Marc Bloom: Pioneer or Self -Promoting Idiot

Marc did things for cross country when no one else did. His love for the sport and dedication over the years should be well respected, just like the work of Dystat, Trackshark, Eastern Track, and yes, Let's Run. What is wrong with trying to make an honest living selling some books in a limited interest field? His self promotion certainly isn't on the scale of a Donald Trump.

I can't imagine Marc is making millions promoting his book to a social group where the majority would rather run than earn a living.

My guess is that you haven't any idea of what cross country was like back before you were born. No one outside of those who ran could care less. Marc cared and did a great job promoting the sport. Please, give the guy a break.

I like Marc a lot. He was writing a newsletter back in the 1970's when it was real hard to get high school coverage. He covered all the high school stuff at Van Cortland and the Armory......did rankings, seasonal lists, all-time lists, etc. his work inspired many a NY NJ runner....

Why is it though that everyone who meets the guy or hears him talk walks away feeling like the guy who started this post? I haven't heard his schpiel, but the griping is consistent enough so that there must be some truth to it.

I ran in the Shore Conference in Jersey and would see Marc consistently throughout the year. He could use some of the great knowledge and wisdom he has accumulated over the years and coach his team effectively. He has taken his team to the top of Par. A group, which is THE worst group in all of NJ Track & Cross Country. His book about

"God on the Finish Line" or whatever wasn't worth the 10 minutes I wasted reading 5 pages while going to the bathroom. If you're going to be a coach, be a coach, stop half-assing it and give the kids the attention they need to succeed.

Self-promoting idiot

Par A is not the worst - Par B and Group 1 are far weaker most years. As for his book, some people like some don't nothing unusual in that and it doesn't have anything to do with how much time he spends coaching....

Mr Bloom(I refuse to call him coach) worked at St Rose which was Par B (the smaller private schools). Yes his team did win that division but were never near the top overall in the state that you would think they were in reading his book.

I do recall being at a meet where he was there to sign copies of his book which had only been out a few weeks and they were annoucing "buy the award winning book......" I would love to know what award it had won within weeks after being published.

Blooms's a pioneer much in the way Joe Henderson, George Sheehan, Tom Osler, Fred Wilt, Hal Higdon, and even Jim Fixx were. A lot of these guys never made much money off their writings, but they wrote about running because running was their passion. Bloom was writing about cross-country when no one else was, and it's doubtful those early years gained him any money at all. Moaning about Bloom being a coach and writing books, geez, come on!

his book superfudge is a classic.

I agree...only the smart folks out there are conscious enough to promote themselves. Running is a business to some - nothing wrong with that. If Bloom DIDN'T promote himself, many intelligent business minded people would look at him like an idiot for not doing so. You can't please everyone I gues...

I don't think that Bloom and people on Dye Stat do anything technically wrong by overpromoting and building up U.S. high school running. But I think there is the ever increasing possibility that they're exploited a huge market for financial reasons and buliding up young runners with over expectations and unrealistic goals for the future.

I'd rather be a kid going into college with no ego than a high schooler ( Acosta) that has been overhyped. It seems to work better that way for kids who develop further.

I used to like the old days before the internet when Jeff Nelson ran 8:36 and got about a 2 sentence mention in TnF news.

Today a kid who wins footlocker gets more internet mention than a stud like Dan Lincoln or Marc Croghan ever would get in their entire career.

You don't see Kenya, or even any other country pumping up HS runners like you do in the U.S.

A kid that's number one in the nation in HS at 4:03 or 8:45 will never sniff the publicity he got in HS if he only develops to 3:52 or 13:15.

I haven't seen Marc for about thirty years, but, airlines willing, I'm picking him up at the airport tomorrow when he comes into Illinois for the Midwest Distance Summit. Marc has done more for high school long distance running in America over the last thirty-five years than the next ten people combined. He has been producing something like the Harrier and NY State Guidebooks for over thirty years. How many of you, those wise and haughty critics of Marc, would do that for one year??????????????????? If any of you resent that he has a position in the sun, you may want to consider whether, at almost sixty years of age, he has earned it.

kewpie doll wrote:

Blooms's a pioneer much in the way Joe Henderson, George Sheehan, Tom Osler, Fred Wilt, Hal Higdon, and even Jim Fixx were. A lot of these guys never made much money off their writings, but they wrote about running because running was their passion. Bloom was writing about cross-country when no one else was, and it's doubtful those early years gained him any money at all. Moaning about Bloom being a coach and writing books, geez, come on!

