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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
for those damn middle aged ladies ruining your sport, instead of taking a cheap shot at Oprah, learn a little something about amateurs and the marathons...
The blame for interest in marathon running for average people rests on the shoulders of Joanne Woodward, and a TV movie called "See How She Runs" 1978.
http://imdb.com/title/tt0078221/
Back when this movie was made, Boston was the big deal marathon, and this little film actually inspired more of the people you hold in contempt to try something really special.
Serious marathoners who are seeded for international competition start races before wannabees like MCClelland do their wannabe runs.
And the people who actually support financially, these runs...which have grown into huge events since "See How She Runs" are not the big name atheletes or the Oprahs, but the little people who annoy McClelland so much.
I get this guy's point although it feels a little mean-spirited. Then I read the letter about, "Imagine if you were a sculptor, spent years studying anatomy, etc. then suddenly anyone could be a sculptor." Well, that actually happened to a lot of people who studied harmony, melody, pithy verbal expression, being cool, and gave up everything to hit the road as musicians. People who were really serious (and really good) could make a decent living for a while. Then along came punk rock, and now Britney Spears. Any idiot in the world goes to the mall and buys an electric guitar and good, hard working musicians can't even get work. Maybe it's not as Ayn-Rand-ish as it seems for this guy to suggest people strive for a little more excellence and a little less feel-good consciousness aimed at the lowest common denominator. I've also run into this attitude at day jobs, where my fast typing speed, grammatical knowledge and efficiency, and at the same time, my desire to get the work done so I could go home and play music, didn't count for much if I didn't pitch in and decorate the kitchen every few days for someone's birthday.
Of course, being the president also used to mean being articulate, visionary and thoughtful enough to run a country, even if it also meant you had to be rich to get there. Now that mediocrity has pervaded every level of endeavor, maybe a reaction like this guy's -- or mine -- is natural. I am just barely getting back into a fitness program but I don't feel at all like it's "okay" to be fat and out of shape; I hate it!!
Americans used to be known for hard work and ingenuity. We had faults, i.e., racism, sexism, massive economic disparity -- but we (a lot of people anyway) worked hard to overcome these things, from wherever fate dealt them a hand, and by and large that was kind of happening until lately.
It's a good point, actually, to (now?) strive for more than just showing up, although it's also true that people arrive at a moment from different perspectives, and it can be unkind to judge. And not every great musician was highly trained, I'm not saying that either!!! Maybe I'm just talking about (and this writer is talking about) a return to true passion, as opposed to merely getting through it -- whatever it may be. Interesting discussion.
Props for speaking the truth in this excellent piece. I don't even have to read the other responses to guess what the majority of them are probably shrieking now: "How dare you!" Well you dared - and this was one of the funniest and most truthful articles I've read this year.
give me a f----g break!
...is amateur "wannabe" writers like McClelland, who fool themselves into thinking they can be a real writer, plopping themselves in front of a monitor and overtaxing their flabby brains. It takes away from the hard work and professionalism of real writers who've been at it a much longer time. If idiots like McClelland are allowed to pound out their pathetic attempts to pander to an elite group they can't be a part of, well, it'll just kill the competitive spirit of American writers today, and we'll have to start relying on immigrants with talent (or, smaller egos, anyway). I blame Oprah's Book Club.
See, I was good writer in High School, and I could be a real writer, like the people I'm talking about, but I sprained my wrist.....
Blame the winners for not pushing the standard higher. They're the ones "content" to finish and who aren't working to break records.
As a middle-aged non-athlete who rides hunter/jumper (well, for me, it's more like hopping at this point than jumping), I know I will never ride in the Grand Prix. But I challenge myself every time I get on my horse. And that's the reason I do it. I do show in low-level events and I have ribbons to show for it and those are a kick. But it's also a tremendous kick if I've tried something new and harder, or if I've pushed my endurance further than I did the week before. It makes me a different person than I was before I accomplished whatever it was I did. A person who can meet other challenges in life in a different or better or more effective way than I did before I jumped maybe three inches higher on my horse.
It's the same thing for the Oprahs who are running marathons. Another letter writer said it was about a personal best and that's so true. They might not be pushing the bar on marathon times, but neither is McClelland, apparently.
A winning time in a Marathon is a 4:45-4:53/mile 26x. I'd rather run a solid 7-10,000 meters with those guys than with the rhinos in the back all the way.
I'm a professional musician.
Therefore, you had better not sing. Ever.
The witlessness of the headline is matched only by the premise of the entire article.
The truth is that for more than 20 years, the running establishment has held up marathon-running as the pinnacle of achievement for runners. Magazines and books have encouraged amateurs to train for marathons in order to boost their health, achievement, and self-esteem.
The fact that Edward McClelland is jealous of the fact that those of us he disdained in junior high and refused to pick for his team in junior high school can break through into his only realm of achievement is both petty and pitiful.
Not only can athletic back-benchers like Oprah compete on his turf as adults, they can also become richer than him.
Come on, Salon. Supporting this kind of bitchiness is disgusting.
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
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