- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
Amusing enough article, but with a lot of points that don't add up (particularly the assertion in the title).
First, Oprah's 4:29 certainly was respectable, given that she was a not particularly athletic woman, let formerly obese. My first marathon was similarly respectable (4:10, male), and I later ran a sub-3:00. Her marathon was a transformative experience for her, as mine was for me. So what if we aren't elite athletes.
There are various other confused points, i.e. "sophisticated equipment". You know that's all hype, right? That salted wonder bread would work about as well as Gu, and that "shockproof" (not really) running shoes not only don't help, but are better left at home on race day in favor of a lighter weight pair.
As for why there are fewer elite marathoners in the US now than at one point in the past, I don't know, but it surely has nothing to do with the throngs of people out there doing 5- and 6-hour marathons. The slow ones aren't would-be elites, they're would-be couch potatoes: Good for them for trying to do their best!
