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Wow, what a mean-spirited, arrogant snob.
I just watched Mr. McClelland on a Canadian TV show. He wasn’t terribly articulate: He had a difficult time making his point against the founder of the Running Room. He just came across as mean. One writer here suggested his tone was semi-humourous. Wrong. After watching him on TV, I can tell you this guy means it. He honestly believes every-day runners are ruining the sport for the pros. Seriously!
I guess that means all you recreational hockey, football, baseball and soccer players/coaches are ruining your sports. So stop now before it's too late.
I take his point that there are some unfit, ill-trained folks who should not be in marathons. And agreed, walking marathons are just plain dumb. But most of what he says is pure elitism.
A point he made on TV was that one surefire way to tell the sport being ruined, is that most runners couldn’t tell you who Paula Radcliffe or Frank Shorter are. Could it possibly be because running is generally not a spectator sport? We runners don’t spend a lot of time sitting in front of the TV watching the Boston Marathon, memorizing the stats of say, Catherine Ndereba (like a lot of football or hockey fans).
He also points to America’s failure to excel on the world marathon stage as proof of the dumbing down of the sport. But could the failure be for other reasons?
Distance running is not a grassroots sport in North America (yet). Countries generally dominate sports that are entrenched in their culture: Americans at baseball, basketball and football, Canadians in hockey, Australians in swimming, Brazilians in soccer, Ethiopians and Kenyans in distance running, Jamaicans in sprint, etc., etc. Who knows. With more people participating in marathons, it may someday become a grassroots sport.
Another reason is money: Elite athletes know they can make more playing professional organized team sports, so the culture encourages that.
Mr. McClelland suggest the high number of participants in races are hurting the events. Again his logic escapes me. Anyone who’s ever run a race knows the elites start in the front. The rest of us start in the back with our time-group. And since most races use timer chips, the slower people are not rushing to get the the front so they can get a faster time.
And let’s not ignore body type. Marathon champs are tiny. Most of the women weigh less than one hundred pounds (Paula Radcliffe seems like a giant compared to her contemporaries). Lets face it, North Americans are generally bigger and stronger and therefore better suited to sprint over distance.
As for those of us who have “lowered the bar for excellence” I’m in my 40’s. I run 5 miles, 4-5 times per week. My BMI is 22, my resting pulse is 48. I attribute my good health to running. I love running. But I’m slow. I’d have a hard time finishing a marathon in under 4:40.
So according to Mr. McClelland I should stay home and turn into a big fat tub of goo. I should watch marathons on TV ( instead of participate in them), and memorize the names of all the elite runners. If I do that, it will make the sport stronger.
Get real!
