Would you run a race knowing you would finish last?

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Replies

  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
    Running was a lot more fun before I got competitive about it. Any of the more challenging races (IE anything over a 5k) are jam-packed full of elite runners, so I feel like a total scrub when I'm at the end of the pack. And then I get annoyed at myself for feeling like a scrub. So not only am I judging myself harshly, I'm double-dipping and judging myself for judging myself. Which makes me feel worse. Because it's stupid.
  • beckyinma
    beckyinma Posts: 1,433 Member
    Yep, my only goal was to finish, and my first 5K I was 181 of 217... still felt damn good to finish...
  • LoveLaughSweatFuel
    LoveLaughSweatFuel Posts: 38 Member
    Simply .... yes!
  • Elizabeth_C34
    Elizabeth_C34 Posts: 6,376 Member
    Yes. I probably would be dead last also.
  • VenomousDuck
    VenomousDuck Posts: 206
    not only would I, the date is Aug 12th. Oak Ridge TN, Secret City triathlon. I entered as motivation to workout.
  • Werglum
    Werglum Posts: 378 Member
    Yes. If you do, make all your friends enter too (my friends all beat me anyway) and then there is a cheering squad for when you cross the finish line.
  • ninu13
    ninu13 Posts: 196 Member
    Totally!!! :drinker:
  • jaclyndanette
    jaclyndanette Posts: 46
    I did a duathlon a few years ago and came in 5th to last. It was very difficult and defeating to watch so many people pass me even though I was trying my hardest. If I KNEW I'd be last, I can't say I'd run the race. Wish I could say differently...
  • april1lowe
    april1lowe Posts: 202 Member
    Yes I would! My first 5K and my first half marathon I worried about that but I didn't care, my biggest achievement was completing the race, not how long it took! Go for it!
  • amoffatt
    amoffatt Posts: 674 Member
    Yes, because at least I tried and finished even if it was last.:bigsmile:
  • april1lowe
    april1lowe Posts: 202 Member
    My first Warrior Dash, out of 7000 people I was in the bottom 100. I was very big and out of shape and so effin pumped to just say I was a mother f*cking Warrior. It's about setting a goal and completing it. Period.

    I'm doing my first Warrior Dash Sat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • RmYWarrioR
    RmYWarrioR Posts: 36 Member
    Why not, the point is you went out and gave it your best effort. In the end it all adds up to good fitness and good exercise. My wife and I ran the "Gecko Gallop" at Joint Base Pearl - Hickam in Hawaii this past weekend. We finished 92/93 out of a field of around 150 for the 10K race. It was a beautiful morning, our daughter loved getting a free ride in her jog stroller, the route was unparralled in beauty and I burned around 1000 calories in the 69 minutes it took to run the course. We enjoyed an awesome run as a family, that is something you can't hang a price tag on.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I finish last almost every time. It isn't about competing with others, I compete with myself. If I do a little bit better each time then I won.
  • RikanSoulja
    RikanSoulja Posts: 463 Member
    No I would not to be honest.
    I am too competitive to be last. I would feel like I wasted my time and money
    I would just train instead so I won't be last in the next race
  • bregalad5
    bregalad5 Posts: 3,965 Member
    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 :smile:

    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.
  • secretgirl4611
    secretgirl4611 Posts: 474 Member
    yeaup! my first race I did was a 5k
    Feb 11th 2012
    and I had only trained for it in 2WKS!! Yea I know I should have trained longer but it was last minute and I really wanted to try one out..
    I went in surely thinkin I would finish last but then I actually finished 12th place!! I was so happy to see lots of ppl still running behind me...

    So, you just never know :)
  • krisaddress
    krisaddress Posts: 43 Member
    I would run a race knowing I wouldnt come first... I dont think I would think about coming last....
  • Arthemise1
    Arthemise1 Posts: 365 Member
    Nope. I want to walk a 5K, but I don't want to come in last. That would be way too embarrassing.
  • sjtreely
    sjtreely Posts: 1,014 Member
    I would. I think I did come in last at one half marathon. I don't know for sure. I started an hour early with the marathoners because I needed to catch a plane to my half the next day.

    And, just today I made the decision to come in last at our school mile run with 4th and 5th grade students. I didn't want any student coming in last. I coached a girl through her last 440 - tears and all. By the time she was done, she wasn't crying. And she finished. She crossed the finish line before I.

    I coached a 5th grade boy, too. We'd walk 20 steps then run 20 - for a mile. :) When we got to the finish line, I let him finish before I did. He finished, too. More than I can say for a couple other boys did who quit after 3 laps.
  • robpett2001
    robpett2001 Posts: 320 Member
    I wish I could be noble and say Yes, but ya know...I can go slow and crawl along just fine by myself. If I'm gonna pay the money and go run with other people, I'm honestly vain enough that I want to do better than last place and I want to at least finish in the middle third of the pack.

    That said, I'm absolutely TOTALLY thrilled and supportive of anyone who finishes any race!

    Edit: and with a freaky air of coincidence, just as I posted this my wife tells me that our 94 year old aunt just finished a 5K walk with a winning time of 1:13:46, putting her in last place for the race, but first place for her age bracket....with a pace of 23:48 per mile. Whoo!!!! She ROCKS!
  • TheMaidOfAstolat
    TheMaidOfAstolat Posts: 3,222 Member
    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.
  • AggieLu
    AggieLu Posts: 873 Member
    Absolutely. Although I'd run as hard and fast as possible, it's not so much about the place I finish, but the satisfaction in completing a race.
  • nicehormones
    nicehormones Posts: 503 Member
    Yes. I used to run track and was always last. I plan on running a 5k in the near future and probably will be last. But at least I will know I tried and at least did it :)
  • ILoveJesus72
    ILoveJesus72 Posts: 181 Member
    YES!! I just want to be able to run and to be in a race I would definately do it even though I think I'd come in last~
  • StephTheBookworm
    StephTheBookworm Posts: 177 Member
    Yes! It would be an amazing accomplishment just to do it in the first place. I'm doing a 5k in September and I will probably do terribly, but I'm doing it anyway, and I'm going to be proud. Go for it! :flowerforyou:
  • Fit_Mama84
    Fit_Mama84 Posts: 234 Member
    Yep, I would and I did many times in High School. I ran track but was never fast. But I also had an awesome dad that would continue cheering for me after everyone else had finished and he didn't stop until I crossed the finish line.
  • kschr201
    kschr201 Posts: 208 Member
    and I'd probably take a big bow at the end. I think even finishing last is a huge accomplishment :)
  • sunnyday789
    sunnyday789 Posts: 309 Member
    I would and I have. It's just good to know that I'm healthy enough to run or whatever.
    And I still beat all the people sitting at home:smile:
  • jae6704
    jae6704 Posts: 458 Member
    YES. I am doing the Girls on the Run 5K this weekend. Everyone is number 1 no matter where you come in. Ill be close to last!
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    Sure would. Just remember doesn't matter where you finished; you did it and that feeling beats everything. Plus you just beat everyone who's still being lazy and sitting around doing nothing!

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