5 Mile Drive

Michelle and I ran 5 Mile Drive Friday night and it was great.

Somehow we actually ended up running 6.34 miles, no I don't know how 5 Mile Drive turned into 6.34 miles, but it did.

We saw about a billion racoons and they are aggressive little things. We had to put some effort into avoiding them. We also saw a deer that let us get really close.

It was a beautiful sunny evening, we both were feeling good, and pushed more than I thought we would.

We did have to walk the steepest hill, but we picked up running again as soon as we hit the top of the hill. Stopping to walk prompted me to start thinking about what counts as having run a race.

Does running a race count if you don't run it all the way? For me personally I don't feel like I ran a race if I didn't run the entire way, and so far I have run every race in its entirety. It's the same personality trait that made me push so hard to get straight A's in HS, when the reality is all people want to know is if you graduated, they don't give a crap about your GPA.

Anyway, the question is not asked to criticize or minimize what others do in their races. I have read many blogs and articles from runners that walk every aid station of a marathon and in my mind they are marathon runners, and some runners walk for 2 minutes after running 5 miles during races/marathons and to me they are still runners.

Is there a general guideline or thought that runners go by, or is it a personal viewpoint type of thing..."I'm a runner if I finish within the allotted time" or "I'm a runner if I start and finish each race and run the entire way" 0r "I'm a runner once I complete a 1/2 marathon, or a marathon."

For me personally I feel like I need to start strong, finish strong, and run my butt off the entire way to feel like I ran a race. That thinking will last until I meet the race that kicks my butt and forces me to walk for one reason or another...run long enough and it seems pretty inevitable.