5 Mistakes Runners Make When Tracking Results

Tracking race results should be simple, but many runners fall into habits that
make their logs incomplete, inconsistent, or even useless over time. Avoid
these common mistakes and make sure your running history is accurate and
motivating.

Mistake 1 — Only recording finish times

A finish time is important, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Weather,
terrain, pacing strategy, and how you felt on the day are just as valuable.
Without those notes, you’ll miss the context that explains why a time
was good or bad.

Mistake 2 — Forgetting to log smaller races

Many runners only save marathons or major events. But 5Ks, parkruns, and
tune-up races all contribute to your journey. Skipping them leaves gaps in
your progress and hides achievements that mattered at the time.

Mistake 3 — Not tracking placements

Results aren’t just about the clock. Age-group placements, gender placements,
and overall rankings put your performance in perspective. A time may look
average until you realize it placed you top 10% in a strong field.

Mistake 4 — Losing results to old emails or race websites

Race organizers often remove results after a few years. If you don’t save them
in your own log, you risk losing access to key milestones forever. A personal,
central log protects your history.

Mistake 5 — Using scattered tools

Notes in a phone app, spreadsheets, screenshots, social posts — it quickly
becomes messy. Without a consistent system, it’s hard to look back and see the
bigger picture of your running progress.

Some runners even buy medal holders, race bib albums, or printable trackers on
platforms like Etsy. While these can be fun for displaying achievements, they
don’t provide a reliable way to log times, placements, or performance notes.
Over time, you end up with medals on the wall but no easy record of the
stories behind them.

The solution is a single, structured log where everything comes together — so
your history is more than just memorabilia.

Track smarter with RunningLog

That’s why we built
RunningLog — a single
place to store finish times, placements, PBs, and notes. No more lost
results or half-empty logs. Just a clear timeline of your achievements that
grows with every race.

Don’t let mistakes blur your running story. Start tracking the right way and
keep your results alive for years to come.