When starting a running journey, it is common for runners to monitor their progress by tracking the distance they cover, their pace, and the number of calories burned.
These are straightforward metrics that help measure progress and stay motivated.
As runners advance, the desire to take part in an official race such as a 5 km, 10 km, half marathon, or full marathon can arise. Some of them join the running community and may come to realize that their pace is slower compared to other runners.
This may cause them to believe that participating in large-scale races may not be appropriate for them and that putting in too much effort during training may be pointless.
A slow pace during training does not necessarily disqualify you from participating in large-scale and official running competitions. You can still enjoy the event’s atmosphere and experience intense emotions despite the pace at which you run.
If you have doubts, below are 20 reasons why it is worth participating in competitions, even if you are not as fast as other amateurs.
1. Get Health Benefits
Although many people believe that the athletic motto “Faster, higher, stronger” is an undeniable truth, the fact is that slow running is more beneficial for the body than fast running.
It has a low impact on the joints, strengthens ligaments and tendons, and boosts the cardiovascular system.
Furthermore, slow running is the safest option for the body and enhances endurance.
2. Experience Positive Emotions
The positive emotions we experience during training or competitions are called “runner’s high.” It is most noticeable during long distances.
This feeling of emotional lift, lightness, and gratitude is caused by prolonged cyclic stress. It arises due to the release of endorphins in the brain—hormones of happiness and joy—which reduce muscle pain, give ease to movements, and lower stress levels.
To experience it, you don’t have to be in the top three.
Add to it the spectacular feeling of overcoming the distance itself, the novelty of sensations, and the connection with others who share your passion, and you will enjoy an unforgettable range of emotions that will stay with you for a lifetime.
3. Feel the Atmosphere of a Sporting Event
Sports races are not just about the excitement before the start and the early wake-up call.
They involve thousands, and sometimes tens of thousands, of runners, volunteers who are always ready to help, fans who cheer athletes along the course, loud and lively music, a cultural program, and an incredible atmosphere that combines overcoming obstacles, entertainment, and boundless happiness.
Many races are a true celebration that brings together people with a strong spirit — anyone who has dared to come to the starting line. It is not necessary to run at a fast pace to become a participant.
The atmosphere, emotions, and the entire competition are accessible to everyone.
4. Step out of Your Comfort Zone and Compete Only with Yourself
When you start running, you step out of your comfort zone. When you force yourself to go for a run in bad weather, in the cold and frost, you step out of your comfort zone.
When you have not run for a long time and return to training mode, the first kilometers can also become a challenge and a step out of your comfort zone.
Running is often associated with overcoming challenges, both internal and external. And even though it may be difficult at the time, it is important to remember that each challenge you overcome makes you stronger.
The same applies to races.
You may believe that many of those around you are faster and that there is no point in competing. Many are indeed faster than you.
Women can be faster than men, and 60-year-old runners can outrun 30-year-olds. But does that really matter?
Remember that athletes primarily compete with themselves. Starting point, experience, goals, and speed to achieve them are different from runner to runner.
Therefore, there is no need to be ashamed of your pace, no matter how slow it may be.
You have entered a race, which means you are already better than you were yesterday. Think back to when you didn’t run at all. And now you are standing at the starting line, ready to conquer the distance in an official race.
Step out of your comfort zone and confidently move toward the finish line.
5. Get a Priceless Experience
If you have never participated in a race before, do not refuse such an opportunity. It is always worth trying at least once.
You may find that mass races are not for you, and you prefer running alone, and that is okay too. Alternatively, you may discover a lifelong passion for racing.
Either way, it is worth giving it a shot. Not every person on the planet can boast of having taken part in a race, but you will be able to.
6. Show Yourself That You Can Train for a Race
If you have decided to train for a race instead of just showing up at the start line and using sheer willpower to finish, you are taking a big step toward enjoying your run and achieving a good result.
Experienced runners will tell you that preparing for a race and running it are two different things.
Preparation is where a race begins, and if you successfully go through it, you will learn a lot of new and valuable things about yourself.
7. Notice That Slow Runners Can Be Happier Than Fast Runners
Interesting fact: not all runners who cross the finish line faster will be happier than you. Some may even suffer through the course in pursuit of their desired finish time.
On the other hand, some runners may achieve their goals and feel a little happy, but they may also look exhausted.
And for others who couldn’t achieve their desired results, all their efforts may seem futile, making the road to happiness seem difficult and temporarily out of reach.
