Would you run a race knowing you would finish last?

EricNCSU

I didnt know I was going to finish last, but I ran a 10K with a friend who is slower than me, and I promised her I would stay with her the whole time. It was her first 10K. About halfway through, we realized we were the last two. We had the police motorcycle creeping along behind us as we plodded our way towards the finish.

When we got to the finish line, I stopped and let her go before me, and then I stepped across behind her. I've never been more proud to finish dead last. She was in such a daze at the finish she didn't even realize I had done it until I told her about it later.

Along the same lines as others have said.. as long as I finish, I don't care.

wftiger

Ha, funny I just had this conversation with my podmates at work today, only because the marathon in town is this weekend, not because I run...ever.

Nope I would not. But luckily they are nice and said they would run slower than me so I wouldn't finish last.

sherrillg

Absolutely! I ran a 20K (damn close to a half marathon!) on April 1st fully expecting to be the last man crossing. Guess what??? I was third from last...and by a good margin of time, I might add. Never been prouder!! heck I was thrilled to have finished it, the "not last" place was just icing! Go do it!!

Newf77

Yes for fun, no for competition.

mfpcopine

Probably not. I think that knowing I had no chance of achieving anything but last place would be demotivating. If I want to compete with myself I prefer to do it alone.

trail_rnr

DFL>DNF>DNS

:happy:

liog

Yes, as long as I was confident I would finish.

HMVOL7409

Yep. It is about doing it for myself. I have only done one race so far and yep...came in last in my age division and eighth to last overall. That was fine by me...I was told as a child that I would never be able to do any type of endurance activity. I was born with two holes in my heart (which were repaired....I have a huge scar down my chest) and pretty bad asthma. I proved all my doctors wrong and furthermore I proved to myself that I can persue my goals and dreams. Never let the fear of failure keep you from trying.

You are awesome. That is such an inspiration; way to go!

atsteele

Running was a lot more fun before I got competitive about it.

That's the truth!! I am still trying to keep it fun... but constantly focusing on pace, and improving pace, etc it sometimes feels like I'm draining all the fun out of my running!!

JBApplebee

Absolutely. I've never ran in my life, either recreational or competitive, until this year. Next month I'm going to run in my first ever race, a 10K. I'm not in it to win, I couldn't care less if I'm dead last, I'm just going to try & reach my goal of finishing it in less than 45 minutes.

julieh391

I'm not planning on doing my first 5K until October pretty much only because I don't want to be last. I'm giving myself months to get ready, build stamina, and then build a little speed, in the hopes that I'll be able to finish somewhere in the herd. I see that most people would be fine coming in last and just be proud that they finished, but that's not me. I did a 25 mile bike ride last year and came in nearly last, and honestly, I was embarrassed. My husband (who is a major cyclist) was so proud of me for finishing, but it was hard for me mentally being passed by pretty much everyone.

rybo

Probably not. Unless it was some sort of grueling endrance test where just finishing was a victory. And then only if I felt I wouldn't be last by too much of a gap.

thetrishwarp

Yeah. To me, finishing a race is a big deal. And running is a personal sport - if I run it once and come dead last, whatever, I'll still know what time I need to beat the next time.

LadyKatieBug

I have

primalchaos

Your honest opinion

Yes

dbrightwell1270

It is impossible to finish last. You beat everyone who sat at home on the couch and had too much fear to even try.

jennifer52484

YES... Especially if this race was the first one you have ever done and finishing was an award on its own.

margieward82

Heck to the NO! I don't mind being middle of the pack, but last?!? NO WAY!

dre3173

I would. But then I have never been very competative. As long as I finish thats all that matters.

bellygoaway

For me right now, the answer is yes. I would just want to know I could finish it. Of course I am a while away from entering any races.

kuregisto

Definitely. Every race I'm in, I know I'm only there to finish, not to win.

PlunderBunneh

The idea of running a race and NOT finishing last hadn't even occurred to me. I'm new at running, so it would be about the experience for me.

_GingerSnap_

Yes. At least you finished a race and its still an accomplishment.

seebeachrun

I would and I have. Or rather I expected to. I was pleasantly surprised not to be last.

Exactly that.

MB_Positif

Hmmm...this comes as a difficult question to me right now. Quick response would be, absolutely, I definitely came in last in races on the high school track team...BUT I just talked myself out of doing a race this coming weekend because I feel like I haven't been running enough to set a PR. I feel guilty spending the money on the race if I am not going to do better than last year. After missing the pre-registration deadline, now I feel guilty about cheating myself out of the opportunity to surprise myself.

All of that said, when I ran this race last year my goal was to not die and I managed to not die or be last! You might surprise yourself!

KCoolBeanz

I did. I ran my first 5K last year, and fully expected to be last. For me, it was more about conquering a fear and proving people wrong. To my surprise, I came in 7 spots ahead of where I thought I would! More importantly, I did it :-)

atsteele

Yup. In fact I am so slow that I actually surprised when I don't finish last! As long as I run the whole race, that is a victory to me.

My first 5k my goal was to run the whole thing and to not finish last. I thought I was last, but I wasn't

The cool thing was, there was a huge crowd of people standing around cheering me on the last 0.1 mile - I nearly teared up! Not only was I proud of myself for finishing, but the support I felt from strangers was amazing! Sometimes it's tough for me, because I get both strange and curious looks before races because I have to run with braces (not sleeves, but stabilizers) on both knees so I don't cross the finish line on a stretcher with dislocated kneecaps... makes me feel a bit self-conscious, but then I think about how far I've come and how a year ago I struggled WALKING 3 miles, and that feeling goes away.

You are such an INSPIRATION!! I hope that you can continue to run and keep those knees healthy!!!

zippo32

Sure would. No shame.

mikethom

First of all, I walk, not run.

Second, I almost always come in last or near last, who cares? The important thing is to have fun and get some exercise. I don't even care if I finish, although I always have. And I can think about all the people I beat who didn't even try...

Ladyslippers

I walked a half-marathon with Team in Training and crossed the finish line hand-in-hand with a friend I made in the last 5 miles of the route. We were BOTH last--of the walkers for the half-marathon. There were walkers and runners of the full marathon still behind us. Heck, I wasn't more than a quarter of the way into my walking half when the running leader of the full marathon (a half-marathon course run twice) lapped me. For just a few moments, I could see him and the pace car and police escort behind me and wore a huge smile as he went past...because for those few moments, I was AHEAD of the leader. (Never mind he'd passed that way once already, lol.)

It's about challenging yourself, not about coming in first. Or last.