Worst you've ever died in a race

Raced a 5k with the flu. First mile I think was sub 5:20, finish time was over 19:20.

I was really out of it so I don't remember the exact splits but I'd guess they were probably 5:18ish, 6:00, and over 8:00 for the last 1.1 miles.

These don’t seem that bad in comparison but in 800 60-72 and 1600 65-74-79-67

2:21-2:40 in a HS 1600 was painful enough

I ran 26:50 at the terre haute 8k course. I was a 24:0x guy normally. Another race I was contemplating stepping on a pinecone to break my foot. I didn’t run as bad that day though. I think the final 5k I got passed by 200 runners and passed 0.

i went 1:00 flat then 1:24 in my first track race ever

Amaro11 wrote:

What's the worst you've ever died in a race?

Nothing crazy but I was a 5:30ish HS miler. I went out once in 2:10 and finished 6:20. I was praying for death throughout the last 400m.

Anyone else just completely die during a race?

i ran about 18 miles on pace for 3:20. ended up finishing just under 4 hours.

Indoor 4x4 anchor leg. Went out in some insane time, would have been my PB. Took us from last to first.

Was ok to 300, and then...

I once ran 24 miles at sub 2hr marathon pace, then passed out and cant remember the last two miles

Ran a seven-mile race eight days after the national-championship marathon.

Mile Six *had* to have been eight minutes. Or slower?

Had a great kick over the last ~300m, but barely edged guys whom I probably should have beaten by three minutes.

BTW if you can find the video of Jim Ryun's sub-four in HS competition, look at the second- and third-placers on the last lap. Brutal.

1:20 first half of the marathon.

1:40 second half.

It was a hilly course, definitely should've taken the first half much easier than I did.

Was a 2:06 800m guy at the time.

Went out in 26. Would have died worse but I slowed down purposefully (looking back I wish I would have just went with it lol).

Ran 2:11 I think. Last 200m was something like 41

In HS a guy on our team was about a 2:07 800m runner. It was over 100 degrees. He went out in 50 flat, collapsed on the backstretch and had to be rushed to the hospital for heatstroke. He almost literally died.

Amaro11 wrote:

What's the worst you've ever died in a race?

Nothing crazy but I was a 5:30ish HS miler. I went out once in 2:10 and finished 6:20. I was praying for death throughout the last 400m.

Anyone else just completely die during a race?

My first official one mile race. First 440 yards, 63 seconds, finished 5:4x. I was low 2:2x through half mile.

Boston. All my training suggested sub-2:40. I went through the half in 1:18 thinking I could run 1:20 the second half and be fine. Felt great through 16, then started feeling some soreness. Powered through it with only a slight decline in pace through mile 22, and then everything completely and suddenly fell apart at mile 23 and I went from consistent 6:00 miles to 8:30s the last 4 miles. I was basically walking, but it felt like 30 minutes of the last 300m of a 800m race, while your legs are being dipped in acid. I threw up at the finish line and couldn't take down any food or drink. The officials told me to keep moving. 30 mins or so later my girlfriend found me collapsed somewhere on Stuart St, writhing in pain with both calves and quads spasming uncontrollably / charlie horsing.

probably a thousand of these wrote:

Boston. All my training suggested sub-2:40. I went through the half in 1:18 thinking I could run 1:20 the second half and be fine. Felt great through 16, then started feeling some soreness. Powered through it with only a slight decline in pace through mile 22, and then everything completely and suddenly fell apart at mile 23 and I went from consistent 6:00 miles to 8:30s the last 4 miles. I was basically walking, but it felt like 30 minutes of the last 300m of a 800m race, while your legs are being dipped in acid. I threw up at the finish line and couldn't take down any food or drink. The officials told me to keep moving. 30 mins or so later my girlfriend found me collapsed somewhere on Stuart St, writhing in pain with both calves and quads spasming uncontrollably / charlie horsing.

Brutal!

Some of the worst deaths I've ever seen were by a couple of my high school teammates in the 800. One guy ran 2:20 opening in 62. The other ran 2:08 opening in 57.

One of my other teammates ran a 4:29 1600 with splits of 60, 65, 65, 79. He looked like he was walking down the homestretch.

The hardest I ever died was in a frosh/soph 1600. I went through 1200 in 3:30 and closed in 84, blowing an almost 100m lead in the process.

Prefontaine in the 1972 5000m final. Also when he was driving drunk that night. Died pretty bad both times.

Had been running relatively well and received comped entry and a free hotel stay for a fairly competitive regional race, not because I was great but because the race director was supportive of local up-and-comers, and I was friends with some considerably faster guys who vouched for me.

Wound up staying up all night two nights before the race trying to lay a girl I’d hooked up with a few times before. She had a boyfriend who I was acquainted and friendly with at the time. Finally happened at around 7 a.m. Went out for a couple miles shortly after that and then tried to nap before getting picked up to make the trip to the race location, but without success. Watched K.B. win the 10k at Pre in what was supposedly the Ethiopian trials, and managed to get a few hours’ sleep.

Race morning I had bowel trouble. Wound up racing from the Porto-Johns to the start line (difficult considering I was maneuvering around thousands of people packed onto a bridge) and didn’t make it to the front quite in time. Ran ~goal pace for 3 miles and was moving up close to where I “should have been” when the effects of not sleeping 2 nights before hit hard and I slowed steadily to a minute/mile slower than I’d run for a slightly longer distance a few weeks prior. Point-to-point course, or I may not have finished.

Seldom think of that one sexual encounter—often reminisce on my best races. If I had it to do-over, I’d have gone to bed early, alone.