Marathon target time

[WinOutdoors]

A friend has made enormous progress in his running and had a stated target of 3:30 for London this year.

He is also a huge user of SM, numerous posts everyday about every aspect of his life. One of those people who appears to have a perfect life, but you wonder who he's trying to convince.

Anyway, he did 3:30:52 which is an amazing time. However, he's posted everywhere about how thrilled he is to have "smashed" 3:30. Which he didn't. It's a great time and I'm sure he would have got it in another race, London isn't a place for PBs for the masses because of the congestion, but actually he missed his target!

It doesn't matter in the scheme of things, and if it makes him happy etc, but it is weirdly annoying 😆

You sound so jealous. Perhaps focus on yourself instead

I don't get it. He wanted 3.30 and he got it. Or are you taking 'smashed' to literally mean he beat his target and would have to get 3.29? Either way I think you're being a bit mean spirited. He's happy with what he achieved - and rightly so.

He didn't get it. He was 52 second over.

I'm not jealous my times are much better, I'm cringing for him because anyone who runs and to whom times are important, knows he didn't get it

Ha mean spirited but I get where you’re coming from!
Someone I follow on strava keeps posting quick 5k and 20k times and everyone is like wow! but when you look at their pace there are lots of slow dips and their elapsed time is a lot longer 🤣 It annoys me 🤣

Yes! I am genuinely pleased for other runners, love to see them develop. I trained with him and am thrilled at the progress he's made, but don't claim achievements you don't have! He's got 3:30 (probably better) in him, but he hasn't done it yet.

I'd probably let this go, such a good time anyway. However I get it, I did 10k recently and my mum posted 'Cockle just finished 10k in well within 50 minutes' - it was 50:22, I made her delete it. She couldn't understand why she was wrong, went on the defensive that I should be proud of my time. But it wasn't 'well within 50' (or even within) and I was mortified!

If it’s good enough for him then great.

Exactly.

I did my first 10k in 50:01. I was not happy!

Is he one of those people who uses his strata time for the race distance rather than his chip time (and fails to acknowledge he ran further than 26.2 miles)? Either way, he’s only making himself look stupid.

Hes a bloke so won’t be anywhere near anything official unless he’s old (BQ/GFA/Champs qualifications) so it’s not like he’s lying and saying he’s met a criteria for something. Why not let him enjoy it

And if it was London he’s probably run nearly a mile extra.

He's evidently lying to himself and making himself look like a twerp. (Also lying to yourself never works, hard to be out the room when you get told the truth.)

I mean he'd have had got just the same (possibly more) admiration fir his actual time, but he wanted 3.30 and did get it. He knows his claim is fake. Sad isn't it.

I've a friend who did simpler (though she shaved off 20 minutes!!)- not the London marathon. Obviously we know she did as the actual times are published. She made up some odd excuse how it doesn't take into account rest periods she took and her time (she claims) is when she was running. Evidently justifying her fib to herself so she could claim she got the time she thought she would.

She really competitive - would your friend be the same? (Though I think anyone aiming to do a marathon in a certain time has to be!)

I wanted to beat 3.30 for a long time. I did 3.34, 3.32, and 3.30.32. Those 32 seconds really bugged me ....until the next year when I finally beat it.

Someone I know claimed a marathon PB doing a virtual one during covid, the elapsed time was almost an hour longer and not a PB! But I've never run a marathon so I'm not judging but we all know don't we? Also, I'm a slow runner so my own targets are way slower but they still matter to me, even though my 'race' pace is an easy run for plenty of others.

Well, a quick search of the race results will show his official chip time.

If it's a PB, I'd still celebrate it. He's clearly pleased with his performance, so don't take that away from him. I'm sure someone will call him out on his claim of 3:30 soon enough, or indeed post on a discussion board to complain about it.

Often people round their times down to the nearest minute. He might be doing that. His time starts with 3:30 so that’s the bit he is focusing on.

I don’t know anyone who does that and I know a lot of runners.

It would bug me too OP but not enough to say anything, just enough for me to feel a bit sorry for them. A marathon is a bloody big effort, it’s heart wrenching when it doesn’t go according to plan.

I ran the same marathon as a colleague once. They were fully expected to do a better time than me but in the end they didn’t. However over the years they have rewritten history in their heads so when they talk about it they make it sound like they did do a better time than me. Myself and my other colleagues all know the truth, they were tracking both of us and saw the final times, but it must have been a big disappointment for the other runner so if they need to remember it differently then it doesn’t bother me and I don’t contradict.

I don't know anyone who runs seriously who would do that either.

I've got no intention of saying anything. I just feel a bit embarrassed for him. He did a great time, a big PB, there's plenty to be proud of without making it up.

@Interestingmauve I’d feel the exact same about making stuff up. We’ve all been there when a race doesn’t go to plan. It’s still a massive achievement, just own it and focus on the positives!

I ran a 5k about 20 years ago, it was quite a big event and Paula Radcliffe won it. Coming up to the finish I saw a woman ahead that I thought I could beat, and I did, and it turned out to be Gaby Logan.
MIL remembered some, but not all, of the info and went round telling people I beat Paula Radcliffe 🤣🤣🤣

Well it's not a Boston qualifier time. That's sub 3.30

I agree it is cringey and odd. My HM time is 1.40.52. I did not smash 1.40. I didn't run 1.40. My target to beat is still 1.40.

I have a friend who did a 3.00.01 marathon and signed straight up to another to try to do sub 3 hours.