I used to beat myself up about running too slowly in long distance events. I consistently finish in the bottom third of finishers, in any event above marathon distance. Your finishing place may reflect your placing in life, I used to worry.
But, in my defence, getting through the finish line is usually my priority. In events where there is a 10-35% dnf rate, I'm usually pretty thrilled to complete within the qualifying times.
Probably, I like a little chat with other competitors, a bit too much. More than likely, I like to look around too often. I am a firm believer that slow and steady works best for me - a combination of long distance with hard speed would, I am convinced, cause complete annihilation to my legs.
When talking about speed recently with a running friend - or rather, my lack of it, she quoted the legendary Dean Karnazes. He stated that ' it doesn't matter if you finish first or last. We all cross the same finish line'
Most importantly; ' the best runner is the one who is having the most fun'.
That's what its all about, really.
