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Saturday, November 3, 2007 12:00 AM

How Oprah ruined the marathon

America's competitive spirit has been wrecked by feel-good amateurs like Oprah whose only goal is to stagger across the finish line.

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  • Monday, November 5, 2007 09:46 AM

    Thank you

    ...for the inspiration. It was nice to think that while I was running the marathon this weekend you were sulking at home, whining about your bum knee (guess what? you're not the only one with injuries! My doctor wouldn't let me run farther than ten miles the past month on account of mine) and imagining yourself paying a sweaty, chafing homage to the original running boom next spring.

    Bill Rodgers was a huge influence on my taking up running six years ago-- for one thing, he doesn't buy into a distinction between "jogging" and "running" and for another, he is not an elitist prick, while still being elite. The former does not the latter make, which is something you might want to bear in mind.

    I particularly loved the bit where you blamed the cancellation of the Chicago marathon on undertrained slowpokes who couldn't handle the heat, as if the only people who kick it during a marathon are slackers. Shame on Ryan Shay for showing his undertrained ass at the marathon trials this weekend--it wasn't even hot out.

    I believe John Burroughs said it best: “A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.”

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