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How Oprah ruined the marathon. (Read 1019 times)

    2009: BQ?


    Another Passion

      Better her than me... she has more money and lawyers to fend off any lawsuits from degrading the illustrious marathon to common folk and humble times. Big grin

      Rick
      "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa
      "I wanna go fast." Ricky Bobby
      runningforcassy.blogspot.com

      Scout7


        Eh. There's a lot more involved in America's lack of marathon skill than Oprah. It's how we train, it's what we as a culture put emphasis on, both financially and in terms of pushing our children. If amateur athletics was so horrible for a sport, then Little League wouldn't be very useful.
          Dang, you seen Oprah lately? Surprised

          Vim

            To me, running (or perhaps I should call it jogging) is about recreation and burning off some energy. I don't ever see myself BQ'ing. Completing a marathon at steady pace would be an accomplishment for me.

            Vim

            Wingz


            Professional Noob

              This article seems to say that runners are threatened by joggers. Which is, of course, absurd. If you want to train so hard that you get injured on a regular basis and puke at the finish line, more power to ya. My 10th percentile finish isn't going to affect your time at all... so why feel threatened by me? Roll eyes

              Roads were made for journeys...

                What a stupid article. There is NO connection between the hordes of recreational runners who fill big city marathons and those competing at the top end of the sport (in America or elsewhere.) Some facts the writer ignores: 1. There was no heyday of American marathoning. It's a myth. The days of Shorter et. al were a mirage that existed only as long as the sport of competitive long distance running was still a relatively small clique consisting of a bunch of white dudes from first world countries racing each other. It had not become a world sport yet. 2. Compare the top 245 runners in NYC yesterday to the 245 person field from 1971 and it's not that different except that the winners run much, much faster now. And that's without the top 137 American men who ran the trials the day before. It's just that now there are 37,000 recreational runners trailing them. 3. The NYC Marathon winning time in 1971 was 2:21, not even good enough to make today's Olympic Trials "A" standard. 4. Ryan Hall, the winner of Saturday's US Olympic Trials Marathon (2:09:02) ran 2 seconds faster than Martin Lel, the winner of Sunday's NYC Marathon (2:09:04) and he did it on, arguably, a tougher course 5. Hall also broke the US Olympic Trials record by a minute and seven seconds on said tough course while treating the last few miles as a victory lap; high-fiving and whooping it up with the crowd. So much for the back in the day stories now. 6. The top three finishers in the Trials were born in the USA. For serious runners--and there are many degrees of serious--nothing has changed. The men and women doing the work to compete at the top level are still doing the work. For many people (more than ever actually) it's still a goal to qualify for Boston. All Oprah and other celebs have done is make the average person aware of something that runners have known for a long time; finishing a marathon is not that big a deal.

                Runners run


                Why is it sideways?

                  Did he get paid to write that article? My issue is that windbags like this devalue not only the ordinary runner, but also the elites struggling to compete on the world stage. Like Mikey says, he conveniently ignores the fact that this year is the fastest ever for American marathoners. This paragraph is totally misleading:
                  With all these runners, and all this technology, you'd think America would be turning out faster and faster marathoners. Instead, the opposite is happening. The more we run marathons, the slower we get -- an average of 45 minutes slower over the last 25 years. Ryan Hall is the swiftest American-born marathoner ever. His best race isn't in the top 250 of all time.
                  The relevant fact is that Ryan Hall is the swiftest American born marathoner ever, not that his PR isn't in the top 250 of all time. He's 25 and ran his second marathon ever on Saturday. And at London he showed he can compete with the very best in the world. Marathoning at that level is not about time, it's about being able to throw in a 14:28 5k at mile 20, which Hall did to pull away from the field. How is this an indication of the decline of American distance running? I find it laughable that this guy's marathon PR is barely under Oprah's, and that he talks about breaking 20 minutes for 5k as if that vaulted him above the rest of the crowd. He is a penguin, himself, projecting his anxieties about his own ordinariness onto the crowd of marathoners, each of whom has his or her own reasons for running. The fact that he will be wearing a cotton t-shirt and sweatband shows that for him, too, it's all about the image, not the experience.
                  Trent


