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Maybe Flameful- Does it annoy you?

Does it annoy you when people who aren't runners exaggerate what they are going to do? I keep getting messages from someone on fb about the marathon she's going to do, and she's asking people to join her, and going on and on about it. Its a half marathon. Good for her none-the-less. But I work my butt off to do 5Ks, one day I might do a half. And when I do I am going to proudly say I am doing/have done a half marathon. They are two very different races. I know she wont train, and will probably walk the whole thing. It just annoys me that there are people who work hard to get a certain distance down, kick butt at it. Then there are people who just throw out terms and think they are special.

Maybe I'm just grump because I have post run chills that wont go away, and I'm freaking out about speed dating tonight. But her last post has me wanting to correct her with a sarcastic note.

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Re: Maybe Flameful- Does it annoy you?

  • i totally agree with you. i run 5k's as well and am working up to 10 k's , but would never post that i was running a MARATHON if it was only a HALF.

     

    also, unrelated note: good luck with speed dating! i want to know all about it! 

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  • I have to agree, that kind of stuff annoys me too.

    In the same context, while a different setting, I was talking to a woman at work about clean eating and sent her the link to this website as a good reference towards making lifestyle changes, not dieting.  The very next day I hear her lecturing someone on eating clean and talking like she has been doing it her entire life.  Really?  Where does the pop tart you had yesterday morning and the drive-thru you had for lunch yesterday factor into that?  You eat a salad one day and suddenly you're an expert?  I just shake my head....and watched her wolf down TacoBell the next day.

    (Please note, I am no expert on all of it either, but from someone that works out every chance I get and eats healthy 90% of the time, I find it a bit much to listen to on those cranky kind of days.)

     

  • imagesakelp:

    i totally agree with you. i run 5k's as well and am working up to 10 k's , but would never post that i was running a MARATHON if it was only a HALF.

     

    also, unrelated note: good luck with speed dating! i want to know all about it! 

    Good to know I'm not alone with that feeling. I feel like I work my butt off to get to 5ks and she is kinda disrespecting the real work it takes by throwing out the wrong terms. 

    All you really need to know about speed dating is I got some amazing, beautiful shoes. This whole thing is worth the hassle just for the excuse to buy the shoes.

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  • Meh. For me it depends on the context. If she is genuinely excited about her race and not just seeking attention then I am ok with it, especially if she really is that clueless. It does make me feel bad for her that she isn't so smart though.

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  • It bothers me a little. Along the same lines, I get REALLY embarrassed when my brags to people about all "the marathons" I run. I have never run a marathon, only halfs.

    Someone just asked me about my "marathon" in May, how training was going. It's a 10 mile race. A lot of people just have in their heads that marathon=long race (as in longer than 5K). They have no idea what they are talking about.

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  • imageGummybear:

    It bothers me a little. Along the same lines, I get REALLY embarrassed when my brags to people about all "the marathons" I run. I have never run a marathon, only halfs.

    Someone just asked me about my "marathon" in May, how training was going. It's a 10 mile race. A lot of people just have in their heads that marathon=long race (as in longer than 5K). They have no idea what they are talking about.

     

    SO many people refer to the "marathons" I've run and when I correct them to say it's only a half, they don't seem to care that there's a difference.  I think it annoys us as the runners more than the folks who talk about it.

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  • not really.  I think the general public has a tendancy to classify all races as 'marathons'.  in most cases I don't think people give a sh!t if it's 10 miles or 26.2.  they just wish you (collective you)  would stop talking about running already.

    that said I'll usually correct someone if they call a race I"m doing a marathon if it's not a marathon.

  • It annoys me. I have a couple friends like this. It drives me crazy, but I just bite my tongue. Over time I've just learned to let it go.
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  • imageebeth_msn:

    not really.  I think the general public has a tendancy to classify all races as 'marathons'.  in most cases I don't think people give a sh!t if it's 10 miles or 26.2.  they just wish you (collective you)  would stop talking about running already.

    that said I'll usually correct someone if they call a race I"m doing a marathon if it's not a marathon.

