We asked you via Run It Fast’s Twitter (@runitfast)for examples of some of the worst things you’ve witnessed other runners do during races and many of you replied.

The list of things ranged from cutting courses to numerous mentions of runners leaving bodily fluids and excrements along the course, in front of you, or too close for comfort.

Take a look below and see if you agree or have an experience that can top these:

Worst Things You’ve Seen Other Runners Do During Races

Storified by Joshua Holmes · Wed, Jun 06 2012 13:31:06

Here is the impressive finisher’s (sub-24 hour) belt buckle from the Old Dominion 100 Mile Cross Country Run that took place on June 2, 2012 in Fort Valley, Virginia.

Beautiful buckle with a nice bronze-like finish.

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[Medal submitted by Mike Jones. Follow him on Twitter @mikejonesM]

Here is the finisher’s belt buckle from the Ice Age Trail 50 Mile Ultramarathon that took place on May 12, 2012 in LaGrange, Wisconsin.

This is a solid buckle. It looks stone cold and well earned!!

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[Medal submitted by Nicholas Wied. Follow him on Twitter @nwwied]

On Saturday, during the Nanny Goat 12/24/100 Ultra Race, I saw some tempers flare and heard others had tantrums/meltdowns. I had not seen that before in a trail race/ultra before and it surprised me. I thought it was just me who had little meltdowns during races. Luckily, no one was there to see the one I had on Saturday. While I was on the course, I tried to be positive/laugh so only Twitter bore the brunt of it. Which was, thankfully, only one tweet.

I think that when you enter the world of ultras and you see all these amazing people doing them and read about all their great adventures that you have this idealized vision of what an ultrarunner is. I know I do. To me an ultrarunner is someone with their sh!t together, who always smiles, never complains, figures out issues and deals with them, and just keeps running strong.

Yeah…that’s not me. So far, I’ve done 4 ultras and in every one of them, I felt:

• Depressed – because I wasn’t as fast as I’d hoped.
• Frustrated – because I couldn’t figure out stomach/feet/leg issues.
• Whiny – because I wasn’t having a rainbows & unicorns race.
• Sad – because I didn’t turn into the magical, glorified ultrarunner I thought I would be.
• Angry – because I sometimes thought about quitting.
• Fear – because I sometimes thought about quitting.
• Doubt – that maybe, just maybe I didn’t have what it takes to run ultras.

So I must be doing it wrong. Right?

When my friends run ultras or I read race recaps of ultras, I’m always looking for some insight into what they were thinking when they were out there. Did they hit a low point? Did they have any doubts or fears? Am I the only one with thoughts like these?

And then when people congratulate me or tell me that they are proud of me for what I’ve accomplished, that little devil on my shoulder whispers in my ear “yeah, but they don’t know you were _____ (fill in the blank with any of the above).” That stupid little devil makes me feel guilty for accepting praise. I REALLY need to get rid of her or at least put a muzzle on her. Because you know what? I’ve been getting them done. Sure, it hasn’t always been pretty but I finished all 4 of them.

So I must be doing something right. Right?

I guess the whole point of my post is this…If you are thinking of going for an ultra (or your first marathon or half marathon or whatever new distance) but you’re not sure if you can do it…then go for it! Because if I can do it, you can do it.

Just know this…ultrarunners are NOT perfect. Take me for example. I am not a gifted runner. I’m not fast and I’m not agile on the trails. I am full of insecurities and doubts. I have low/ugly/would you like some cheese with that whine moments. I am not the poster child for an ultrarunner. Or even a runner really.

But…I am a runner and an ultrarunner. So, even if it isn’t all sunshine and roses, I keep going. That’s all you have to do. Keep going until you’re done. If you can do that, you ARE doing it right.

[photo submitted by me]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Nanny Goat 12 hour/24 hour/ 100 Mile Ultra that took place on May 26, 2012 in Riverside, California.

Nice medal and congrats to RIF #5 on putting down impressive milage during the 12 hour event.

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[Medal submitted by RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales. Follow her on Twitter @runlikeacoyote]

Here is the finisher’s medal from the Shangri-La Lijiang Ultra Marathon 100K/60K that took place from April 28-30, 2012 in Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China.

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[Medal submitted by Phillip Forsyth. Follow him on Twitter @Phillip_In_HK]

RIF #2 Naresh Kumar sent over this video earlier this week of a Slinky ‘running’ on a treadmill.

