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Mr McClelland writes from the lofty stance of his own 4:16 marathon record and concludes that competitive US marathon performance is being harmed by the hordes that show up for today's large marathon fields.
Race directors set cutoff times. Yes, many of today's marathon holds the field open for people who choose to walk. That's obviously a decision in the hands of the organizer, sponsors, the police who're paid to control and re-direct traffic etc, etc. McClelland has got a long way to go to draw a defensible conclusion based on his argument and he's not goe very far in looking for evidence to backup his complaint.
Citizens of the US are still doing very well thank you in ultra-distance endurance sports, if not the rather short distance of the marathon. The top 15 finishers in the Western Sates 100 were all from these shores. The BadWater 135 also continues to be dominated by residents of the US and Canada. The Hawaii Ironman championship is now seeing very strong international fields, but US citizens are surely holding up their end thank you.
I happen to be a back-of-the-pack triathlete. Triathlon for me is a means to an end, my primary sports are technical rock climbing and mountaineering, training for other endurance sports provides enjoyable interim goals on the path to being a stronger climber. I won't ever crowd the slopes of Mt. Everest, because I have no desire to depart from the 'leave no trace' ethic, nor to go into the mountains with the help of paid guide services. In short I pay my dues and I climb responsibly.
Same thing in 'racing' I won't ever enter a race without doing the training necessary. I will be glad to someday climb into the middle or even front of my age-group, in the meantime I'm quite happy to put in my hours and get the results I've worked for. In the last 18 months I've logged 4000 miles of cycling, 480 miles of running and tens of thousands of feet of ascent both in the climbing gym and out in the wilderness.
Someday I too will run a marathon. I'm targeting Mr McClelland's 'Oprah' time of 4:30, however that run will be following a 2.4 mile swim and 112 miles on a bike.
Ted McClelland, welcome to the ranks of people training not to win but to excel. If you see me out on the race course I won't be wearing a cotton T-shirt because bleeding nipples aren't my idea of 'fun' and I'll be perfectly glad to use the lighter, safer running shoes, just as I use nylon climbing rope, not the hemp of the 1950s.
