Markus Marcus - if the thread was about something similar, but swimming specific - someone like Fleck who's giving you a hard time would jump right over to your side. It just depends on the person and the sport. I can completely relate to what your saying if I put it in a swim context ;-)

But, if you're a hard core runner, and you want to be as fast as you can at multiple running distances then there's nothing like going real hard for 5K in a pack that's as fast and hopefully faster than yourself. Some people don't have people their own pace or faster around to train with - going to one of these races allows them to experience that. Lucky for me I had a pack of friends who could trash me at all distances anytime we went out for a run!