On the DNS

This is a comment that I wrote in response to this post over at Steve in a Speedo's blog. Steve's blogs is one of my favorites to read, and he almost always offers great uplifting advice, but I didn't quite agree with this one, and couldn't keep my mouth shut!


I know I'm really late commenting here (really behind in my blog reading!) but I just have to say something about your heirarchy of DFL better than DNF better than DNS.

Sometimes shit happens and a DNS is still the right decision.

I DNS'd 3 races this season. I've never DNF'd or DFL'd, and this was my first experience with the DNS. I'd like to tell you what happened:

I had a whole season of winter half marathons planned. I was really excited about it. I signed up for everything months in advance hoping to save money. I have no history of injury. My hope was to get faster through better experience at the distance. I was fully trained, coming off a 10 mile PR, and ready to go when I hurt my right knee on an 11 mile training run. I started and finished my next 3 races on the hurt knee over a period of 3 months with the knee never getting better (arguably getting worse every time I raced), despite the appointment with the orthopedic doc, the PT, and the meds he prescribed.

Then I found out I was pregnant.

Maybe I would have gone ahead and started those last 3 races if that hadn't happened. I'm not sure we'll ever know the answer to that. But I do know that once I was no longer just stubbornly hurting my own body, but potentially impacting someone else's, it just seemed like I was being an idiot.

This ended up being a blessing in disguise. I read one of your posts about ART, and I found a doc in my area that practices it. Under his guidance, I have been able to run/walk through week 34 of pregnancy pain free, and will probably be able to come back from the injury completely post-partum. But would that be the case if I hadn't made the decision to DNS?

Don't get me wrong. DNSing sucks. Big time. I beat myself up mentally for it. But sometimes shit happens, and sometimes it happens for the better, even if you can't see it right then.

I know that the reason you say DNSing is worse than DNF or DFL is because the DNSer didn't even get out there - didn't even try. But there is a place for the DNS too, and it is worth noting that probably most people who DNS aren't doing it lightly, and deserve the support of the community as much as the others who didn't make it to the finish line.

Thanks for listening!
Amber