Letters to the Editor
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So, is this a bitter irony?
At the two ends of the spectrum you place Ryan Hall and the Penguin.
Ryan Hall lost a friend this year in the NYC Marathon. Ryan Shay pushed himself as hard as he could for the first five and a half miles of the race and then fell over dead. The two Ryans, according to CNN, were planning a celebration after the race. They probably would have raised a glass to all the penguins on the course, or to each other for not being penguins.
Yes, both Ryans are (were) excellent runners. Good for them, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are doing something wrong. For a sport to become popular, not in terms of spectators but in terms of participants, the average levels of talent and commitment will inevitably become more, well, average.
Running has helped many penguins find health and happiness. We have changed the running culture from one of elitism to one of inclusion. Good for us.
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The real problem
How much arrogant self-righteous nonsense can he he generate? Whining about idiots who complain to the CTA about 1,800 dollar bikes falling off those crap racks with notices that the CTA isn't responsible for damages to property - and now he's taking on fat slow runners? Who's next? Handicapped children?
A thought: maybe he should get his knee sorted out, because with all the enemies he's making in this town he might find that running will come in handy.
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Ed vs. Oprah -- Ed leaves no doubt he is a loser
Let me get this right - Oprah is a loser for running 26.2 miles and encouraging out of shape people to do the same?
Ed - have you heard anything about the obsesity epidemic in the United States? Training for a marathon is an incredible undertaking, especially for people who are not in good shape, and the efforts people make should be celebrated, not laughed at.
The fact that a "flabby" Oprah ran a time nearly equal to the (younger / male) author makes this all the more amusing.
While I don't like Oprah's show - I do admire her running efforts.
Cheers.
_Bret
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screw you McClelland!
Running changed my life forever. I ran two really slow marathons; the second one faster (dammit). But seriously is it the slow runners' fault that the serious athletes are sucking it up in world class competion? I am so fed up with complaining from "real" runners about less talented runners joining the field and taking up running with enough commitment to run full marathons. I have volunteered at plenty of races and the most joyful runners are on a pace to finsh between 4:15 and 5 hrs. Before that is a grumpy bunch who knows that they are on pace to run a not quite Boston qualifying race.
I quit smoking because of marathon running and found a love for hardcore physical fitness. All the author got was a lousy grumbly article printed by Salon. Boo hoo!
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Marathons promote good health
So with that guy's attitude we'd never play a tennis match because we can't play at Wimbledon.
I love it that so many are working so hard at running. Think of all the "couch potatoes" who are now living longer, healthier lives because of people like Oprah out there promoting running. In the Nova Marathon episode almost every runner got up to "Superior" for their VO2 Max. It improved because of distance training, not fast training.
McClelland might have an argument if we all wanted to be considered "elite". The elite runners get their own starts and exclusive area. That should be enough for those who want to feel special. I actually feel special enough because those who have run marathons are still an exclusive group of only .1% of Americans!
All that said, I would still love to qualify for Boston one day. ; )
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Editor's Choice letters
I'm wondering why none of the editor's choice letters have included the fact that this article is essentially plagiarized- could it be the editors don't want to admit to a stupid mistake? Hello Salon, take a look at the Slate link!
In case you missed it: http://www.slate.com/id/2149867
Even if this article was by a legitimate author, I cannot understand why Salon would print something so hateful, demeaning and off base. Should kids not play pickup basketball because they can't all be Michael Jordan? Should only prodigies be allowed on a soccer field? Sports are to be played by one and all, including hacks, weekend warriors and arrogant, misanthropic jerks like the author.
I'm actually embarrassed to be a Salon subscriber right now- this is the type of elitist garbage that right wingers accuse the left of, and it hurts to find it on what is usually a top notch website that manages to avoid this sort of thing.
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Next!
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Re plagiarism
Regarding the suggestion of plagiarism in the letter above this one, I have read both articles, and while they are thematically similar, I can't see that one is copied from the other. Inspired by it maybe, but not plagiarized. You might find better examples of plagiarism in the gospels of Matthew and Luke.
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Plagiarism
Plagiarism is citing someone else's written word, or as close to as makes no difference, without giving credit. There are millions of ideas out there at any one time and lots of people rework and update them. This may suggest a lack of creativity but it is not plagiarism. Plagiarism (like traitor) is not a word that should be used lightly.
I think the article is crap for other reasons but, technically, it is not plagiarized.
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elitests need not apply
This whole article stinks of elitism. Certainly Opra opened up the Marathon to a new generation of runners. Not everyone is going to be a 3 hour marathoner, or a 2:11 for that matter. Does that make them less of a runner that those that are? Of course not! We are all competing at a different level, most of us solely with ourselves.
You talk about how satisfying it was to come back from a knee injury and puke your way back to doing a 20 min 5k. I did a 20 min 5K last month with a seriously injured left knee. So, guess I could say your not much of a runner. There are alot of people who can do a 5k in 17 min or less. Whats your point? Where do you draw the line and say, ok this person is a runner, this person is ruining the sport?
Time goals are all relative. I ran the Hurley marathon this August with a time of 4:03. A bit slower than I had hoped, but the hills caught me off guard. I had planned to do a 3:30 in Milwaukee on October 7th. But after running Hurley in August I developed a knee injury. A month before the race I couldn't go 3 miles!!! But you know what, I wrapped my knee, took a bunch of anti-inflamatories, gritted my teeth and got a couple long training runs in before the race. The day of the race I got a bad stomach achee, my knee was hurting, at mile 19 a severe cramp destroyed my right calf muscle (one leg with a broken knee, the other with a destroyed calf) STILL I FINISHED THAT F*CKING RACE. It took me 5 hours 40 minutes, but you know what that was the hardest ive ever run. Much harder than my 20 minute 5k a month earlier, much harder than my 3:12 24 mile training run (a personal time best) Harder than my 9 mile 7 minute mile tempo runs.
How dare you denegrate other runners simply because we are not all at the same level. If your willing to lace up your shoes, risk public humiliation and run 26 miles (at any pace) you deserve some respect. This type of elitist attitude is something I would hope most of us grow out of, usually by the end of High School.