favorite thing about racing

[cesar]

hey guys,

what is your favorite thing about racing?

[Ed]

That is easy for me -

Accomplishing something that I didn't think I could do.

[Ryan]

As with running itself, I don't think there is just one thing. The thrill of head to head competition, accomplishing something that once seemed impossible, the camaraderie of fellow competitors, the strangely incredible feeling of pushing yourself to your absolute limit, and so many other things. They are all special things that make the sport such a great experience.

[Andrew A.]

Easy, competition.

[oldcolonial]

its a cheap and safe way to find out what you are made of.

[Anne]

When all the pieces fall into place & you cross the finish line with no regrets. It doesn't happen at every race for me so when it does I really enjoy the sense of accomplishment.

The feeling mid race when you know you're running strong & while it's tough, it still feels good.

Seeing the finish line.

The competition with myself, others & the clock.   

Seeing my running friends out there on the course.

[sueruns]

nothing else exists.........me and a clock.

no worries about committments, family, having to be somewhere or do something.......all about me

[Double]

In a trail 50 miler it is all about putting the pieces together.  A lot of it has to do with controlling yourself, taking care of basics, and knowing when to step on and lay off the gas.  I was real happy with my 5th place finish last year because it had been so long since I was able to string any kind of training together.  I depended on bread and butter workouts and training consistency.  I tried to be smart about holding back a bit in training, which for me was less hard stuff and not piles of runs over 2.5 - 3.0 hours.  I did a lot of back-to-back runs of 2.0 - 2.5 runs and an occasional run of 4.0 - 5.0 hours.  This paid off as I reached the starting line healthy and ready to run.  The difference for me was my experience at the distance and on the course.  I easily ran 7:20 and got as far up as was possible with my conditioning.  Perhaps one of my most satisfying runs in years.

[denton]

Not your typical response, but the best analogy I've ever read that put running into what racing (and the sport in general) is all about:

Setup: This is a quote from John Feinstein's' A Good walk Spoiled' Introduction. In it he talks about how golfers are intrinsically motivated to win, how 'failure is what makes succeeding so sweet' and how much they simply love being in the hunt. I've always felt it best shows how I feel.....in other words I really do like to throw up all over myself.....which begs the question.....are your a watcher or a participant of as Teddy Roosevelt so eloquently put it in his 'The Man in the Arena' speech (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_in_the_Arena):


             They all want to be there because they know the work that goes into getting there. Shortly after Curtis Strange had come up one stroke of making a playoff at last year’s US Open , I ran into him in the empty locker room at Oakmont.
             I asked him if he would sleep that night.
   “Probably not,” he said. “I’ll probably go through every shot and every thought.”
   He smiled . “But you know what? That’s okay. It’s disappointing, but godamn it, I was there. I hadn’t had that feeling in a long time.
This is what you play the game for – to get yourself in a position on Sunday at the US Open so you can throw up all over yourself.”
   He was glowing. “My God,” he said, “it felt great.”
             He hadn’t won. But he had had a chance right to the very end. All the work was worth it, just to have that feeling. That’s what they all search for: the chance to be there on Sunday afternoon. They live to have the chance to choke. At Q-school; at Hartford or Memphis; at Augusta or Oakmont.

[Ryan]

What a great quote, denton. I never thought of it that way but, win or lose, that thrill of being in the heat of competition is incredible. It is worth the frustration of loss that we will all have to face at some point.

[Andrew A.]

Somewhat reminiscent of passages from one of my favorite works of fiction, Jonathan Livingston Seagull.