I'm not big into running; actually, I don't like it very much, but I'm athletic so I decided to set a goal to place maybe in the top 500 for a race in Chicago.
I well achieved my goal. I placed 133rd out of 3,123 or 9 out of 109 in my gender/age group. That's top 5% overall and top 9% by group. My pace was 6:58. I'm a bit stunned that I did so well. This motivates me to do the Run for the Zoo in June.
Results: http://theracershub.com/results_view.php?id=497&result_type=db
Seven years ago I did a run in East Lansing, MI - Bob's 5k for the Listening Ear Center with my friend Michelle. With no training, I placed 5th of 10 in my group, 48th of 304, or a pace of 6:36. So 7 years later with training, I'm able to only lose a bit of my pace - but in such a huge event place much better.
Results from 2002: http://www.kicksports.com/results/02/mi/Jun23_Bobs5K_set1.shtml
I am THRILLED!