So you and I start the race standing next to each other, then we run to the finish line. One of us wins. Why is that not competitive like a fight or basketball?
Not OP, but I'd say it's different because in running, your performance is mostly based on yourself. In boxing and basketball, you have an opponent trying to prevent you from executing your plan.
I'm not judging better or worse and I hate the "is golf a sport" arguments.
It’s not identical but this sounds like direct competition. I’ve read other quotes from Jim Walmsley about the mental competition in an ultramarathon.
> “You shouldn’t let others bully you on the course and make you do something you aren’t comfortable with, like going too fast or too slow,” he said.
>
> “You need to find your pace and, if you can, try to bully one of the other big names into going your pace and not their pace.”
