Do you respect Ultra-runners who couldn't break 3 hours for a marathon


I give these people a grudging respect if any. I don’t know. If you’re running 50 milers or 100 milers while being particularly slow, I’m more impressed by your resiliency against boredom than your athleticism.


i respect no one


I hate going to work and hearing about people who “ran” a marathon and did upwards for 4-5 or in some cases 6 hours. That’s not “doing a marathon”. That’s training.


I hate that. I just want to say “no, you did not run a marathon. By some miracle you survived the marathon, but in no stretch of the imagination did you run anything”


this is probably the worst thread ever. the cheese appreciation thread might have been close, but this one takes the cake


meh. I don’t know about the ones running SUPER slow, but I have met some of the fast ones including one woman who we stayed with on our team XC trip to Colorado who ran for Team USA in the 100k, and ran the fastest time on American soil since 1998. I think she said her 100 mile PR was 17 hrs. Definitely the most badass woman I’ve eve met.


Yes. Probably takes more dedication than if they were more talented.


Then they usually respond with: “Well they still completed a marathon!”.


You guys hating on people who run a marathon slow? that’s funny.

In all the other threads you all are hating on the fat people, the cigarette smokers, or your HS’s football team. then on this thread you guys think that someone who puts forth the effort to finish a marathon/ultra are not respected ppl? You folks who think running fast makes you cool must not be very cool.



Can you break 3 hours for the marathon? 6:53 is avg. mile pace for a 3 hr. marathon. Could you cover 50 miles in 12 hrs or 100 in 24? What are your PR’s? I’m glad you give these people “grudging respect” but you’ll get none from me until you can prove you done one of the above.


Showing up the day of a marathon untrained and walking a lot of it does not get my respect.


i one time walked 35.2 miles in 12 hours. actually > 12 hours but less than 12:02. I was pissed it was over 12 hours.


And thats fine. Whatever. I mean, I could finish badwater if you gave me three days, but I woudn’t consider myself able to run badwater. Good for them for going the whole way, but I won’t put them in the “marathoner” category or give them the recognition. Heck, I ran a 4 hour marathon and would have been fine if they closed the course on me. And gave me a “better luck next time” when I got done


Its like most things. Does having a boatload of money make you cool? Not necessarily. Does it help? Absolutely. While you might not be cool for running a 2:30 marathon you are at least starting in a better spot then someone who takes 6 hours.

Also, since when is it wrong to hate on smokers/fat people/HS football players? We are distance runners, that is what we do. Without them we would have to make fun of legit stuff like the WNBA.

Answer: I don’t respect the race that they run if they do it slowly but I respect them more then if they didn’t finish the race.


i have respect for anyone who runs


I’ve got respect for anyone who is making an attempt to run. Even if they may not be training enough to run a decent marathon (or run the entire way), it’s a step in the right direction. Even the most half-hearted attempt is still better than not running, in my opinion, as long as they aren’t bragging about how good they did when they didn’t put in the proper miles or push themselves at all. Hopefully as these people learn more about running/marathons/etc they would learn that their body can handle a lot more training than they think.


QFE. At least people are making an attempt to get in to better shape and really accomplish something. I don’t see how running (or walking) a slow marathon makes a person any less respectable. I respect anyone who is trying to better themselves and if someone is finishing an ultra marathon even at a slow pace my hat is off to them.


I’d hope I could break 3 hours for the marathon. Maybe I couldn’t, but I wouldn’t respect myself as a marathoner if I didn’t.

Could I cover 50 miles in 12 hours? Gosh, I’d hope so. If I took an hour to rest(completely stationary sitting), walked 8 hours over that span (~30 miles), and could jog 20 miles in 3 hours I would achieve that. I’d be ashamed if that was too hard for me.

EDIT: and to clarify I don’t mean respect as a person, I mean respect as an athlete


I’ve got a continuum of respect of sorts, running from people who don’t run, to those who run a lot. From those who run a lot to those who run well. If that makes any sense. So the only people I truly have no respect for are fat people who sit on the couch and eat chips with no motivation to get not fat

Edit: Its not that I don’t respect 5 or 6 hour marathons, I have respect for people who have the fortitude to be on the course for that long. I just don’t think they should be respected on the echelon of 3 hour marathoners


I hope I don’t get kicked off this site if I don’t run under 3 in my marathon three weeks from now.

Yes, I’m pretty slow.