He said it reminded him of struggling along during day four of his Vol State 500K race last year as he zigged and zagged along the roads of Tennessee.

Naresh was quoted during the race as saying, “I keep hoping that a semi will hit me but just bad enough to knock me out of the race…not kill me!”

If Slinky can, you can!!!

Here is the finisher’s medal from the 34th Strolling Jim 40 Mile Run that took place on May 5, 2012 in Wartrace, Tennessee.

The best medal they’ve had so far in the history of the event. The medal was large as you can see the outline of a quarter to the left of the medal.

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[Medal submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes. Follow him on Twitter @bayou]

The Dirty German 50 Miler that took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania didn’t have a finisher’s medal, but we have been sent a photo of one of the extremely unique age division awards from the race.

That is a German Weather House for the rest of you that had no clue like myself.  It’s very unique and on the brink of actually being useful.

Now if the rest of us were only speedy enough to get one.  Congrats to Robin!

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[Medal submitted by Robin. Follow her on Twitter @Robinmrr2]

The Strolling Jim 40 Mile run was memorable, to say the least. The thunderstorms early on, which has happened in the past, preceded extreme heat, sun, and pretty high humidity. We all heard that this heat and humidity would happen and prepared for it somewhat, but when you wake up in the morning race day and it’s foggy and getting ready to rain, it’s hard to imagine how hot it will really get in the later hours of the race.

LIke most others, even on the flatter sections of the latter part of the race, it was difficult to run and taking walk breaks or shuffling was imperative. No matter how much I wanted to push myself into a 8:30 pace, 10-11 minute pace was all that I could muster up. At the time, I thought that I was the only one who felt this drained by the heat-especially when I saw Chris Estes.

Even though Chris was taking walk breaks, he was still feeling strong and said the heat wasn’t bothering him that much. Over by the “manure” section, where huge stretch of land was being plowed with manure, I was having a difficult time running and smelling that stench. Chris made a point to ask me a few times if I was okay. I replied, “No but yes I’m fine”. If you are an ultra runner, you know what that means.

The final stretch of the 41.2 mile race is on a highway with fairly large shoulders to run on. The road is marked “Only 2 miles left” and “Only 1 mile left”. Around the time that I saw that I only had one mile left to go, I saw something that could have been a hullucination. I saw Chris jump over the metal highway railing down a significantly steep grassy slope. I was still about 1/4 mile away so I wasn’t sure exactly what I saw.

Honestly, I was thinking that maybe Chris suddenly wasn’t feeling well and needed to use the bathroom. What else was I supposed to think?

Shortly after, I saw cars stopping and people moving around quickly. What was going on? The closer I got,  it suddenly occured to me that Chris was needing help.

I stopped and saw Chris about 10 feet down the slope and asked him if he was okay. I got a little closer just as he was telling me that a runner was down and unconscious and I saw another man on the other side of the unconscious runner and they both looked worried. I also saw a local family of three dealing with the situation by calling 911 and responding to the situation.

The only thing that I did to help was close the door of the pick-up truck, in fear that the door would be hit by an oncoming car. I knew that the situation was being dealt with but it was hard to leave. It was hard to see my friend down there dealing with it after running 40 miles in the heat and humidity. But, at that moment, I was honored to know him.

This was Chris’s first Strolling Jim 40 Miler. He is a Boston qualifying runner and loves ultras. He wanted that “sub7 red shirt” that so many of us want. Chris was a few minutes ahead of me before jumping over that railing to save another runner. The truth is that Chris just happened to see the runner’s hat and saw him down the slope off the highway. The runner had been sitting on the railing and fell backwards after passing out. If Chris hadn’t seen his hat, he never would have spotted the runner, or anyone else would have spotted him, for that matter. The runner could have died.

I finished the race in 6:33. Chris was at least a few minutes ahead of me so he would gotten his 6:30 shirt. Instead he finished in 7:10, as a result of saving that runner’s life. The race director, Mike Melton, did give Chris a sub7 red shirt. What Chris did on this day was far more important than receiving the “red shirt”. Even though he was exhausted and getting ready to finish a 41.2 mile race under brutal conditions, he reacted to an extremely difficult situation and to me, proved how special ultra runners are as a whole.

We are not just out there for ourselves: to beat others, to get something out of this in a selfish way. We not only love running and running far, but we also love the community of runners and will do anything for them, expecting nothing in return. On this day, Chris was the perfect example of that.