Definitely a PR for me. I run to compete with myself, not with others.

This ^^^!!!

no age group glory for me! I am 47 and I can't get over how fast the men in my group run.. so, I am usually just chasing pr's. And to be honest, I care more about executing the plan and enjoying myself more than anything. If it's my day, then that's great. If not, there's always the next one.

I'm slow, so a win isn't likely on the horizon for me. And, I don't know if I could beat my half marathon PR again. I'm just happy to improve my times. At the moment, races are more about fun for me than competition.

Races are my reward for staying on a training plan. Because 90% of my runs are done solo, doing a race is kind of like a year end recital in my head. It's a chance to get out there, smile, wear some flashy colours, wave and high five and reward myself for all the hard work I've put in.

I've only ever done 1 race though - and above is exactly how I treated it. I'm just under 2 weeks away from my 2nd race and I do have a bit more of a goal in mind - I want to do better than my first time.

So, I guess PR trumps win or AG placing.

I'm torn with my answer.
I am not at the point where placing in my AG is going to happen. I am (or was until my focus was on getting pregnant) progressing fairly well that I was PR'ing a lot of the time. I really, really like going out to the same race and improving on last year. It is very rewarding.
However, in one triathlon (another place where I was constantly improving), I managed to win my age group. That was REALLY rewarding. It was pretty awesome. It was a very small race and obviously little competition. I'd like to be at the point where I could do that in a more competitive race.

I'd say I'm happy with either. Both mean I am improving, which is my overall goal.

PR for me.........though I tend to just do it for the fun (slow fun, I'm not going to be winning anything lol)

Running is all about PRs because I am no where near placing in AG, Gender, or Overall.

However, on my bike (which I am a lot more competitive on) it's all about chasing that win. So if I could run a lot faster it would probably be about the win too!

I agree with Doug also, racing is also about the experience. I love getting out with like minded people and doing what we love, whether it's running, cycling, walking, etc.

I am not competitive, at all, either in personality or in race times. I get satisfaction in running the race for fun, encouraging my son to run his best (because he is young enough and with my husband's genes could become competitive if he wants to), and beating my race times.

While it would be really cool to win in my age group, it would have to be a really small race for that to happen.

PR for me. I'm fairly competitive, but after my last half when I came in 1 minute after my brother-in-law (I expected to be a good 10 minutes behind him) it didn't phase me that I could have beaten him, I was too proud of my own result. It occurs to me that I don't care who I'm faster than, unless it's 'old me'.

I run a lot of trail races which are odd distances and each trail is different, so in those cases it's all about placing. When I run a traditional distance road race it's usually a big event so placing is not usually possible. In those cases I am chasing a PR.

It's only on the smaller races that I can get the age-group win (I have one win in a 15K and a 3rd overall for a small 5K back when I was living in FL). I don't think that discounts it, and I'm proud of my Cupcake 15K medal. But it happens so rarely...if I hit top 10% in a bigger race I tend to be extremely proud.

On the other hand, I am *ALWAYS* racing against myself. PR-city, bay-bee! That's where it's at.