    I ran a 10K last year - just a 10K! - and my coworker kept asking about "my marathon."  It was embarrassing. I corrected her, but I don't want other people thinking I say that I run marathons!

  • I think it's a little annoying, but I won't go outo f my way to point it out.

    It does make me a little uncomfortable when people say I run marathons, when I've only done halfs. After the LA marathon last month, I came to work and everyone was asking how I did. I never even mentioned the race in passing before that, and I sure didn't run it. I think there is a sort of "oh, you run, you must run all marathons" mentality, but I don't think it's malcious at all. I usually just laugh and say, "I wish!"

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  • Yep, totally. My grandmother recently forwarded an email to all of my family members about my cousin who is "running a marathon" this summer. Yeah - she's running a 12k...so 7.5 miles. It irritated me to no end and it was all I could do to not respond. Not that I can run a marathon, or a half, or even a 12k at this point, so I'm not dissing my cousin, but my grandmother's comment really irked me.
  • I have mixed feelings on this. I have a friend who has been overweight her entire life and is starting to jog. She always posts on fb how she went for a "4 mile run". She is walking most of the 4 miles with spurts of jogging. It doesn't bother me, though, because it's good that she's getting out there and she's proud of what she's doing.

     On the other hand, I saw a post on fb from another person (non-runner) that said "decided I'm going to run a marathon this weekend, can't wait". Turns out it was a 10k, which isn't bad, but I kind of feel like it disrespects those that train hard for "real" marathons to just throw that word out there willy nilly.

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  • Meh, I think people do this in all areas of their life, not just running, and FB is the worst in terms of exaggerating how awesome your life is.  Funny how everyone's kids are "adavanced" and everyone's running marathons :)
  • Meh, I think people do this in all areas of their life, not just running, and FB is the worst in terms of exaggerating how awesome your life is.  Funny how everyone's kids are "advanced" and everyone is running marathons :)
  • Sort of. What bugs me (cycling, not running of course) is that someone will say that they are doing this charity/century "race." No, it's not a charity race. It's a charity RIDE. It's not timed, there are no prizes, there is no competition. The very definition of a race is competition and there are winners and losers. Charity rides are for fun. Sure, you can ride them as fast as you want, but they are still not races.

    (I know there are bike races that have charities as the beneficiary. There are several around here. They are sanctioned by USA Cycling, have all of the regular race categories, race officials, prizes, etc. They are races that just happen to be raising money for a good cause instead of someone's pocket.)

  • imageVitaLuna:

    I have mixed feelings on this. I have a friend who has been overweight her entire life and is starting to jog. She always posts on fb how she went for a "4 mile run". She is walking most of the 4 miles with spurts of jogging. It doesn't bother me, though, because it's good that she's getting out there and she's proud of what she's doing.

    This articulates well what I think of the situation.  I've been the person who would have had trouble _walking_ a 5k.  Where I am today is leaps and bounds way beyond where I was then.

    I still can't really run (I can jog/walk a bit, but it just plain old hurts...  I think I might need to lose more weight before my legs can handle the jarring of real running).

     

    To be honest, there were days it felt like a sham to say I was working out - what I was doing would have been so extremely easy for someone who is really in shape.  But, it was part of a process of building up from very little ability/endurance to substantially more.  It got my heart rate up, I got sweaty from it...

    On the other hand, the first time I did an official 5k (walked/jogged it), it was awesome, and I was so thrilled to be at a place where I could manage that much.  I was really proud of myself, and certainly posted it to facebook.  Many of my FB friends run regularly, and it wouldn't have been a big deal for them, but they knew it was for me.

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  • ooo I SOOO know what you are talking about....I bet I got you all beat on exaggeration on this one.....

