My thread was deleted. All I said was his quote was very similar to what Armstrong said in response to the accusations he takes drugs.
My thread was deleted. All I said was his quote was very similar to what Armstrong said in response to the accusations he takes drugs.
Criticism can be hard to take, especially when it seems ill-informed. So on that count, I sympathize with Rupp and other pro runners.
On the other hand, the main reason Rupp gets a paycheck is because there are people who care about distance running. And caring about a sport leads to offering opinions, some of which are bound to be negative and/or poorly thought out.
I mean, what Rupp has to deal with in terms of uninformed criticism is nowhere near what NFL and NBA guys deal with. And, in a sense, that's why those guys get paid so much more - more criticism comes from more people being interested, the two pretty much go hand-in-hand.
So, personally, I'd suggest that whenever Rupp or other pros bash Let's Run, they also toss in a phrase along the lines of, " ... but I'm glad that people care."
I'd speculate that the main reason they don't pay much attention to "the chat rooms" is because running is their full-time job. I don't pay much attention to the online chatter about my profession - I get enough of that at work.