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

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?

Running is one of those things where it doesn't matter. It's you vs. what you think you can do, and that's really about it. It's only a race for the people trying to place - the others are a mix of duffers, first timers, friends/groups, etc. I did my first triathlon in June and was pretty sure I was going to finish last, but I still did it. Ended up doing way better than I expected, and am training for three more. Don't sell yourself short.

I am right there too. It takes me 13-14 minutes to run a mile. That being said... i HATE to run. loathe it entirely. But... i have done a handful of 5k's. and while i'm in the last quarter of the group to finish the run, there's always a small number that likes to walk it, and you'll beat them to the finish line. I do the 5k's to try and make myself better at them.

Do it for you! I did my first 5k this weekend and I walked/jogged- my time was a little under an hour AND I was not the last to finish...

Totally worth it.....go for it and have fun!

13 isn't slow really... unless your a high school track star. A 13 minute mile is walking for 8-9 minutes at 3.5 mph (brisk walking) and the rest between 4-6 mph. When I first started working out when I was 300+ lbs was 17-19 minutes a mile and I was exhausted. If I try hard enough I can get down to a 9 minute mile now. But thats because I run 1-3 miles per day and have been doing it for 2 months now with very little break.

I'm actually pretty quick now. Not that many people 250 lbs (not an athlete) can do that. I just like to run.

Of course it's worth it! Having a race to train for puts a little more meaning behind our regular running, helps us push a little more. I think having a goal race that I've registered for on my calendar is a great motivator.

About speed, when I first started running I was at 12:30 - 13 mins per mile. The first time I ran a 5k, my time was 38:20. 4 months later I ran one in 29:52 pushing a jogging stroller. Now my 5k is down to 9 mins per mile a year later. My half marathon time is 10:03 per mile. Training for my first half (10:52 per mile) is what helped me improve my 5k time so much.

Most of us aren't going to win a race. Maybe if I'm still running in my 80s, I'll start placing in my age group. But winning a race isn't the point. It's more about taking my solitary activity and making it more social, beating my own times, tracking my progress, puttingmeaning behind my training runs other than just Iimproved physical fitness, and races are the only occasions that I actually push myself to see how much I'm capable of. All worthwhile things in my opinion!

Good luck! Go race!

I would say wait until you're in shape first, but I'm more than certain that I'm in the minority opinion on a forum like this.

My reasoning is this. Lets say you want to run a 5k, that's your goal. Great! Here is the thing, you don't have to drop $10+ on a race registration to run 5k. You can just kinda go outside and...run 5k. Or 10k. Or a half marathon. Or even a marathon. Heck, if your goal is to finish a 100 miler, you can just do that on your own, you don't need the race atmosphere. I'm of the mentality that the point of doing a race is to try to compete, not just to finish.

From the triathlete's rules, but applicable here:

#8 If you’ve raced the distance, it counts. If you’ve trained the distance, it doesn’t. Nailing a training day is one thing, nailing a racing day is quite another. Please don’t confuse the two. Ironman/marathon/etc. only counts if you are in there mixing it up. I’m the heavyweight champion of the world if we don’t have to actually compete.

I would say wait until you're in shape first, but I'm more than certain that I'm in the minority opinion on a forum like this.

My reasoning is this. Lets say you want to run a 5k, that's your goal. Great! Here is the thing, you don't have to drop $10+ on a race registration to run 5k. You can just kinda go outside and...run 5k. Or 10k. Or a half marathon. Or even a marathon. Heck, if your goal is to finish a 100 miler, you can just do that on your own, you don't need the race atmosphere. I'm of the mentality that the point of doing a race is to try to compete, not just to finish.

From the triathlete's rules, but applicable here:

#8 If you’ve raced the distance, it counts. If you’ve trained the distance, it doesn’t. Nailing a training day is one thing, nailing a racing day is quite another. Please don’t confuse the two. Ironman/marathon/etc. only counts if you are in there mixing it up. I’m the heavyweight champion of the world if we don’t have to actually compete.

The idea (in my book) isn't "the distance". Who honestly cares if you finish 5k, 10k, a marathon, a double ironman. I'm terribly out of shape right now, but if I had to (life or death situation) I could find a marathon right now and complete the distance. It would be a walk/jog combo and probably screw up my pelvis even more, but it would be completed.

Would I take pride in that? No, not really.

Also I would argue that the whole finishing crowd isn't ever really in there "mixing it up". It isn't a race for most. It's a time trial.


@Brittaney1081 - Yea, I expected it. I've got more of a Letsrun.com mentality, opposed to a RunnersWorld train of thought.

Don't wait, go run and have fun. First, you probably won't be the last one across the finish line, and even if you are - so what, you still beat all the people who sat on their couch and did nothing. Second, it's fun, who cares? Third, it will help you get faster.

And remember, those of us at the back are having more fun, and we get a much better value for our money, those fast guys up front are paying a lot more per minute

Don't wait, go run and have fun. First, you probably won't be the last one across the finish line, and even if you are - so what, you still beat all the people who sat on their couch and did nothing. Second, it's fun, who cares? Third, it will help you get faster.

And remember, those of us at the back are having more fun, and we get a much better value for our money, those fast guys up front are paying a lot more per minute

1.) No, if you finish last you didn't "beat the people who sat on their couch". I can go down to a soccer field right now with 10 buddies and we can kick the ball in the goal. That doesn't mean we beat the Brazilian national team just because they didn't show up.

2.) Different people define value differently. Regarding the people in the back having more fun...I have plenty of fun (and I know many others like me) by showing up to a race in order to...race. Some people do get pleasure out of redlining and trying to crush as many competitors as they can. I'm not paying to enter a race so I can spend a lot of time there. I'm not paying "per minute". If I was I would start taking a nap the minute they fired the gun!