    3 of my friends and I "ran" a ~2.5miles obstacle course/mud run. One of my friends kept telling everyone about the marathon she was going to do/did!

    imageimageimage
  • imageAudette:
    imageVitaLuna:

    I have mixed feelings on this. I have a friend who has been overweight her entire life and is starting to jog. She always posts on fb how she went for a "4 mile run". She is walking most of the 4 miles with spurts of jogging. It doesn't bother me, though, because it's good that she's getting out there and she's proud of what she's doing.

    This articulates well what I think of the situation.  I've been the person who would have had trouble _walking_ a 5k.  Where I am today is leaps and bounds way beyond where I was then.

    I still can't really run (I can jog/walk a bit, but it just plain old hurts...  I think I might need to lose more weight before my legs can handle the jarring of real running).

     

    To be honest, there were days it felt like a sham to say I was working out - what I was doing would have been so extremely easy for someone who is really in shape.  But, it was part of a process of building up from very little ability/endurance to substantially more.  It got my heart rate up, I got sweaty from it...

    On the other hand, the first time I did an official 5k (walked/jogged it), it was awesome, and I was so thrilled to be at a place where I could manage that much.  I was really proud of myself, and certainly posted it to facebook.  Many of my FB friends run regularly, and it wouldn't have been a big deal for them, but they knew it was for me.

    I'm right there with you, its freakin hard for me. Which is why I'm annoyed with it. Even if it was easy for me, I'd be damn proud of you for doing it. But own what you actually do. I have a 2K this weekend. I'm not going to say I'm doing a marathon. I think most runners know that there are people out there who struggle just to do a couple mile. But be proud and honest of what you do. To me that way more impressive than telling people you are going to do a marathon when its a half. Honestly I've lost a lot of respect for her. 

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  • In the circumstances that I've run into it, it doesn't really annoy me because I know everybody else hearing/reading the braggart sees right through it and knows that the "marathon" is really a 10k, or the "8 mile run!" was done on an elliptical.  The only person the braggart is kidding is themselves, and I don't really care about that.  Is it sort of obnoxious?  Yeah, all bragging for the sake of attention is.  But it's not worth investing energy to get upset about.  I don't feel it's disrespectful to my "real" efforts because I know the braggart didn't think about me or my efforts AT ALL when doing the bragging.  It's not about me.  Shrug.

    I don't see it as much with running, but I see it a lot with triathlons.  People seem to mix up "triathlon" (any race involving swim/bike/run) and "ironman" (140.6).  Uh yeah, worlds apart.

  • In the world of H&F, there is rarely an instance where the actions of words of another person impact my actions. Who gives a flying fsck if they said they were running Death Valley, when in reality they ran out of water on a walk to 7-11? How does that detract from what YOU do and what YOU accomplish? Are you putting yourself out there to garner that kind of attention from others, and are worried that her words are taking away from that? Probably not. Most H&Fers I know are incredibly modest and humble individuals, and this would be like water off a duck's back.
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  • I think there is a lot of confusion out there about races in general if you're not in the running crowd. I just started running in Feb, I have a 12min mile pace, and have my 1st ever 5K in 2 weeks. A few weeks ago, my dad asked me when my marathon was; I just laughed. I can see being irritated if someone's implying they're doing more work than they really are, but it's not something I'd bother calling them out on or taking a stand on.
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  • Eh, it really doesn't bother me. Either they are just naive about what a marathon truly is, or they feel the need exaggerate for attention. If it's the former, who cares. If it's the latter, then it's likely most people see through it (and they have to know many people will see through it).

    If you do want to correct her you could always say, "Way to go! I'd love to do a marathon some day but I don't think I'm ready to truly run 26 miles!" Or "Great job! I know how hard it is to train for those 26 miles!" Or something along those lines. But I'd leave the sarcasm out.


  • YES but not with running.. I run a few miles a week but hate it so much that I don't think I would ever be super proud of it.. I don't have the confidence to post all over facebook about that kinda stuff..

