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=Personal experience=
Several times I have had an injury before a race and had to make the choice between racing and "Did Not Start". I've not included situations where the injury clearly indicated I should not race, such as Weymouth Woods 100K in 2010.
* [[2011 North Coast 24 Hour National Championships]]. Three days before the race I cut my heel quite badly. I came close to bailing on the race, as I did not think I could wear any shoes[[Shoes]]. I planned on some [[Extreme Shoe Modifications]], but in the end, I was able to heal the wound sufficiently to wear my usual [[Modified Nike Free]]. I did try to compensate for the damaged heel by loosening my shoes[[Shoes]], which cause other blister problems, but I came in second.
* 2011 West Highland Way Ultra. This was a race where I suspected my skin would have blister issues given the rugged course. However, I'd travelled to Scotland for the race, and I wanted to run at least some of the race. In the end things went worse than I expected and I only completed 27 of the 95 miles. However, they were some beautiful miles, I was able to drop out before I was seriously injured and I don't regret the decision.
* [[2011 Hampton 24 Hour]]. I was recovering from blister issues and nearly didn't run this race. Unfortunately the course was not as kind to my feet as I'd hoped and a rainstorm after 13 hours made the blister issues worse so I had to drop out. I'd made the blisters worse, retarding my recovery and completed a rather insipid performance. Apparently the race director was upset with my decision to bail on the race, perhaps feeling I should have continued until I was in need of medical attention.