Monday, November 8, 2010

Are New York Marathoners Athletes?

You have got to read this article from the Huffington Post newspaper.  Are New York Marathoners Athletes?
Mental meltdown in 3..2..1..doh!!

David Hollander says (and I quote).
  1. The elite runners are something to watch. They are so lean they look almost alien. Them I admire. They are in an actual race. It is the 36,500 other fools that annoy me every year.
  2.  And running 26 miles is some kind of torturous accomplishment - but they are not athletes
  3. They endure and then squawk about it endlessly as some kind of heroic feat. It smacks of narcissism not sport. 
  4. Marathons are the last refuge for those that couldn't cut it in other sports.  
  5. Any knucklehead in decent shape can train and then run 26 miles in under 4 or 5 hours.
  6.  The NYC Marathon, after the first 500 runners, is no longer a race. It is like a parade of badly clad folks sucking wind and struggling up First Avenue. They shut the city down for the whole damn day just so the stragglers can say they "finished."
  7. Sure, let's all race from subway stop to subway stop across the five boroughs to cheer you on as you run past us looking pained, withered and about the heave all over the P.O.W. look-a-like running next to you. 
  8. Beneath the narcissism I detect deep-seated masochism
  9. That 36,500 you mentioned, they run to kill personal demons. They beat their bodies swollen and sore to fill an emptiness or quiet a cry.  
  10. Sport, no. Self-flagellation, penitence, lunacy -- yes. 
  11. And then you hear that if you finish - no matter what - you are a winner. Well that is just plain wrong. You lost by hours, sluggard. No one cares that you finished two hours behind the lead pack. You are not a winner. Just a real slow runner.
  12. How about that ING ad about the Marathon being one race with 37,000 stories? Besides who won you can keep all their stories about blisters and pain and self involved obstacles to their glory of finishing. Marathon runners need to tell their stories walking - preferably away from me.
  13. But the rest of these people who come from all over with this pilgrimage to Mecca mentality, they've got to go. 
  14. Instead, what we have now is some kind of faux local holiday meets national freak convention. 
  15. This year, when I see one of those runners who flew in from Godknowswhere, USA walking around Manhattan, dazed and alone, wrapped in that stupid tin foil, hours after she's finished, I won't give her hug or a bottle of Evian. I'll give her the name of good therapist.
I would LOVE to hear your comments on this one. Maybe Silly Girl Running will comment on this.  She just ran in the New York Marathon. 

23 comments:

  1. I already ranted about this- so much so, that my own post for it, got deleted. If I focus on it, I will get more angry. I just decided not to pay this article an ounce more attention!

    PS- you were at Donna :) Did you see two crazy girls in the best tutu's on the course?!?!

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  2. ohhhhhhhhhhh this raised my blood pressure, I emailed you about this.

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  3. @OneLittleTriGirl: I'm pretty sure I saw the two of you.

    I also saw the guy running in the tutu. :-)

    I was the one running with a Guinness beer in my hand.

    Kevin
    http://halftriing.blogspot.com

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  4. Is this blog PG rated? If not, let me know.

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  5. @Patrick - My 15 year old reads this blog so keep it clean.

    Kevin

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  6. You know, I saw this article on CNN and just like 'Big Daddy' it really got my blood boiling. I'm not a marathoner by I look at all of them (elite to the last 'badly clad folks sucking wind and struggling up First Avenue') as simply amazing. This drove me to comment on a CNN article ... I have never ever done that before. I think all I said was, 'spoken like a true couch potato, put down the cheeseburger, strap on your shoes, and see WHY they brag about it all year.' Seriously!?!? In a country so fat and lazy, someone has the audacity to put down people out there enjoying and promoting sport!? Pretty incredible if you ask me ...

    Deep breaths, deep breaths

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  7. Another example of why I think the Huffington Post is worthless. What a bunch of crap.

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  8. WOW, I am amazed and then I'm not. Actualy there are less than a percent that could get in "reasonable shape" and run 26.2 miles in 4 to 5 hours, PERIOD !!!

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  9. Reading this, first I got irritated. Then I realized that maybe if he ran regularly HE wouldn't be so angry and might mellow out. Working in healthcare, I think it's GREAT that anyone completes a marathon. Who cares if you run it, walk it, crawl it... Completing that distance is an accomplishment. In a society where obesity and unhealthy lifestyles are becoming the norm, I think that getting almost 40,000 people to complete an athletic event (and not just a mile fun run) is moving in the right direction!

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  10. I read this on another blog. It reeks ignorance! I think it was mainly written to spark gratuitous controversy =/

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  11. I won't even say what I think of this.....however having a 15 year old of my own....I bet he would have heard it already. :)

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  12. I can't believe that! That's just ridiculous!

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  13. You have got to be kidding me. Wow. That makes me so mad, I can barely talk.