    BUT I am definitely an active person.. and I hate people that do zumba once a week and claim they are super active... um.. no. No that's not enough to call yourself "super active"

    Also, I have a 'friend' (she is a 'friend' because her husband works with mine and she lives down the road...  Really an acquaintance that I see often) that got a week pass to Bikram two years ago and now thinks she is some master yogi. 

    No. No you're not. You haven't done yoga in years. and you sat out most of the poses in Bikram. Please, just stop.. 

    I feel like people like to pretend they are more active than they actually are... Like it's a status or something..  

     

    Same with people that claim they LOOOOOOVE to camp and are super rockstar campers, just to find out that they mean they car camp (ie, go to a camp site and park their car right there). I mean.. I get that that IS a form of camping.. but too many times have I gotten excited about someone I think can go actual camping with me (whether intense, long backpacking or just a light backpack out to a good site) just to find out they packed out their cars with a bunch of crap to park at a campground with a shower.

    Frustrating. I may get flamed for that last one, but whatever. It's annoying.. It's hard to find people that can actually backpack since my husband is gone a lot with his job.  

  • imageDaffyone:

    I have to agree, that kind of stuff annoys me too.

    In the same context, while a different setting, I was talking to a woman at work about clean eating and sent her the link to this website as a good reference towards making lifestyle changes, not dieting.  The very next day I hear her lecturing someone on eating clean and talking like she has been doing it her entire life.  Really?  Where does the pop tart you had yesterday morning and the drive-thru you had for lunch yesterday factor into that?  You eat a salad one day and suddenly you're an expert?  I just shake my head....and watched her wolf down TacoBell the next day.

    (Please note, I am no expert on all of it either, but from someone that works out every chance I get and eats healthy 90% of the time, I find it a bit much to listen to on those cranky kind of days.)

     

     

    ooooomg yes. This happens to me a lot because it's a huge trend lately in WA. That and paleo.

    It drives me crazy when people claim they are SUUUUPER paleo.. and then drink a wheat beer... umm.. wheat=not paleo. Way to go champ.

    I'm not paleo, although I don't eat many grains (sometimes a bowl of grapenuts in the morning.. and sometimes for dinner if we go out and there just isn't anything that looks good that doesn't have a type of wheat) but I am DEFINITELY a clean eater and it's frustrating to hear people talk themselves up about it when you KNOW they don't follow what they preach. Hey, we all have our moments of weakness and it's okay to give in.. but if that's every day, or you're chugging the diet coke, you're not clean eating. That is all. 

  • I think people easily get confused about the distances. I heard someone ask about a " 5k marathon" the other day.  Lol. 

    I think everyone has a different idea of what exactly " training" is, kicking butt means and what it means to "own a distance."

    You clearly think if she walks she didn't train and it's not an accomplishment to be as valued. Who are you to define her accomplishments?

    I could tell you next time you aw a race I think it's kinda slow, but we all know that's pretty shiesty.  

  • Meh. I really don't care, and I agree with PP that people mix up the distance. I am slow and do a run/walk and have no problem telling people this when asked or talking about the half marathons I have done....I actually will LOL when someone call's it a marathon and will jokingly correct them about it being 26 miles and I not planning on going pass 13! lol.
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  • imagefoundmylazybum:

    I think people easily get confused about the distances. I heard someone ask about a " 5k marathon" the other day.  Lol. 

    I think everyone has a different idea of what exactly " training" is, kicking butt means and what it means to "own a distance."

    You clearly think if she walks she didn't train and it's not an accomplishment to be as valued. Who are you to define her accomplishments?

    I could tell you next time you aw a race I think it's kinda slow, but we all know that's pretty shiesty.  

    Yes

    As someone who is very slow it sounds along the lines of people who runa 7 min/k and tell me I'm slow, fast is all relvant (becuase they sure as hell aint running olympic pace). Its the same with this, who cares, people might think I don't train hard becuase i only run 10k's but who cares, people may describe things incorrectly but once again who cares

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