Anyway, here's the "conversation."
I don't know why, but the last comment ("You gonna get raped. By hills.") bothered me in a way that the "beyond bad..." and "torturous" comments didn't. I readily admit that I'm probably reading way more nastiness into the comment than this than this guy intended or than most other people would read into it, but it seems more mean-spirited than the other comments did, and so I'm taking it a bit personally.
When I race, I really only consider myself to be competing against myself. But to be honest, even though I know I'm taking offense where none was likely meant, that comment makes me want to kick the guy's ass. I mean in the race, of course. If middle school taught me one thing, it's that violence almost never solves anything.
Now, I looked up his time from last year, and I think he's faster than me. I'd love to finish to ahead of him, but failing that I'll still be happy if I feel that I've run a good enough race, that I was so ready for this that I can say as I cross the finish line "I thought there were supposed to be hills."
Bring it.
