I discovered this sweet little site called “Athlinks” thanks to The Complete Running Network. From the site’s FAQ:

What is Athlinks?

Athlinks is the most comprehensive database of endurance race results and events anywhere in the world. We currently provide coverage in the U.S. and parts of Canada and Mexico for six different race categories: Running (over 3 K), Swimming (open water and/or over 500 M), Cycling, Mountain Biking, Triathlon/Multi Sport, and Adventure Racing.

So in a nutshell, they collect and database every set of race results they can get their hands on. Nifty idea. I always wished that the MarathonGuide.com race database expanded out to cover more races than the site’s namesake, but it looked like Athlinks.com is trying to pick up the slack.

I decided to give Athlinks a test drive. It is a free service, after all. I registered myself in the site, and then searched on my name. Several blocks of race results popped up, and I quickly filtered out people who weren’t me based on their age and hometown. I ended up finding 13 different race results that were indeed my own, and I selected them as such to assign the results to my account. The valid race results ranged all the way back to 1998, and contained both big and po-dunk races, both memorable and forgotten races:

The very cool thing is that the entire race results (all competitors) are databased and accessible, not just your own placing. It was fun to look through full results of races I had completed years ago, and remember various rivals, friends, and stories from each endeavor. It was also an enjoyable waste of time to search on old teammates and running buddies, and seeing what sort of races they have been up to since I lost contact with them.

The downshot to the site is that I’ve ran way more than 13 road races since 1998! My race total over that time span is more like 30. But shooting near 50% isn’t too bad all things considered, and I expect they will continue to add more results, epecially since they give you the option to tell them about missing races. Through grassroots methods like this, the database will grow and become even more robust.

So check it out when you need a good excuse to procrastinate!