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In France, long-distance races were in vogue between 1970 and 1980. This practice, developed on the fringe of federal institutions, promoted a wave of language celebrating the new-found freedom of runners escaping the constraints and standards of competition. However, as all our data show, long-distance racing paradoxically demonstrates that the search for performance is back with a vengeance. The social and cultural dispositions of the runners are translated into sports practices where the struggle around time structures the whole practice. Whether it is the time devoted to training, the time of performance, or the struggle against aging, the practices and the stand taken by runners allow us to understand how these racing customs intervene in the construction of the self.