Are you A runner or a racer?
Are you up there at the sharp end?
Making up the numbers( thats me)
or just like running in the hills
Printable View
Are you A runner or a racer?
Are you up there at the sharp end?
Making up the numbers( thats me)
or just like running in the hills
Jogger!:o:rolleyes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pilgrim
That will be quicker than me then.
the sharp end is the back isn't it??
Outdoorsie person who enjoys being in the hills. I do enjoy the buzz of competing for 43rd V40 though ;)
both but i try and avoid killing my self too much! he says after another stupid week's racing...
i also find relays can be rather intresting when teams of mixed abilities are concerned, team cononley had a bit of a problem recently with blubberhouses.. we were slower they were quicker ont papaer.. :D
Like to get out with like minded people. Chatted my way round the MMM and PPP, love it!
Well im 'at the front end' at smaller races but if i was to do an english champ id be just making up the numbers.
So what do i pick?
I reckon this poll is mis-worded. I still give a 100% when I race even though I'm a mid packer. The question should be whether you 'race' or 'run'?
Neither answer is right nor wrong.
I agree with that. I race. It just doesn't look like it :o
Without us lot that "just make up the numbers", the sharp end would not look that sharp! I.E. in a race with 100 finishers, we all 'look up' to the top 10. If only those top 10 were racing, finishers 4 to 10 would look like 'duffers'.Quote:
Originally Posted by sbrt
That's impossible to answer. One man's racing is another man's running is another man's jogging. I race, but only with myself and those who may run at my speed or just a little quicker. My 'racing' will appear slow motion to front-of-packers. In their eyes I'll be no'but a jogger.
Yes, there should be a fourth option: none of the above.
I race but I'm not at the sharp end very often. At best I'm in the top 10% of runners - at a big race that may be 50th, at a small one it could be 6th. Sometimes e.g. champs races it's more like 25%, but I have still been killing myself!
I think the majority are the same, there are many ways to run competitively - to beat personal course best times / beat clubmates and other people you know / be in the top n% of the race / hold or improve position through the race, etc.
I know some people don't run races competitivley for various reasons - been injured / just challenging themselves to complete the course etc, but surely the people who enter races and just run round well within their limits is small?
I voted, but I agree that none of the above would have been a better option for me. I'm fairly new to fell running (only done 2 races so far - Anniversary Waltz and Kentmere) and I'm most definitely a back of the pack runner. However, I give the race my all and run the best that I can - which might be pretty rubbish to some people, but for me, that is something to be proud of.
These races are a great experience and I don't want to get to the end and feel disappointed, so if I've given it my all, then that's good enough for me.
As my username suggests, I am merely a Jogger but having said that, I do race occassionaly but not to try and win, not that I would anyway but for the buzz and the camaradiere.
SJ
;)
I love racing. It gives me a massive buzz to set off in the pack. It does bother me a bit when after the first half mile I can see the front runners way up on the skyline while I haven't even started the climb, but then I look round and start thinking "I'll beat him or I've beaten her before." Then I race my guts out trying to do it. It doesn't matter at the end if they beat me and I think it's great the way people in the group you find yourself in all shake hands at the finish. As if we've all been driving each other to do something great.
Sometimes I'll race the course ie can I run every step?or can I crack the hour?(or 5 hours in the case of the three peaks.)
In another mood it's just fine to take off into the hills, but I suppose I'm a racer because I'll always start setting little challenges in a fartlek way.
Great fun isn't it?:)
A racer in my age group
Making up the numbers in the bigger picture
I'd say 2 and 3 - Me turning up to races makes other people feel better as they know they won't be last.... So I'm making up the numbers (option 2) but only because I just like running in the hills (option 3).
I'm not competitive (would be a little pointless as it'd only end up in constant disappointment!) but I do run as fast as I can if I'm racing, and I enter plenty of races (although not the hard ones). Does that make me a racer or a runner?
