Is it lame to kick hard for the last .1 mile of a 5K if you are in 20th place?

Run every race like it is your last race.

She Works Out Too Much wrote:

I'd say it is. Especially if you are not going to PR and you are not fighting for the top 3 overall spots.

Happened to me last weekend as I was absolutely tanking my race and some dude wanted to sprint for the finish. We were in a larger race and we were about 2 minutes behind the overall winner anyways. I just let him go because it wasn't worth the effort to kick to cut 3-5 seconds off my time.

I think it would depend on the race?? I was sitting in 15th place in my state meet in high school and got passed by at least 15 people in the last half mile and with a quarter or less to go, I passed them all back except for 1 person. Was the difference between getting all state and not getting it. Are you racing for time or place? Have to ask yourself that question

To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift. - Steve Prefontaine (maybe)

If you are out to race, never feel shame about a kick. There will come a time when your PR days or Top 3 days are long past, you never know when the next race is going to be your last fast race.

If you are treating a race as a tempo/training run, kicking is not necessary.

I like to surge the last half mile or so and see who I can suck into a faster pace. If someone keeps pace, I dial up and up and up until I'm close to 100%. If they are still with me, I let off at the end and let them pass hoping I got them a new PR or pushed them to a pace they've never run before.

Well, this was a local race...definitely not something important like the state meet. I was racing for time, but after a crappy second mile I knew I was not having the best race day.

what's lame is poorly doling out your effort so that you have a thunderous kick left. that's a lack of proper pacing. finshing should feel like a kick but you don't go any faster because you used it all up already. that's the perfect race.

It’s a race - you should be trying to beat people.

She Works Out Too Much wrote:

I'd say it is. Especially if you are not going to PR and you are not fighting for the top 3 overall spots.

Happened to me last weekend as I was absolutely tanking my race and some dude wanted to sprint for the finish. We were in a larger race and we were about 2 minutes behind the overall winner anyways. I just let him go because it wasn't worth the effort to kick to cut 3-5 seconds off my time.

Why would kicking for Top 3 be ok but kicking for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 37 not be ok? They are all just arbitrary numbers. You either win, or you don't, right?

the real lame wrote:

what's lame is poorly doling out your effort so that you have a thunderous kick left. that's a lack of proper pacing. finshing should feel like a kick but you don't go any faster because you used it all up already. that's the perfect race.

^this.

On the other hand, doling out a monstrous kick in an easy-paced social club run? That's lame.

She Works Out Too Much wrote:

I'd say it is. Especially if you are not going to PR and you are not fighting for the top 3 overall spots.

Happened to me last weekend as I was absolutely tanking my race and some dude wanted to sprint for the finish. We were in a larger race and we were about 2 minutes behind the overall winner anyways. I just let him go because it wasn't worth the effort to kick to cut 3-5 seconds off my time.

Basically you pansied out at the end of a race and instead of owning up to it you try to make yourself feel better by coming on a message board and demeaning the guy who actually dug in and pushed himself when it hurt. Okay.

the real lame wrote:

what's lame is poorly doling out your effort so that you have a thunderous kick left. that's a lack of proper pacing. finshing should feel like a kick but you don't go any faster because you used it all up already. that's the perfect race.

This. If you have enough gas left in the tank to kick, why didn't you use that energy to stay in contact with the leaders in the first place?

kartelite wrote:

She Works Out Too Much wrote:

I'd say it is. Especially if you are not going to PR and you are not fighting for the top 3 overall spots.

Happened to me last weekend as I was absolutely tanking my race and some dude wanted to sprint for the finish. We were in a larger race and we were about 2 minutes behind the overall winner anyways. I just let him go because it wasn't worth the effort to kick to cut 3-5 seconds off my time.

Basically you pansied out at the end of a race and instead of owning up to it you try to make yourself feel better by coming on a message board and demeaning the guy who actually dug in and pushed himself when it hurt. Okay.

Agreed.

J walter wrote:

kartelite wrote:

Basically you pansied out at the end of a race and instead of owning up to it you try to make yourself feel better by coming on a message board and demeaning the guy who actually dug in and pushed himself when it hurt. Okay.

Agreed.

Agreed as well. You got smoked - poor effort, poor attitude, poor pacing, poor everything.

I always ran every race like I was racing against myself. It always hurt. I knew if I backed off, even for a few seconds, I hadn't run my best. I lost the challenge.

But I always paced myself for the best possible time. Even pace. The first few miles of a 10K felt easy, but the last two hurt like hell just to maintain an even pace and my best possible time. I knew that trying to steal any time up front would lead to a slower finish. Never give an inch and you'll never regret it.

macdaddy wrote:

J walter wrote:

Agreed.

Agreed as well. You got smoked - poor effort, poor attitude, poor pacing, poor everything.

Disagree. What's the point? Nothing lamer than two older guys way out of contention for the top spot sprinting for some meaningless place in the race. OP knew it was going bad and just finished it and didn't want to engage some douchebag in lame 50 meter sprint at a local podunk race.

Somehow Rupp quitting Boston because the conditions or his pace or whatever weren't to his liking is generally acceptable, but the OP's stance with a lot less on the line is somehow not?

What's the point? The point is that it is a race. In races, you are trying to beat other people.

j walter wrote:

What's the point? The point is that it is a race. In races, you are trying to beat other people.

If you were trying to beat other people, you wouldn't have let the lead pack run away from you while saving something for the kick.

why save it for a kick? wrote:

j walter wrote:

What's the point? The point is that it is a race. In races, you are trying to beat other people.

If you were trying to beat other people, you wouldn't have let the lead pack run away from you while saving something for the kick.

You may want to re-read. I didn't say anything about saving for a kick.

She Works Out Too Much wrote:

I'd say it is. Especially if you are not going to PR and you are not fighting for the top 3 overall spots.

Happened to me last weekend as I was absolutely tanking my race and some dude wanted to sprint for the finish. We were in a larger race and we were about 2 minutes behind the overall winner anyways. I just let him go because it wasn't worth the effort to kick to cut 3-5 seconds off my time.

How do you know it wasn't about to be her seasons PR?

She Works Out Too Much wrote:

I'd say it is. Especially if you are not going to PR and you are not fighting for the top 3 overall spots.

Happened to me last weekend as I was absolutely tanking my race and some dude wanted to sprint for the finish. We were in a larger race and we were about 2 minutes behind the overall winner anyways. I just let him go because it wasn't worth the effort to kick to cut 3-5 seconds off my time.

I say it is fine.

Your post is an example of the BS elitism shown way too often on the boards. (RANT COMING)

If the only people who are supposed to race hard are the people running for top 3 overall, then maybe 10 people should be entering any race.

Maybe the person sprinting past you was trying to set a PR. Maybe that person was aiming for a top 3 in his age category and was not sure if you were in his age group or not. Or the other people.

Maybe that person wants to perform the best he can in each race whereas you are okay with jogging in.

19th place is better than 20th place.