As a slow runner, you can run for your pleasure, admire the sights, and give high-fives to children, spectators, and volunteers along the way.
And, as a result, you can cross the finish line happy and not completely drained. Be independent of numbers and results.
8. Make New Friends
Running brings together a wide variety of people: professional and amateur athletes, coaches, journalists, organizers, and all those involved in the sports industry.
While running may be just a hobby for most of them, they can be experts in their professional areas — entrepreneurs, programmers, lawyers, doctors, and so on.
During a run, you may meet training or business partners, make new friends, and perhaps even find the love of your life. Yes, it happens too.
9. Become Part of the Running Community and Get Motivated by Other Runners
Questions about equipment and the training process, such as which running shoes are more comfortable, where the best place to run in your city is, whether you should buy a sports watch, and which one is better, are not only common among beginners, but also among experienced athletes.
These are topics that runners can talk about endlessly.
Additionally, you can find out about upcoming races for the running season and find someone to keep you company.
Being part of this community is not dependent on your running pace. On the contrary, it is a place where you can find help. Faster runners can give you advice on which running shoes to choose, which races are worth participating in, and what you need to do to run faster.
Of course, there are as many opinions as there are people, but in the end, this will give you more understanding and help you form your own opinions and choices.
In the running community, you will hear the stories of other runners about how they started and what helped them achieve their current results. These stories are motivating and often demonstrate that you can reach any heights that you believe in.
10. Do a Good Deed
The organizers of some races have an important mission to help those who are in need.
In these races, the fees paid for participation are donated to charitable causes, such as providing aid to children’s homes, helping the seriously ill, supporting nature reserves, and conserving endangered animals.
In such events, pace, final result, and ranking are insignificant. What truly matters is the help and support you provide.
By participating, you not only get to run the distance but also express your opinion on a particular topic and make this world a little better. Moreover, doing good deeds and selfless acts has a positive impact on a person’s mental state.
11. Satisfy Your Sporting Interest
Perhaps as a child or already as an adult, you wondered how much you could run without stopping, what maximum pace you could develop, or how fast you could run a kilometer.
All of this is a sporting interest, a desire to know your limits or question the existing ones.
Don’t limit yourself to current boundaries, give yourself a little more freedom. Discover whether you can run a half marathon or become a triathlete, even if it is a short distance.
You don’t need to compete with others, as this is your challenge and your dream. Simply savor the process.
12. Turn a Race Into a Training Session
Don’t think of an official run as a competition that determines your athletic present and future. Consider it as a regular training session.
For example, you can run 10 km at a relaxed pace, or add some experiments such as running 5 km with short accelerations.
This way, you can bring some variety to the monotonous training process and get many bonuses that an official race offers. We have already mentioned some of them, but the most interesting ones are still ahead.
13. Combine Running with Traveling
Most races are an excuse to visit a new city, state, or even another country. If it weren’t for participating in races, you may never have visited a certain place in your life.
Running 10K (or any other distance) through the center of an unfamiliar city is much more interesting than running in yours, isn’t it? Our brain loves to discover something new and unexplored. And if it is another country or continent?
A trip to a race can turn into a memorable journey and provide a scenic running tour of the city or picturesque landscapes if it is a trail race. In these races, a slower pace is your faithful companion, as, while many rushes to the finish line to reach a certain result, you won’t miss the surrounding beauty.
Once the race is over, you can share great impressions of what you have seen, while faster runners are more likely to focus on their average pace, as well as the factors that aided or impeded their athletic performance.
14. Join in Your Own Olympic Games
Some of you may remember watching the Summer Olympics as a child. Perhaps some even humbly dreamed of being there, at the Games, feeling like an Olympian and competing with the world’s strongest athletes.
Childhood is long gone, but that doesn’t mean you should give up on your dreams and forget about them.
Amateur running races are our own Olympics, and the larger the race, the greater the feeling. When you put on your race bib, you will feel like a real athlete.
Moreover, there is a competitive aspect involved. You will have the opportunity to compete with people who run at a pace similar to yours. Of course, no one will confront each other directly; runners primarily focus on themselves and their run.
However, when only a kilometer, 500, or 200 meters are left until the finish line, many runners start to unleash their power that has not been seen throughout the entire distance. This is where an intense competition begins for who will cross the finish line first.
You will likely be able to leave behind several dozen runners. And if not, you will certainly do so next time.
