Running 13 min mile...is it worth it to do a race?

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  • aurorapbloom
    aurorapbloom Posts: 3
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    It is absolutely worth it... I also am run a 13 minute mile and the rush you get crossing that finish line is absolutely worth it... I don't look at the clock... Is that finish line!!!! Go for it!!! :)
  • vickiem74
    vickiem74 Posts: 49 Member
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    I am about to do my 20th "race" and I have never once been competitive. i do it for the challenge, always trying to get a better time...and some of them have really cool shirts!

    I say go for it! :tongue:
  • hermann341
    hermann341 Posts: 443 Member
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    Finishing last is better than not finishing and way better than not even getting off the couch. Go for it!
  • scraver2003
    scraver2003 Posts: 528 Member
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    This thread is from 2011... I would be curious to hear if the OP ever ran the 5k?
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I raced horses competitively for endurance (50-100 miles in one day)

    their moto- is "to finish is to win"

    Many people have absolutely 0 interest in winning- they just like doing it- (it is fun) and it's a great time to spend with your horse.

    I view running the same way- just go do it. have fun- finish- enjoy the moment with people who struggled with you.
  • rabblerabble
    rabblerabble Posts: 471 Member
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    Better to be the last person across the finish line then to not run the race at all.
  • ThinkInOregon
    ThinkInOregon Posts: 283
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    We have a local fundraiser that is a 5K walk and a 10K run, usually the weekend before Mother's Day (it's this weekend btw.) I thought, great I will take Roxie my German Shepherd (this was 12 years ago.) She had been spayed about 10 days before, but healing nicely and the vet said it was completely reasonable and appropriate as long as we were walking. Roxie was a healthy fit female about 8 months old at the time. I was 34.

    She did fantastic for about the first 1.5 miles. It was unseasonably warm that day... and as soon as Roxie saw a yard that had a sprinkler, that was it. She wanted to walk over and lie down to cool off and I let her. So after a few minutes of rest, some water that I had packed along with her collapsible travel bowl... she was not moving any more. I ended up carrying her the last 1.5 miles, which was quite a workout!

    We crossed the finish line tied for last, with a woman who was likely 70. But she wasn't carrying a 60 lb dog!!! And we finished, and ultimately that is the goal.

    Endurance riders (long distance horse rides - usually 100 miles.) have a saying, "To finish is to win."
  • ThinkInOregon
    ThinkInOregon Posts: 283
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    I raced horses competitively for endurance (50-100 miles in one day)

    their moto- is "to finish is to win"

    Many people have absolutely 0 interest in winning- they just like doing it- (it is fun) and it's a great time to spend with your horse.

    I view running the same way- just go do it. have fun- finish- enjoy the moment with people who struggled with you.

    So funny, I just typed that too about the endurance rides. I did the P & R's several times for a ride my friend hosted, it was a grand time. I had great desires to ride one, just couldn't seem to make the time between full-time school, full-time work and being a single mother of 2.

    Was exceptionally impressed by the man who finished who did the ride bareback, in denim shorts and barefoot! Because you know they have to walk out the horses, jog them out for P&R's, vetting, etc!
  • heatheremde
    heatheremde Posts: 43 Member
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    DO IT! Seriously, it will change your life!!!!!
  • echofm1
    echofm1 Posts: 471 Member
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    I run really slowly. I am about 13 minutes mile and I would like to do a few 5k and half marathon. All that is great and dandy but is it worth it? I mean it I will be the last one to cross the finish line. I have feedback from when I was in school and always picked last in the team. Or when I tried to play badminton and people were laughing at me!!! Should I just wait until I am faster?

