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• Monday, November 5, 2007 01:51 PM

  Missing the Point

  It seems to me that many of the folks objecting to this article are missing its most salient point - that is, it isn't the time that counts, but rather, the mindset of the runner involved. Perhaps it was unfair of the author to label Oprah as a "feel-good" amateur whose only goal was "to stagger across the finish line," but his point is well taken. In my view, the marathon is all about challenging oneself to push beyond our known limits. Every marathon I have done - and I'm doing my 20th in Philadelphia later this month - has involved me running at a pace that puts me at the intersection of success and utter failure. It hurts, it's scary and sometimes I fail. That's as it should be. I say that because when I succeed, the experience is transcendent.

  I'm 45. I've got one 2:57 marathon in me and I'll probably never break 3 hours again. At this point, most of my marathons times are about 3:15. I'd like to be faster, but that seems unlikely. I've got a family, a career and a mortgage to pay. Nonetheless, I train as hard as I can and approach each race with the hope for a PR. I don't begrudge others their 2:20 marathons or their 4:40 marathons. I do take exception, however, to those whose only goal is to say they've done a marathon. If you don't take the risk of failure, you're simply cheating yourself and cheapening the accomplishment for others.

  —W. H. Thurlow Read W. H. Thurlow's other letters
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