The Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Marathon & Beyond magazine contains an interview with elite ultrarunner Eric Clifton. In response to criticisms that he starts fast and then drops out of races when he thinks he isn't going to win, Clifton observes:

This myth about my racing is actually a misconception formed by people who think only in terms of winning and losing. I go out hard in races because that's how I like to race. It's the process of pushing myself hard to the finish that I love. I try to experience the sense of rushing freedom, the few times when everything clicks and I just flow like a river's current over a course being both so in the moment and timeless concurrently; the ability to feel strong and relaxed and connected to everything at once is what I am trying to attain when I race and sometimes, train. I use the competition as as tool to help me attempt to shatter my physical and spiritual limitations. ...

(from an interview titled "Mr. Consistency" by Theresa Daus-Weber; cf. Eric Clifton (2004-10-01), Why He Runs (2008-02-28), Eric Clifton on the Fellowship of Ultrarunning (2008-03-17), ...) - ^z - 2008-04-04

(correlates: Eric Clifton on the Fellowship of Ultrarunning, Misogi Harai, Why He Runs, ...)