Saturday, October 24, 2009

Elites Only or Open For All?

WOW! Two posts in one night! I know, crazy. I just had to say something about this.

There was a very interesting and, well, annoying article on the front page of the New York Times yesterday. The author, and several people who were quoted, complained about people who walk marathons and cross the finish line many hours after the start. Personally, this made me a bit mad. I am not going to finish under 4 hours. Last year when I made the decision to do this, I had hoped for 4 hours, but after surgery in January set me back a little, I knew that wouldn't happen and instead decided to do the best I can this time out and nto pressure myself to finish in any particular time.

As you might imagine, the article stirred up many emotions and many comments were left on the site. 400, actually. Including one from Tish Hamilton, the Exec. Editor of Runner's World. I was encouraged to read that even she finished one of her (35!) marathons in 5:45 and encourages anyone who wants to run 26.2 miles. (another reason to love Runner's World). I do however, think that people attempting to finish a marathon need to prepare and take it seriously. It's a big deal and should be respected.

What do you think?

Here are a few pictures I've taken around the city in the past few weeks. (There are more where these come from!)












2 comments:

Jen Feeny said...

Those are great inspirational ads!!! Love them! Thanks for sharing!

That article is crap. That is all I have to say about that.

Julie said...

ha! someone posted that article on our training team message board. it's been meeting lots of hostility!