People who enter races: what are your goals?

Obviously trail running is quite different from road running where you can’t maintain a steady pace. Lots of elevation changes and one course may be more gravel while another can be more rocky, rooty, and otherwise more technical. So you also can’t compare one 50k to another 50k.

I also assume most people are not actually competing for podium placement, though obviously that’s an ideal goal.

So for all other race entrants - what is your goal / how do you define your goal for a given race?