What DNS and DNF Mean in Racing (And When Each One Is the Right Choice)

What does it mean to DNF a race? What about to DNS in track? Running has a lot of lingo that can get confusing, so we’ll give you a quick summary and help you know when to make the call.Fall racing season has arrived, which means for many the months of suffering through hot, humid runs is about to pay off…unless you’re noticing a little tightness here or a sharp pain there.

In fact, over 120 of the 725 US marathons are in October with the biggest weekend being October 13th…all of that is to say in the coming weeks we sill see moments of triumph, tears of anguish, and a wide range of reasons behind pushing through to the finish line regardless of the pain or pulling out to prevent injury.

What Does DNS Mean in Track?

DNS is short hand for did not start. (Yup, same DNS as NASCAR…we all like to go fast in an oval.)

In other words, you registered for the race, maybe even picked up your bib, but chose to not to actually cross the start line. Or maybe you registered, got hurt a few months out and knew there was no chance of getting to the start line.

No matter the reason, a DNS can be really frustrating and a HARD decision.

I believe learning when to DNS and DNF is the mark of an intelligent runner. It’s often much harder to say no, than to just keep pushing when you need to stop.

Below we’ll give you a list of questions to work through whether not starting is actually the best decision you could make.

ONE BODY, MANY RACES – this is the mantra that I cover with our runners so often. Know that starting and making an injury worse just means the day and that training cycle are all detrimental to your progress.

What Does DNF Mean?

DNF is short hand for did not finish.

Any time you crossed the official start line, but due to injury, illness or other factors do not make it to the finish line before the cut off time.

That’s right, even if you finish say the Amsterdam marathon in 6 hours and 30 minutes because the cutoff was 6 hours, your race results will say DNF.

How to know when to quit a race (or not start)?

Deciding when to pull out of a race in advance and when it’s just race week taper crazies can be emotionally draining.

We want so badly to get the hard earned result of our work that sometimes we override common sense.

Part of the problem is a belief that “it’s what we runners do, we just push through“.
Sighhhhhh
No.

Certainly during marathon training, you learn a whole new level of discomfort and it can be too easy to ignore what’s really a problem.

A few of the questions to ask yourself if you are trying to decide whether to DNF a race, play it safer and DNS the race or to keep pushing.

• Has a doctor told you not to race?
• Will you miss a major life event or will it cause major home front issues?
• Have you missed a lot of training leaving you ill prepared?
• Have you been seriously ill in the week leading up to the race, causing dehydration? (Think GI distress, flu, other illness that really wiped you out, not just sniffles)
• Will finishing mean creating long term injury? { I chose not to do this 10 years ago and was sidelined for 6 months…try to put your ego aside.}
• Have you been training for a high performance goal at a future race? Will finishing compromise that goal?
• If things are going wrong, can you try another race very soon? (this is easier with shorter distances or if you stop early in a marathon)
• Is quitting just the best momentary option? (meaning what if you take a walk break, you take in some fuel and regroup)
• Is it your body or your head ready to stop?
• Are you getting the most from yourself or letting yourself off the hook due to fear?

Learn more about distinguishing discomfort from pain >>

Once you’ve made the tough decision about your race, it’s entirely normal to go through a wide range of emotions from relief, to anger, to regret.

What to Do After You DNF a Race?

There are lots of acronyms for DNF to help us mentally get past it: “Did nothing fatal” to “Do nothing foolish”, but in the end just like the marathon itself is a roller coaster of emotions any decision around it will be as well.

Allow yourself to go through those emotions and then come out stronger.

Recovery

Realize that even a DNF took a toll physically and emotionally, give your body time to recover rather than jumping in to an intense training schedule.

Complete guide to post race physical and mental recovery>>

Talk

Open up to someone who has been there and done that.  It always helps to hear that others have had to do it too. Remember you are allowed to have all the feelings about this!! Give yourself a few days to process and then start to plan for what’s next or how to prevent this next time around.

New goals

Get refocused on your next goal, this is going to help you get out of the funk quicker! Training puts you back in motion so you aren’t waiting for motivation. It allows you to get back to that consistency and those endorphins. But what you might need more than anything is a shift in goals.

Especially if you’ve been focused only on the marathon, it’s time to consider some other options for a bit. This is often the best way to get that PR!
Race medals worth the entry >>

Analyze

What went wrong within your control? Take a look at how you can adjust your training, if you need to do more cross training or would you benefit from a coach?

Remember the race is just a blip in you overall training, enjoy the entire process of training and what happens on race day will hold far less importance.

Have you ever had to DNS or DNF?

Have you ever pushed through and regretted it later?

What to read next?

• 4 Hour Marathon Training Plan
• Runner Strength Training Plan – often key to avoiding a DNS
• Understand Common Track Running Protocol