FunRuns

My FunRuns category presents reviews mostly of races I did, but also other challenges that I consider worth mentioning – maybe other folks are just curious, would like to do the same/similar thing or just for my personal diary keeping…. 😊

A question one maybe asks oneself, should ask oneself, or often also asks others:
Why racing? (after one answered the – often not so – simple question, why running?)
Racing always goes along with the smack of competition, thus, of comparison to others, and of pressure (what time did you do? did you finish? did you achieve your goal?).

But in most cases, this should not be the goal – the primary goal should be a funrun (especially since practically none of us will ever make it into the Olympics’ selection)! Racing has many sub-goals, the first one being the specific race-preparation, which is my biggest motivation for a high training load but also affects daily life positively through healthier nutrition and ideally more sleep. You get to know yourself better, especially during hard races such as a 100k walk or an ultra-trail. Finally, races help you to progress as a runner, you gain experience and get to know your limitations when trying to achieve a goal; mostly they are also a great training stimulus after all.

Of course, it is amazing to chase a great goal that seems within reach, for example, breaking a marathon barrier (just finish, 4h, 3h30, 3h…) or the same for the half marathon. Especially after having worked hard for several weeks, it is an amazing feeling if a plan works out. But spontaneous races without any specific expectations, just for the sake of running hard and fast, within a wild crowd, cheering up each other, probably gave me so far the most joyful times on my legs. Here is a small collection.

Have fun!