Strange, I haven't really wanted to before but now I do.

I also think he is abusing statistics here. The average (mean) time is not what he should look at because he is including all runners in there, the elite as well as the amateurs. So as you add more amateurs to the pool, the times will get larger. But it is like looking at average income. If Bill Gates is in a bar, the average income in that bar will be about a billion dollars. Chances are everyone else in the bar makes a whole lot less. He should look at the trend of the elite runners over time, say the last 20 years and see if their average times are increasing or decreasing. When there are 37,000 people in a race, only a few hundred are really in it to win.

Let me get this straight: you've never actually FINISHED a marathon, and you're ragging on people who have?

First of all, instead of assuming you'll be faster than these folks, why don't you actually finish the whole 26 mile length before you lecture us.

Second of all, your article's premise, muddled though it is, is flawed. The elite American runners are not hampered in any way by the amateur marathoners (of which you are not even one). At no point do those few top American runners, blessed by genetics and honed by hard work, look back from their scrum at the front of the race and say "Damn, all those fatties back there depress me. They treat this race like a fun run and therefore I am emasculated and will slow down..." They're too busy trying to win, and frankly, are probably well-aware that all those flabbies out back admire them and are the closest thing to a fan club they will ever have.

And sir, I am not a competitive marathoner, but I ran varsity cross-country in high school, have done my share of 5Ks since then, and am very much looking forward to crossing the marathon off my life list this time next year.

So you can kiss my amateur butt. As for the rest of you, good luck and finish strong!

Mr. McClelland claims that his one marathon time meets or approximates the Oprah Line and he's claiming OPRAH ruined the marathon experience for him?

Was it the fact that Oprah made it popular for less talented runners to attempt complete the marathon that led him to this conclusion? Or the fact that the Oprah Line completely disabused him of his fantasy that he was an above-average athlete?

And I had to laugh when I read this:

The American runners of that era were propelled by a "double wave" of self-abnegating philosophies, theorizes Tom Derderian, who trained with Rodgers and Salazar at the Greater Boston Track Club. They were "heirs both to the warrior mentality of their World War II fathers and the new consciousness of the 60s and 70s,"

How absolutely absurd. Running long distances is a feat of athleticism and will, no doubt about it. Having recently given up casual jogging after 13 years, i can appreciate it. But the true "warriors" in sport include Greco-Roman wrestlers, rugby players, triathletes and football players.

Line up in a 3-point stance and bang heads for 60 minutes and I might call you an athletic "warrior."

Run a long distance and call yourself a warrior and you're just a joke.

Unless you want to confer "warrior" status on Oprah too, Leonidas.

I hope you are able to laugh at yourself as much as we're laughing at you, champ.

Next thing you know, Ryan Leaf is going to bemoan flag football ruining the elite status of the NFL.

Leaving aside that this article is rife with illogic--just because Oprah and a bunch of other people run slow marathons, other people are prevented from running them faster?--it seems to be self-involved.

Dude: Just because you want to run till you puke your guts doesn't mean I should, nor does it mean you occupy some kind of higher moral ground. It means that for some reason you feel the need to exert till you puke your guts. Nothing more.

Fine with me if you feel that way. But don't berate others for not wanting the same.

Salon: Why did you publish this? What standards of yours did it meet?

When Oprah ran the Marine Corps marathon I was sitting on my ass with a bag of chips (actually I think it was pita chips and hummus, but whatever) as she and all of the other runners RAN BY ON THE STREET OUTSIDE. I wasn't a particular fan of hers, but was inspired by her accomplishment. As a direct result of her example, I got off my rear and trained for an Oly Triathlon. With Team in Training, btw. And haven't looked back since. So, I raised $8k for Leukemia & Lymphoma research, lost 30 pounds and got my life back. Uh, sorry Ed, my bad.

If you don't like the slower runners or the crowds, enter a lesser-known or restricted race. I ran three half-marathons competitively at a decent clip (finished top 15-20%, generally), about 15 years ago. A few years later, about two years after a major auto accident, I made a goal of just finishing the same race. I ran a forty-minute slower time with restricted breathing and a metal rod running from my left knee to the ankle. I made it a point not to worry about my time and enjoy the crowds and the scenery along the way, and one might say that by far the best time I’ve ever had in a road race was not anywhere near my best time.

If you want to gut yourself every time, that's fine, go for it. Hope you have a personal best. But don't knock those of us who just like to run for running's sake and take it easy on the joints because we want to do it as long as possible.

You're going to deservedly catch a lot of flak on your article, not only for the condescension directed at those of us who are more limited in our abilities, but also for your half-baked theory that we slowpokes are somehow to blame for our elite runners not competing better globally. If you can't handle some 250-pound, middle-aged businessman who lunges in your way at the start of a race, you're probably not going to be ready for Ethiopian or Kenyan elite runners.