tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1572647974447867713.post1177827299652052458..comments2024-03-25T10:02:38.277-05:00Comments on Vakava Race Team: Natehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07700816772114886288noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1572647974447867713.post-2435312539963863182017-01-23T02:06:26.815-06:002017-01-23T02:06:26.815-06:00I know what you mean about needing justification f...I know what you mean about needing justification for shorter races! We shouldn't but we do, to ourselves and others. I live in France (formerly Bend, OR) and whether summer or winter, seems everyone is into marathons and ultramarathons. For skiing in open events, the weekly competitions are always officially marathons. 10 km, 15 km, even 20 km or so, are regarded less favorably it seems for adults at least. Certainly 5, 10 and 15 are generally for kids. An adult can enter but is not eligible for prizes or points. It becomes just a time trial. Marathons are all well and good, but at my age I prefer the smaller fields of the shorter races, and starting closer to the front (since I no longer have elite seeding—my seeding only gets worse by the year as I seem to drop in seeding merely by entering these (for me) non-point races rather than the longer points ones.) I actually like going fast rather than plodding along for 5 or so km in a big marathon just waiting for the pack to open up, followed by merely cruising for a couple hours rather than cranking hard from the get go. <br /><br />So, you don't have to justify yourself to me at least!—Mike Browder<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14870232197317109579noreply@blogger.com