Random act of kindness

Just ran a PB today in the Belvoir half and am over the moon.

10% for achieving a PB and 90% for having a fellow club team mate run with me and push me round to get a PB. Hugging another man is not usually within my social boundries however, I felt compelled to do this at the finish line for his kindness and motivation. Last year he came 4th in the race and I know he was capable of achieving the same sort of position today. In the end we crossed the line in 49th & 50th position and in the same time.

Another team mate did exactly the same thing as well for another team mate today resulting in a 10 minute PB.

It has made me make a decision to do the same for a fellow runner (club mate or not).

I think the moral of this post is to look away from your own personal goals and now and again recognize another runners potential and see what you can do for them!

Comments

  • StrayceltStraycelt ✭✭✭
    Fair call KR....not every race is a pb but every race can be memorable. Pay it back, pay it  forward...the world will be a better place either way. well doneimage
  • I tried to do this for someone, tried to pace them to 10 m/m for a marathon (i was at 9 m/m on my own), we did ok for 13 miles, but by the end we were down to 13 m/m! image 
  • Would that I was good enough to do that for someone in a half - maybe one day.  image  I did talk a stuck person up a small cliff-type thing yesterday at the Hanham Horror and ran Race For Life with a friend who said she wouldn't be able to get round without me.  I think she was right because she growled at me the whole way round, went purple in the face but managed to hug me at the end!
  • I think my running team mate had the pace spot on.

    He kept the pace and I tried to keep up.
    He was even cherry picking fellow runners in front, saying, “right, we're going to catch them up next and get past them”.

    It gives a bit more incentive to keep the pace.
  • I need one of those Knight Rider!  I'm trying to do a race each month this year and I did that cherry picking thing on my own in the only 2 other races I've ever run (2 half marathons) and it worked then.  But now I'm doing off-road races, I'm finding it really tough and I lost pace in the last 2 and watched people I'd previously overtook, overtaking me.  image

  • Off road races are run differently to road races.
    A couple of guys in our club are brilliant on the raod, but off road they seem to struggle a bit. I guess it's what you are used to & comfortable doing.

    I personally prefer road racing as you can get a rhythm going.
  • I run with an off-road club but when I ask seasoned runners in the club for tips, they don't really have any, they say - just run.  I guess I need to talk to someone with a strategy which has recently worked for them. 

  • When i did the Godiva Half last year in Coventry at 2 and a half miles a lady came alongside, i had never seen her or spoken to her before the race, we were around the same ability, the lady probably a bit better, anyway i thought i'll go along with her for a few miles and see how it goes, we ended up spending the next eleven miles helping each other out through the race, if we didn't know each other before we knew a lot more about each other as we crossed the line together, without her motivation i would not have done the time i did, and we had a hug at the end.
  • It sounds like you had a good experience as well Steve - don't it feel good to get a PB and know someone has gone of their way to help you?

    Normally when I run in races the majority of them are club league races, so they tend to be more competitive as you are trying to beat other clubs. So I think this year I'll enter more non-league races to broaden my horizons and also try and pay back some incentive.
  • because it's my name?image
  • I have run for a good few years , and I get the most enjoyment out of pacing people around races to get to them to their goals. Some people in my club say i should run for myself  in races and my answer to them is i do run for myself im getting enjoyment in what i'm doing.  I have even started taking a friend out  walking a couple of nights a week to get her fit and maybe one day she will do the same for others would'nt that be great. .

  • @knight rider - well done.  Men should never hug.  A good handshake is always correct etiquette in situations such as these.
  • I wanted to pass some of my sweat onto him - but no other bodily fluids!
  • Mr CS is my knight in man-made fibres at races,  I was desperate to get 2:25 at Sheffield half this year (yes I know I'm slow... get over it) and with Mr CS pushing me to keep going when my legs just wanted to walk up some of the hills I managed it with plenty of seconds to spare.

    I've supported friends around races and kept them running even if its been at a snails pace and the feeling at the end is just wonderful... I highly recommend it.

    Well done on the PB Knight rider. image

  • Thanks Caz - could of done with someone last night at a race I did. The other guys I run with couldn't make the race and it was a tough one. Normally we push each other round.
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