Forums >Off the Beaten Path>How Oprah ruined the marathon.
esq.
Another Passion
Rick "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa "I wanna go fast." Ricky Bobbyrunningforcassy.blogspot.com
Vim
Professional Noob
Roads were made for journeys...
Runners run
Why is it sideways?
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.
Good Bad & The Monkey
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
Endorphin Addict
However, there are lots of kids who try to shatter backboards dunking. That should tell you all you need to know
Go Pre!
( everything Trent said )
https://twitter.com/BeachesRunner
#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.
Run to Win25 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.
E.J.Greater Lowell Road RunnersCry 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.