Would you run a race knowing you would finish last?

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  • FitNWise
    FitNWise Posts: 12 Member
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    Dead last > did not finish > did not start :-)

    You are doing a great thing by just getting out there and the experience of running a race is worth it no matter how you finish.
  • jennt_22
    jennt_22 Posts: 155 Member
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    yes!!!!!!!!

    FINISHING = WINNING :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Why not? If you've put in the time training and give it 100% there's no shame in coming in last (last year I had an IT band problem during a half marathon and had to walk the last 7km - finishing last would have been preferable to a DNF)
  • L00py_T0ucan
    L00py_T0ucan Posts: 1,378 Member
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    Yes.

    I know that some people feel 'why bother?' or they are embarrassed for me because I am slow, but I figure, SOMEBODY has to be last and sometimes it will be me...I'm okay with that.

    That said, I have not been officially last, but second to last in an all-trail 10K. Did it take me more than an hour? Yes. Did I think I'd even be able to finish this run? No, so I was pretty happy to finish, regardless of 'place' or 'pace'. :smile:
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    No, I couldn't do it.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I think I'm going to do that very thing next month. My daughter was going to run with me to avoid the embarassment, but she got a great job out of state and will be moving before the race. But, I'm still going to do it. I'm pretty slow so I imagine I'll be last or very nearly so.
  • ZebraHead
    ZebraHead Posts: 15,207 Member
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    If you think you will finish last you will find a way to make it happen.

    No one makes an attempt thinking they will fail, but sure I would run a race assuming that I would not place, but I would be competing against myself...
  • thebigcb
    thebigcb Posts: 2,210 Member
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    I would

    Take more out of the person that finishes last, than the person that finishes first.

    And you will still finish ahead or your old self that would even do the race.
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
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    I don't run races to beat anyone but myself!
  • jlewis2896
    jlewis2896 Posts: 763 Member
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    100% yes.

    I try to stick around in every race to see the final finisher (usually I am not waiting long...). Seeing that much effort is incredibly inspirational to me, and I honestly remember these people every time I have a difficult run.
  • Aperture_Science
    Aperture_Science Posts: 840 Member
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    nope.
  • Kickinkim418
    Kickinkim418 Posts: 257 Member
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    yep. Its not about finish first or last. Its about going out there and giving it your all. You aren't there to race against everyone else, you're racing against yourself.


    Unless of course you're fast enough to actually podium and then you are in fact racing everyone else. :tongue:


    YUP!!!
  • dsjohndrow
    dsjohndrow Posts: 1,820 Member
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    Yes. A race is against my best time, and being around others that are better pushes me. I would be bummed if they took down the time clock though.
  • Ali_TSO
    Ali_TSO Posts: 1,172 Member
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    Yes, I would.

    Dead last finish
    is better than
    did not finish
    is better than
    did not start.

    :flowerforyou:
  • TheAncientMariner
    TheAncientMariner Posts: 444 Member
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    I do it all of the time in 5ks. I don't finish last, but I just run comfortably. It's for a good cause and I like enjoying exploring new areas of my city and state. I have never really cared about how fast I finished the race, as long as I finished it. I'm just too busy enjoying the journey, lol!
  • therealangd
    therealangd Posts: 1,861 Member
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    I have come in last. I'm not bothered by it in the least.
  • KimertRuns13_1
    KimertRuns13_1 Posts: 705
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    My goal anytime I race is to finish. First, middle or last.

    "In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished.' There is a lot of satisfaction in that."
    -Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder

    "The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
    -John Bingham
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
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    I wouldn't intentionally put myself into a race that I thought would be too difficult, but someone has to come in last. As long as I finish what I started, I can be happy.
  • prism6
    prism6 Posts: 484 Member
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    no
  • MrsSamB
    MrsSamB Posts: 144 Member
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    Just the fact of knowing that I'd actually run the whole thing would be motivation enough for me. As far as it being my last: I would be able to live with the memories of my one and only race and that would make it worth it.

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