The thing about distance running is that someone will always, no matter what, be faster than you unless you’re in that elite handful of super-athletes who vie for world-class times.

My own PR is 3:15, and the day I ran it, many people completed the race faster than I did.

But I celebrated a personal triumph, because it was a time I trained for and achieved. Months of disciplined running and training paid off.

And you know what? All my running friends shared my triumph with me, even though some of them ran the same race with faster or slower times.

That’s what makes running so cool. You aren’t out to “beat” people. Except at super elite levels, nobody cares who “wins” a marathon.

It’s all about people coming together to do their personal best. It’s about the joy of accomplishing something hard while competing against yourself.

Or at least that’s how I see it.