tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post7504133676845005299..comments2024-01-29T13:28:31.757-08:00Comments on The Turtle Path: How Awesome Is Your Ultrasignup Score?Pamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-21530158955314367462021-03-28T19:36:46.648-07:002021-03-28T19:36:46.648-07:00I hate my USU score. As a 50-y-o newbie, I entere...I hate my USU score. As a 50-y-o newbie, I entered a few small, local races and had a some good runs. After reading this article, I now know why USU gave me a good score and would then put me atop the race listings as I continued. Seeing myself at the top of a list, over clearly more talented runners, pushed a sense that I was stronger than I really was and lead to many, many unrealistic expectations. Thanks Pam- now I know how to sink my score and fall to my rightful position!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-25275133007804705572016-12-03T08:42:08.914-08:002016-12-03T08:42:08.914-08:00I will not date a woman with a higher score than m...I will not date a woman with a higher score than me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-40185464917275713652015-10-11T17:09:58.935-07:002015-10-11T17:09:58.935-07:00I agree. Me personally, it pushes me to give it my...I agree. Me personally, it pushes me to give it my best. At a race where I know I can't catch the person in front of me and the person behind won't catch me even if I stumble/walk, it pushes me to run hard at my max ability. It's important for me to do my best in all events. But a con to racing for time rather than completion is that I miss out on socializing/eating at aid stations, taking in wonderful views, and missing unique course historicals/landmarks. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15264588402988335115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-24460086710316820092015-02-13T13:55:21.568-08:002015-02-13T13:55:21.568-08:00I follow it a bit. I don't take so,serious or ...I follow it a bit. I don't take so,serious or get attached to it. I like to see my name with my races and stats, pure motivation. I love to see the record of other runners specially around my age and their stats. Last year I was 4th place in a 50mi race of 80 with only about 44 finishers and that has catapulted my motivation to be on the top 3 or possibly win it one day, Finger Lakes 50s is the event and my favorite. I'm aware it could be a more difficult goal as the race gains popularity. But there's no way this score would be in my head during any race or even worse, to be selective with the events I sign up for. No way, I don't even respect any average score out there since they are ALL subjective to me. I think getting caught up with any type of scores or ranking simply destroys the passion for the sport.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04231317439619354428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-74707666771209962962014-12-16T08:30:07.045-08:002014-12-16T08:30:07.045-08:00The discussion about privacy settings is a good on...The discussion about privacy settings is a good one. Unfortunately, we live in a world that does not feel as safe as it once did. I didn't realize that there was no privacy setting for USU. If you don't want your info public, you shouldn't need to explain why. Regarding the scores, we all know who the elites are and even the very fast runners. The scores should be "just for fun" and they are not always reflective of ability. That being said, no system would be perfect. At TUDC this past Saturday, I made a point of complimenting Trevor for sticking it out after a sub 4 50K and then a struggle and slowdown to finish the 50M in a much slower time than he was capable of. He is only 19 and running his first 50M. He wouldn't have learned much if he had dropped. The kind of person you are, eg. helping a friend finish a race over your own accomplishment can't be measured but it says a lot more about you in a way that really counts. Thanks, Pam! You described it in a way that puts it in perspective.Julihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06771850694773153087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-11517916412120884562014-12-15T20:38:10.866-08:002014-12-15T20:38:10.866-08:00> I do however wish there was a very basic func...> I do however wish there was a very basic functionality to UltraSign up - like do you want your information private or public. A very simple thing. <br /><br />I had the same problem, especially when they started showing future races! That really got me concerned. While I don't have your problem, I am generally concerned with privacy and I strongly prefer it to take a lot of work to figure out my whereabouts from the internet. <br /><br />I emailed them once and they were able to hide my results. If you go to a specific race, you can still find me ... but if you click my name from there, you only see the results of other people with my name.<br /><br />I'm not sure if it matters, but I don't have an ultra signup account -- I always register as guest, even though I have ~20-30 results.<br /><br />But yes, I very much think this should be something built in, rather than special-cased!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-25007991467726063542014-12-15T13:51:54.051-08:002014-12-15T13:51:54.051-08:00Thank you so much, Pam, what a great article. I ac...Thank you so much, Pam, what a great article. I actually don't care at all about results, I am a mid pack runner, I will run whatever races are convenient and affordable to travel to, be it the ultra competitive TNF 50 or some smaller local race. If DNFed that's fine too; the score bothers me not at all.