Looking at most of the answers on here, I think they could be categorised as Racers. A racer could be regarded as anyone who is pushing him/herself to the limit in a competitive event, no matter what the speed. Even if it's walking uphill it's still racing. The only question remaining is who the race is with. The answer to that is unimportant. It's racing, it's enjoyment, it's personal challenge and achievement, it's satisfaction at the end with a cup of tea (or something a little stronger and a different shade of brown) in your muddy hand. :D
Racing is life. Everything else is just waiting.;)
I used to be a fellrunner but i'm alright now.
"Run, run, as fast as you can,
You can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man!"
:D
A Fox ate him at the end of that story:eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by jodg
I'm a happy plodder;)
Oh.....bum. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by merrylegs
Run Forest run!
Mrs sbrt sometimes hides notes in my kit bag, with Run Forest Run! written on them.
Not sure if she thinks I am a bit simple, like Forest Gump or because she knows how much the film anoys me(Hollywood schmaltz:mad:).
Well I'm definititely more of a runner than a racer as I'd guess 90% of my time spent running in the hills is not actually in races. But when I'm in a race I do my damnedest to run to my best ability... or bonk in the attempt.
Nowadays I like to kid myself that I can always beat Graham Breeze for example ;) and I am gradually trying to up a gear and start beating some V50's :D
Flat out is the only speed I know - that its looks a decidedly flat and most definately 'out' compared with the front end isn't an issue for me
I race with whatever is adjacent in the field, mostly the old and the lame, and I assume that is how they are looking at me.
No real answer methinks.
A race provides a sense of drama, a distinctive atmosphere, uncertainty, elation, disappointment, commaraderie, but the mountain environment enriches all the above for those who call themselves fellrunners.Whether you call yourself a racer relies on too many variables.
eg. for most of this year I have been a participant, not necessarily giving it my all (probably enjoying the occasion more). But with a few weeks training targetting specific races, I would call myself a racer.
Underpinning this of course is the love of the hills which for my part has undermined my competitiveness. Because if the sun is out after work and I feel in the mood for long trot out, then I will, regardless of what's happening with a upcoming race, be out there. Tonight the Lakeland fells looked superb.
I am a plodder - does that count? :D
yes just a much as the front runnersQuote:
Originally Posted by OneHillWonder
and you have a better tattoo than them:eek:;):)
I'm a bit confused as to the wording of the second two options but i'm assuming they run in descending order of seriousness. Suppose i'm the middle option then applying that logic.
Getting into fell running was a natural progression for me, i always gravitate to the most extreme end of any sport i do, and it's an easy discepline to start taking seriously when you only found yourself there for the hell of it in the first place. Already i've spent nearly 200 quid on kit and that'll keep rising i suspect and i've started to kick myself for losing places due to unforced circumstances too...stroll on!
Quote:
Originally Posted by daz h
This is true - and you can actually see it when I have a running vest on :D
It's just I am stuck out the back all by myself! :o
Like all polls its flawed. You can vote for more than one if that helps.Quote:
[Quote:
QUOTE=mr brightside;249774]I'm a bit confused as to the wording of the second two options but i'm assuming they run in descending order of seriousness. Suppose i'm the middle option then applying that logic.
I am very much;
a. making up the numbers
b. like running in the hills
Not very good but have a go anyway, would probably suit me better.:o
In a small field, you could be all three. I mean a small race field. Not a small field.Quote:
Originally Posted by sbrt
definitely a racer.
wouldn't run up hills for pleasure.
:confused: does not computeQuote:
Originally Posted by #bob#
Running in the hills is just about as pleasurable as it can get. Racing in the hills on the other hand means coughing up lungs, suicidal descents, cramp attacks, exhaustion and pure masochism.
So both are good then :D
I've only ran six times in the fells ever.
and three of those were in AL races.
what that makes me I'm not sure?
Intelligent with 6 doses of madness, 3 of which were extreme and probably hurt a large amount...:DQuote:
Originally Posted by ZootHornRollo
I'm saying nowt :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by biara