                  Good Bad & The Monkey

                    On another message board, a runner once posted this in response to a similar article by Dugard pointing out that the marathon has been ruined...reminds me of Jeff and Mikey's comments: I figure that there are four types of people who run marathons these days. There are the true elites. You don't hear them complaining about the growth of the sport, since the bigger the races, the bigger the purses for the pros. Then there are the local champs ... and the age group winners. You don't hear these folks complaining about the crowds. They just go out and do their best, sometimes winning a race or finishing high in an AG, and they are happy to take home some hardware as validation and reward for all their hard work. Then there are the rest of us; we all go out with the goal of just finishing the 26.2 miles. We're all working on PRs and doing our best, but the real reward is the accomplishment of just finishing. The Slate guy says, "it's clear that anyone can finish a marathon", but he's leaving out the part about how much your body can hurt and how much your mind can play games once you're out there on the course. We're all happy with the growth of the sport, since we get more chances to run, in new places, different courses, and with different people. So who does that leave? Oh yeah, that leaves the pseudo-elites. These are the guys - the Slate guy, Dugard - who believe that they are superior to the rest of us. But they are also the guys who don't race all that much, who would rather rant about putting it all out there rather than actually proving their point. They're the guys who mention "Olympic trials" casually, but they've never actually turned in a performance to get there. They're the guys who are has-been track stars. They used to have some status on their block. But now one of their neighbors - an overweight guy who just stopped smoking and got out there and ran a marathon in 5 1/2 hours - is getting some of their thunder. And this guy inspires another woman down the street to do the same. And suddenly, all these newbies have ruined the marathon.
                      early new year's resolution: i aspire to ruin the reputation of the marathon as thoroughly as my slow, low-mileaged, nylon-shorts-wearing little body can manage. look out, 26.2, you're gonna be sullied by one more sorry american slob in '08. ps that article was full of general assholery and part of me is tempted to pick at it (scabby ugly thing) and take it apart, flick it away... but i suspect it was written in part go get a rise out of folks, so the rest of me just rolls her eyes and mutters "moron" before closing the tab.
                      tanstaafl


                      Endorphin Addict

                        Kids who play football, basketball, etc. get much more props than kids that do track and field. And as a culture, we still look 'down' upon those that 'exercise'. The genetic talent pool is there, but if it isn't being encouraged to run, you're not going to have great runners. However, there are lots of kids who try to shatter backboards dunking. That should tell you all you need to know Tongue
                        Two bikes, Two Legs, Two Feet...
                          However, there are lots of kids who try to shatter backboards dunking. That should tell you all you need to know Tongue
                          aww, i don't think that's nearly as bad as the kids who dedicate every afternoon and evening trying to perfect their skateboard tricks... in a video game.


                          Go Pre!

                            ( everything Trent said )
                            Well put, as usual Trent.


                            #2867

                              Then there are the local champs ... and the age group winners. You don't hear these folks complaining about the crowds. They just go out and do their best, sometimes winning a race or finishing high in an AG, and they are happy to take home some hardware as validation and reward for all their hard work. [...] So who does that leave? Oh yeah, that leaves the pseudo-elites. These are the guys - the Slate guy, Dugard - who believe that they are superior to the rest of us. But they are also the guys who don't race all that much, who would rather rant about putting it all out there rather than actually proving their point. They're the guys who mention "Olympic trials" casually, but they've never actually turned in a performance to get there. They're the guys who are has-been track stars. They used to have some status on their block. But now one of their neighbors - an overweight guy who just stopped smoking and got out there and ran a marathon in 5 1/2 hours - is getting some of their thunder. And this guy inspires another woman down the street to do the same. And suddenly, all these newbies have ruined the marathon.
                              If I mention olympic trials casually, but haven't turned in a performance to get there (yet), but do race regularly and am not negative about the newbies in the race, which category does that put me in?

                              Run to Win
                              25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

                                early new year's resolution: i aspire to ruin the reputation of the marathon as thoroughly as my slow, low-mileaged, nylon-shorts-wearing little body can manage. look out, 26.2, you're gonna be sullied by one more sorry american slob in '08.
                                From one sorry American slob to another: sully away Michele!

                                E.J.
                                Greater Lowell Road Runners
                                Cry havoc and let slip the dawgs of war!

                                May the road rise to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your SPF30, may the rains fall soft upon your sweat-wicking hat, and until you hit the finish line may The Flying Spaghetti Monster hold you in the hollow of His Noodly Appendage.

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