<br />I do however wish there was a very basic functionality to UltraSign up - like do you want your information private or public. A very simple thing. <br />I am nowhere near a top competitor, nobody is going to "size my score up" as a possible competitor. <br />I am not even worried about my past results and scores, I am talking about future events that also show up if you are signed up for something. Doesn't seem like a big deal. Didn't seem to me either. But this year I was unfortunate enough to get in a situation where a guy I saw a few times started to follow me and show up unexpectedly, and he couldn't show to work or home because we had security in place, so he started showing up to races as those were the easiest things to look up and bothering me there. I had asked ultrasign up numerous times to make my future races private so nobody could see them, explaining the situation, humiliating as it was to have to repeat myself; they'd hide the upcoming races; then 3 days later there they will be again. The attitude that I got from ultrasign up initially was very compassionate and understanding, then when I had to keep contacting them several times because the upcoming races kept showing up, their attitude went to very annoyed and the advice not to sign up for any more races. It's all fine now as my attorney got a legal injunction - but it took time - and a lot of DNSs and wasted money. They also deleted all my results (instead of hiding the upcoming events like I requested). I understand my situation is not very typical and it was Extremely Uncomfortable for me to go through, having done absolutely nothing to cause it; it didn't turn me against the sport, but it did make me feel like why is this so impossible to have privacy settings? Maybe some people want their results hidden, they have a right, I needed to have my upcoming events hidden, I had a compelling reason. Why is such a simple functionality so hard to institute? Seems like it should be people's choice to decide what privacy settings they have on.Lucynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-60515083676038271072014-12-15T11:16:38.213-08:002014-12-15T11:16:38.213-08:00The USU scores and predicted finish times amuse me...The USU scores and predicted finish times amuse me. I was predicted to finish RRR about 5 hours AFTER the cutoff...which isn't surprising considering USU had almost nothing to base this prediction off of.<br /><br />In the end, it's just a number...but I'm not going to lie, it felt kind of cool to prove USU wrong at RRR! :)Heidi Nicolehttp://runaroundaroo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-81844787906128352882014-12-15T10:44:54.977-08:002014-12-15T10:44:54.977-08:00Another hilarious - because often so wrong - thing...Another hilarious - because often so wrong - thing USU does is to predict finishing times and places based on those scores. If it's a race with a really fast CR (like Javelina), I know I'll finish hours after they predict. But if it's a small race or one with a slow CR, I get insulted at how slow they say I'll run. I've often raced with the goal of beating my USU prediction.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05807561670387250099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-41543674632312156142014-12-15T10:25:55.304-08:002014-12-15T10:25:55.304-08:00The best thing about USU scores is that calculatin...The best thing about USU scores is that calculating the impact of various scenarios is a fantastic distractions for the last 10 miles of a 50-miler.Barry Younghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13780106421941298522noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-20720977023710717562014-12-15T10:11:24.844-08:002014-12-15T10:11:24.844-08:00I saw a guy drop out at mile 95 of a 100 miler, ra...I saw a guy drop out at mile 95 of a 100 miler, rather than have his ranking drop. It appears sponsors that don't know much about the sport can be impressed by USU scores.SteveQhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16943650844671498074noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-60400136310061514602014-12-15T09:57:18.136-08:002014-12-15T09:57:18.136-08:00This was a fun read, Pam! My score is going to plu...This was a fun read, Pam! My score is going to plummet (not that it's stellar to begin with) after I do this 10k snowshoe race in February - one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" sort of things. I guess I need to dust off some old tennis rackets. Or maybe have a spectacular blow up at mile 5 and DNF thus preserving my aforementioned less than stellar USU score ...Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17977210623831967954noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-34305606683402410162014-12-15T09:18:22.636-08:002014-12-15T09:18:22.636-08:00So the choices are to have high score or have fun ...So the choices are to have high score or have fun ... let me think, it's a tough oneCrankypantshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16785148044640749698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-55948473510327952392014-12-15T09:11:13.475-08:002014-12-15T09:11:13.475-08:00Josh if you have a DNS and not DNF you can change ...Josh if you have a DNS and not DNF you can change it in the settings..Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-62055136227424216662014-12-15T08:41:00.577-08:002014-12-15T08:41:00.577-08:00more seriously, it'd be fun to go to more comp...more seriously, it'd be fun to go to more competitive races (or races with much deeper fields--there is almost always a handful of badasses at any race around these parts). but that often requires more sacrifice of time (especially when there is travel) and finances (travel, higher entry fees, etc.). it also requires more preparation with qualifiers and/or ridiculously fast sellouts at midnight 6+ months away from the event. I don't have a lot of free time and I like to sign up for stuff on more of a whim. so I stick to your rules as a consequence of this. great ultra geek-out post!josh z.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06313650424288259253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-42315080012799717992014-12-15T08:33:37.311-08:002014-12-15T08:33:37.311-08:00I pretty much only run to feed my ego with USU sco...I pretty much only run to feed my ego with USU scores. I stick to your set of rules religiously and it pays. the only rule I don't stick to is the DNF-ing one. I have DNS-ed twice and USU maintains they are DNFs. josh z.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06313650424288259253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-82120922137127392382014-12-15T08:23:43.827-08:002014-12-15T08:23:43.827-08:00funny :)funny :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-48445826741614726142014-12-15T06:51:37.834-08:002014-12-15T06:51:37.834-08:00I know, I was speaking tongue in cheek:) thus the ...I know, I was speaking tongue in cheek:) thus the smiley face. Hard with internet writing these days. In reality, I run because I like the race, the place, it fits my schedule, I haven't been there, am visiting friends, need a training run, have a goal...so, the score doesn't influence my pick, but I do actually like to look at it to see, as others say, what potential time I may be able to shoot for, and also, by looking ahead of registration list, which one of my friends is coming!Olgahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00493291972954387932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-88326081653746786952014-12-15T06:45:10.826-08:002014-12-15T06:45:10.826-08:00Olga- I am not saying that kind of race is a bad i...Olga- I am not saying that kind of race is a bad idea at all; I am just saying it will hurt you USU score!<br /><br />David- I agree people's motivations, goals, and desires can change a lot over an entire running career. The problem with a reset, is then the scores may be based off of only 1-2 results, which is also pretty meaningless. But I guess that's my point-the scores shouldn't matter that much. They can be a useful tool but they should be kept in perspective. Pamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-67134187740505630392014-12-15T06:40:58.818-08:002014-12-15T06:40:58.818-08:00Great post. As a barely midpacker, I use the score...Great post. As a barely midpacker, I use the score to get an idea of what time I can generally expect by comparing finishes of those with similar scores to mine. Other than that it is useless to me. I have received low scores (Ice Age 2014 when Max King set course record) and super high scores at small races that I know were inflated. Ultra-Dannershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03469320496498620460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-37920047814117919172014-12-15T06:20:34.831-08:002014-12-15T06:20:34.831-08:00If they added the score to the site "just for...If they added the score to the site "just for fun," it would be even more fun if they made it more relevant. Like an additional ranking that reset every year (like a season series score), a gender or AG category score, etc. The average over the entire "running career" is meaningless.David Jacobsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12072772305314487243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-51811599419173925112014-12-15T05:22:24.488-08:002014-12-15T05:22:24.488-08:00Dr. O - I love that! That is definitely a great ou...Dr. O - I love that! That is definitely a great outlook on the USU score!Pamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17695365862543446730noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-66406495709840652832014-12-15T05:10:03.740-08:002014-12-15T05:10:03.740-08:00You mean my summer run at LaLuz 9M (short!) uphill...You mean my summer run at LaLuz 9M (short!) uphill (I walk!) trail race at altitude (I live in TX!) with 400 local entrants a day after another short altitude race and a year of non-running was a bad idea? No, you don't say so!!! :)Olgahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00493291972954387932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6310226120878180051.post-39335318768686171082014-12-14T21:44:20.692-08:002014-12-14T21:44:20.692-08:00Actually, I was kind of excited to even see my nam...Actually, I was kind of excited to even see my name on USU. It meant I was out pursuing my goal. Thanks for explaining the system. Looks like I also need to avoid any races in which you are registered! LOLDr. Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13017675914425933722noreply@blogger.com