    I'm doing a 5K in June and I'm hoping to manage a 15 minute mile :laugh: You won't be the last to finish, and you don't need to wait. A lot of the 5Ks are to support a charity or to have a good time. It's more about the experience and less about the race, most of the time. There are definitely ones out there that are more about the race, but you also don't need to join those! :drinker:
  • heatheremde
    heatheremde Posts: 43 Member
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    Juuusssst realized this thread is over 3 years old *palmface* hopefully you are running marathons by now!!!!!!!
  • saulpavsr
    saulpavsr Posts: 1
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    Do it. I am willing to bet that once you do it you will have your PR.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
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    I raced horses competitively for endurance (50-100 miles in one day)

    their moto- is "to finish is to win"

    Many people have absolutely 0 interest in winning- they just like doing it- (it is fun) and it's a great time to spend with your horse.

    I view running the same way- just go do it. have fun- finish- enjoy the moment with people who struggled with you.

    So funny, I just typed that too about the endurance rides. I did the P & R's several times for a ride my friend hosted, it was a grand time. I had great desires to ride one, just couldn't seem to make the time between full-time school, full-time work and being a single mother of 2.

    Was exceptionally impressed by the man who finished who did the ride bareback, in denim shorts and barefoot! Because you know they have to walk out the horses, jog them out for P&R's, vetting, etc!

    old guy- scruffy- super short denim shorts?

    we had a guy like that- not sure if he was bareback or not- god I can't remember his name- i want to say it was like Dave or something.

    it's incredibly time consuming- and now that I live in NJ- there just isn't the place to do it- I switched to dressage- and then fell off the wagon- my poor horse is a pasture puff retired and fat and happy. I miss him- need to visit him more often. Makes me sad I"m not really "a horse person" any more even though I own one.
  • thavoice
    thavoice Posts: 1,326 Member
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    Love the HM!

    In many ways, I think the HM race is more fun and almost easier than a 5 or 10K.

    Sounds dumb, I know.
    I have done 20+ 5k's, and 4 HM's. 5k's you tend to go all out for much of the time and walk away dead tired. Every 5K I ran I was ready for a nap in a few hours.

    The HM is more of a steady, slower pace and each time I have done that I have been energized the rest of the day.
  • Suzmp85
    Suzmp85 Posts: 184 Member
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    I run 14-15 minutes usually...and I still run races so I would say go for it. Any pace is faster then those on the couch. :)
  • So_Much_Fab
    So_Much_Fab Posts: 1,146 Member
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    Is it worth it? Yes!

    Will you be the last to cross the finish line? No!
  • heatherutopia
    heatherutopia Posts: 78 Member
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    Woohoo! Slow runners unite! It's always worth it!
  • justal313
    justal313 Posts: 1,375 Member
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    My first race was a 10K, I ran it at a 12:51 pace. It was a crazy huge event over 6000 runners some of which ran the 5K at the same time. I had no real idea how to conduct myself at a race event and my longest unbroken run at that point was maybe 2 1/2 miles. I had a freaking blast and I became totally hooked on running and racing on that day.

    I never worry about winning races just to compare favorably to myself in prior efforts and even then when I can't post my best time for a given distance, I don't really care. I am going to run my first marathon in July. It's capped at 250 runners and looking at last year's times for the event I promise to probably come in the bottom half but I don't care because ZOMG!! I'M RUNNING A MARATHON!!! TAKE THAT FAT AL!!!

    For me racing is 95% completion and 5% competition and then I'm only competing with my less fit self (Fat Al).
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I run really slowly. I am about 13 minutes mile and I would like to do a few 5k and half marathon. All that is great and dandy but is it worth it? I mean it I will be the last one to cross the finish line. I have feedback from when I was in school and always picked last in the team. Or when I tried to play badminton and people were laughing at me!!! Should I just wait until I am faster?

    You won't be last with 13 minute miles. Far from it. There are lots of people who walk 5Ks and half marathons. I find that signing up for races keeps me motivated to continue training so I think you should do it. My first half I did an average pace of 13:05. I wasn't last though I think I was in the bottom 10%. I'm doing my second half this Sunday and hope to be under a 12 minute pace this time.
  • LaraeTX
    LaraeTX Posts: 672 Member
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    The person that started the post, deactivated their account

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