In what way is someone who still finds this event meaningful engaging in irrationality? Every competition has factors preceding and during the moments of measu

In what way is someone who still finds this event meaningful engaging in irrationality? Every competition has factors preceding and during the moments of measured performance that are like this. You could also say that a runner’s performance is about their ability to train consistently, apply self discipline to their daily lives, perform under pressure, etc. It seems odd to me that in the sum of all moments leading up to the start of a race, somehow reaction time would no longer be relevant. If a runner gets distracted by the crowd, that’s just as impactful to the race but has nothing to do with their potential speed. The race is a measurement of all factors - mental and physical - and all participants are measured the same way.