Saturday October 24, 2009 at 10:45
Plodders Have A Place, But Is It In A Marathon?
I have some very mixed feelings after reading this, though I’m falling more on the side of the slow runners. Some quotes:
“It used to be that running a marathon was worth something — there used to be a pride saying that you ran a marathon, but not anymore. Now it’s, ‘How low is the bar?’ ”
Really low, like months of training and 26.2 miles of running low. It’s crazy how many people are willing to do that.
“I have had people say that I’ve ruined the sport of running, but what I’ve been trying to do is promote the activity of running to an entire generation of people.”
Amen, brother!
Last year, 44 percent of the field for [the Honolulu marathon] finished in more than six hours — with some marathoners stopping for lunch along the course.
Okay, that is starting to verge on ridiculous. Lunch? Just join one of those day long charity walks!
So in sum:
- Running a marathon is hard.
- Some runners are snobs.
- If you’re going to get lunch in the middle of a race, you’re a joke.