You are spot on kewpie doll...I've known Marc for most of the past 30 years and am always deeply respectful of his genuine intentions for the good of the sport...he has been able to capture in words time and time again the absolute essence...just a real quality guy in the many dealings that we've had over the years.

MF

I don't know the guy personally, but I give him credit for being the editor-in-chief of "The Runner" magazine back in the '80s. "The Runner" looks especially good these days, when mass-marketed running magazines offer so little worth reading. Also, I give him credit for one article in particular -- "Me and Julio Down by the School Track," written for The Runner back in 1986. You can see more about it on Bloom's web site (http://marcbloomrunning.com).

Nice hearing from ya, Mr. Fanelli.

The best thing about Bloom in my opinion is that he objectively promotes the sport. He has high standards and doesn't allow himself to get immersed in hype, nor does he hype others. He's a real professional whose love of cross-country is apparent. Bloom does his job without resorting to establishing personal relationships with the athletes or teams he writes about. Those are lines that never get blurred. Those knuckleheads over at DyeStat ought to report to Bloom for some basic training!

I think Bloom has done a lot for running. The lead poster of this is another Lets Run hater.

Believe me, outside of the geeks on this board, a lot of people don't care about the sport. I can see why, most of the people here are very spiteful.

Also, what kind of people wake up in the morning and actually think about the impact Marc Bloom has made on the world, or that A.J. Acosta is getting too much pub, or that some other coach/runner/former runner that you've never met just isn't "keeping it real" enough for you?

God, get a freaking life -- preferably outside of running. To quote the old Saturday Night Live skit with Shatner at a Star Trek convention, "You ever kissed a girl?"

Time to move out of mommy's basement.

Right now I'm sitting here with the premiere issue of "The Runner," which I've somehow kept since October 1978, when I was in junior high school. Bloom was the senior editor. Cover stories include a Frank Shorter article on "training for speed," and features on Western States and "The Best Over-40 Runner in America."

Inside is more good stuff, including a story on that year's L'eggs Mini Marathon with great photos, including a racer who is pregnant. Sportsmedicine, race results, poetry, shoe advice and ad after ad aimed at runners are also in there.

It may be hard for those of you brought up in this Jogger's Earth/internet/Team in Training age to grasp how special a publication like this was for runners then. When you only got two or three channels on TV, when jerks in passing cars threw things at you as you ran down the road, when classmates wanted to bully you simply because you ran, a magazine like The Runner was a really positive window on your world. You realized once a month that there were people who understood running. They even thought it was cool. People like Marc Bloom. For that I'll always respect him and what he's done for the sport.

He has found a way to make a living as a runner (how many of you will be able to do that?). That takes work and sometimes, yes, a little self promotion. He has earned the right.

So yeah, I respect him and thank him. Thanks, Marc.

Also, his book "Cross Country Running" is a classic and still worth a quick read every fall.

I met him once and he was friendly (and never mentioned his book). I have always had respect for him because of what he did for HS Cross-Country. What's wrong with being able to make some money off the sport he loves so much.

I guess my only "problem" is that he underrates New York schools. Bronxville would have been in the top 7 at NTN's last year.

Other than that, he is a great guy who does so much to help make our sport more popular. Plus, he remembers the old, hard core days.

kewpie doll wrote:

Blooms's a pioneer much in the way Joe Henderson, George Sheehan, Tom Osler, Fred Wilt, Hal Higdon, and even Jim Fixx were. Bloom was writing about cross-country when no one else was, and it's doubtful those early years gained him any money at all.

Agreed. Marc's book Cross Country Running should be on every runner's bookshelf...if they can find it. It was published in '78 by World Publications (RW) and goes 190 pages. His service & devotion to the sport are matched by few others.