the 5k. Your self worth is partially based on how fast you run.
It's silly. That's not to say running doesn't create discipline, teach you to go for a long run even if you don't feel like it because you had a bad race the day before (fail and get up and keep going), and learn to be a good team mate. You don't see race on a team. You see teammates. There's value.
But some of it is silly and taking it less seriously would probably benefit many.