15. Set a Personal Record
Setting a personal record is a worthy goal that objectively shows your progress. Even if you improve your result by a few minutes or tens of seconds, it will confirm that you are not standing still.
In addition, achieving a dream or a goal is definitely a joyful event. It will motivate you to keep moving and continue training.
A personal record can also be conquering a new distance. At a race, you may run an official 5K or 10K for the first time, or train for more challenging distances like a half marathon or a full marathon, or even an ultra marathon.
Remember the most important thing: simply chasing numbers on a stopwatch or the distance you have covered is meaningless. What matters most is that you enjoy running and the process of training.
16. Prepare for the World’s Largest Races
You may one day aspire to participate in the Boston Marathon, the New York City Marathon, or other major marathons. Any marathon or race requires preparation, and these marathons especially so.
For example, to enter the Boston Marathon, you must meet a specific time standard in another marathon. To improve your chances of getting into the Berlin Marathon, you must qualify as a fast runner.
Ultimately, running the world’s biggest marathons demands that you be prepared and confident in your abilities. This will enable you to enjoy the course, the atmosphere, and your performance.
To get to large marathons, you can begin with small steps: train regularly and take part in local races. Gradually increasing both the level of the race you participate in, as well as your athletic qualities and skills, with time, you will make your way to the big leagues.
If you see smaller races as a training session, then your speed won’t upset you. After all, you are only on your way to the main race.
17. Find out What a Marathon Pasta Party Is
If you have never participated in a marathon, you may not be familiar with the term pasta party or carbohydrate loading. In short, it is a special ritual before a marathon.
To cover a distance of 26.2 miles, you need a lot of glycogen, and the best way to get it in large quantities is to eat pasta the day before.
This is not only delicious and beneficial for marathon runners, but also provides athletes with the opportunity to socialize with each other over a plate of pasta and discuss plans for the upcoming race.
Here is a nice bonus: it doesn’t matter what your running pace is, carbohydrate loading is essential for every marathon runner.
What’s more, some amateur athletes organize pasta parties even when they are preparing for shorter races.
However, it is important not to go overboard with portions, or else you will end up with excessive glycogen reserves that will make it hard to run.
18. Receive a Medal and Start Collecting Them
In contrast to the Olympics Games, World Championships, and other professional competitions where medals are only awarded to the winner and runners-up, in amateur races, everyone who crosses the finish line receives a medal, regardless of the time taken to complete the distance.
A medal from a race is your personal award, a well-deserved result of your training that will motivate you to new athletic achievements. When you receive it, don’t forget to take a picture with it, and hang it in the most visible place at home.
Medals are unique, and some of them have unusual designs. Some organizers keep the design of the medal a secret until the very last moment. In such cases, you will start the race anticipating an award that you have not yet seen.
Slowly, one medal will be followed by a second, then a third, and soon the process will be unstoppable.
19. Be a Role Model for Your Children
As parents, we all know that children tend to imitate everything we do. We want them to get healthy and active habits, and one of the best ways to encourage them is by giving an example.
When a mom and dad complete a 10K race, they become true idols, stars, and role models for their children. It doesn’t matter whether you finish it fast or slow; what matters is that you did it.
Your children will absorb the energy of sporting events and healthy lifestyles, and develop the right attitudes toward their bodies from an early age. They will also make good friends along the way.
It is much better to be athletic from the beginning than to have to relearn healthy habits and give up harmful ones later in life. And if your child starts running with you over time, it can become a wonderful shared passion.
20. Make Participation in a Race Your Goal and Motivation
Running is a natural activity inherent in us. Our distant ancestors ran a lot to survive and find food, which made them extremely resilient. Nowadays, we don’t need to run a lot to survive.
However, running is definitely beneficial for staying healthy and resilient. Thanks to it, we get the necessary physical activity that helps us stay in shape and obtain many positive effects on our bodies.
Furthermore, running at any pace in the fresh air helps to clear your mind and fill you with fresh emotions. To make the emotions from running even brighter and more unique, sign up for a race.
This will make your runs more conscious and meaningful. Now, when you are faced with whether to run today or not, you will know the answer.
Setting a goal to participate in a race can be a great source of motivation to keep up with your training.
The reasons for going for a run can vary from runner to runner, as well as their pace and goals. That is why running slowly should not prevent you from participating in races.
Sporting events are a celebration of life that offers many new experiences, acquaintances, and emotions. Running always makes us better, highlighting our best qualities.
And slow running is a great starting point into the big and exciting world of sports and new achievements.