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  14. Not surprised at the vitriolic responses from people who've been there, done that. I'm pretty sure that's what the Huffington Post hoped for when it took a definitely unpopular view of today's marathoner.

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  15. Are there any words to truly describe my reaction to this article? Probably not! It's truly written from an ignorant perspective. Thanks for posting about it. I guess I missed it elsewhere - probably a good thing, it's quite upsetting and depressing.
    And, as an aside, anyone who participated in the NYC marathon and/or has completed 26.2 miles in an event isn't just an athlete - he/she is a warrior!

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  16. Heh, lots of interesting comments thus far! I want to add my own spin, if possible.

    Are New York Marathoners (or any other marathon runners) athletes? YES, of course.

    That said, I still think you have to respect the distance and the challenge in front of you. I was glad to see Al Roker, a man notorious for his unhealthy stature, complete the marathon. He is in a position of great public exposure and his endorsement of healthy physical activity is wonderful. However, I was completely disgusted at his finishing time - over 7 hours (16:24/mile).

    David Hollander portrayed an extreme opinion, which obviously did not come off very intelligently. However, I'm far from believing that everyone who crosses that finish line deserves a pat on the back, a medal and marathon bragging rights.

    We should respect the distance by putting in sufficient training to make it an event that maximizes our current athletic potential (not necessarily our ultimate potential, even – it’s a long process of improvement, which makes the marathon so great). But it should be that – a personal, maximal athletic effort – and when it is, it isn’t “doing a marathon.” It’s running one.

    I'm left pondering whether or not people like Al Roker serve as positive influences for the race/distance and for the millions of people who watch him on TV. Unfortunately, fools like David Hollander are the only audible counter-balance.

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  17. Running stops being just a form of exercise the moment you enter a race. It doesn't matter if you're racing against Meb or yourself. Honestly, these guys just come off sounding like brats. Insufferable, really? I think he accomplished his goal though, in getting every one of your readers (and who knows how many others) to read, then react to his article.

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  18. I just tweeted this article - so mad!! Thanks for stopping by my blog :)

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  19. "Beneath the narcissism I detect deep-seated masochism. Kenyans run marathons because they have to. Back home there were no cars, no roads and the nearest school bus or fresh water source was 40 miles away. Their "training" is borne from the necessity to survive. That 36,500 you mentioned, they run to kill personal demons. They beat their bodies swollen and sore to fill an emptiness or quiet a cry.

    Sport, no. Self-flagellation, penitence, lunacy -- yes."

    - erm, excuse me? are you telling me that the likes of Tiger Woods HAVE TO hit the golf ball to survive? that the likes of Fernando Alonso HAVE TO drive at insane speeds just to get to school? that the likes of Muhammad Ali HAVE TO punch out other people's faces just to get clean water?

    i suggest Misters Hollander and Sullivan go back to the root of it all: the meaning of the word "athlete:"

    athlete |ˈaθˌlēt| noun
    a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.
    • chiefly Brit. a person who is skilled in competitive track and field events (athletics).

    it says there "proficient" and "skilled," but nothing about "only the podium finishers of a particular sport"

    i rest my case.

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  20. "Beneath the narcissism I detect deep-seated masochism. Kenyans run marathons because they have to. Back home there were no cars, no roads and the nearest school bus or fresh water source was 40 miles away. Their "training" is borne from the necessity to survive. That 36,500 you mentioned, they run to kill personal demons. They beat their bodies swollen and sore to fill an emptiness or quiet a cry.

    Sport, no. Self-flagellation, penitence, lunacy -- yes."

    - erm, excuse me? are you telling me that the likes of Tiger Woods HAVE TO hit the golf ball to survive? that the likes of Fernando Alonso HAVE TO drive at insane speeds just to get to school? that the likes of Muhammad Ali HAVE TO punch out other people's faces just to get clean water?

    i suggest Misters Hollander and Sullivan go back to the root of it all: the meaning of the word "athlete:"

    athlete |ˈaθˌlēt| noun
    a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.
    • chiefly Brit. a person who is skilled in competitive track and field events (athletics).

    it says there "proficient" and "skilled," but nothing about "only the podium finishers of a particular sport"

    i rest my case.

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  21. Well, I just got back from my trip to the States! The trip I made to run the New York Marathon. In case anyone wants to know how I managed to finish this marathon...here's the recap! ;)

    http://sillygirlrunning.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-york-city-marathon-story.html

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  22. By the way...the harsh comments on New York Marathon runners by this Davis Hollander guy make me wonder if he himself is a long distance runner...

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  23. David should at least get his numbers right -- this year it was closer to 44,000 people who apparently got in his way and made his life miserable. If he hates it so much, get out of the city for the day. Us athletes will thank you.
    The 44,000 people who ran this year (I was one of them) are much more athletic than David who apparently puts more effort into ranting about people running a marathon than he does into exercise.
    Wasn't going to run NY next year -- now I think I will so I can be one more person to get in his way :)

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