Can we stop this PC bull**** about treating hobby joggers like equals?!

In fact "participants" have taken over the sport and in many cases look down upon fast runners who work harder from what I've seen. Many of them like to say things like "I'm slow and I'm proud of it" implying that training hard is a waste of time. Why train your heart out when you can get a medal by jog/walking I guess is their way of thinking.

I blame social media for a lot of it but I only see this issue getting worse and worse. Eventually they'll have things like virtual runs where you don't have to do anything and you still get a medal if things continue down this path.

OP: please list your pb's. I'm curious as to what they are. Please verify with a link, I if possible.

OP meant no harm wrote:

The OP has a point here, although could maybe use a little decaf.

There has been a backlash from the walker-jogger over the past 15 or 20 years, and they've taken the competitive out of road and and trail running. It's a sort of running relativism, where performance, and time-place for a given event, takes backseat to participation (at whatever effort suits the individual), bling (superficial finisher medals for any race and gift certificates, post-race food etc.), and distance rules (marathons and ultras). It's now everywhere, message boards (not here), clubs, and races. Diluted races with downsized competition, but oversized/slow runners that have big (but defensive) egos.

This is exactly what I was going for, but I can't express myself eloquently. I'm not saying hobby joggers need to be wiped out. I'm tired of this cultural mentality where the mark of success is simply participating. It's diluted racing, it's diluted the running community, and it's diluted the running culture as a whole. I think attempts to get people to run with "fun" marathons, color runs, adventure races, etc. established a different tone with the public. Serious running has and always will be laughed at in the face of "real" sports (football, baseball, basketball, the money sports). I think these fun runs are only tarnishing running's good name, and further pushing our sport down the hole.

I usually only get positive vibes from the participation runners that I personally come across. At races, a lot will cheer you on as you come back on an out and back course. On the trails, I hear a lot of "nice pace" or other compliments and the occasional joke like "I will catch up with you when I am done with my warm up".

But I do know a couple of race directors who have admitted that there are a lot of noisy mid to back of the pack runners who force them to spend more time worry about nice race medals and post race breakfast tacos than organizing an elite race or making sure that faster runners have easy access to the start line. These folks do seem to believe that distance running is actually a participation activity and the faster amateurs and sub elite to elites are just crashing their street party.

I'm serious about this wrote:

Let's cut out this politically correct garbage-- handing out participation medals for races and treating your 20 minute milers the same as the college elites.

Am I still allowed to collect age group medals at local races? I am not fast enough to win races.

r u serious about this wrote:

Time to Face the Factss wrote:

If you aren't making money through your racing endeavors, then you are a Hobby Jogger.

Or you could just call them "amateurs".

Yes, amateurs = hobby joggers.

DietBacon wrote:

I average about 8 dollars per year I ran in race prizes. Does that make me a runner?

Yes, you are a runner. Congrats, you may now look down upon the rest of us and scorn our very existence.

douchelin^3 wrote:

One thing is for sure. If you're posting all over social media to brag about your racing/training, you are more of an attention whore than a runner.

I think the same could be said for original poster -- "I'm fast and that makes me special! The things I do and the way I do them are important, and that makes me special!"

I'm not going to put my identity out there, but I'm not going to lie to you either. I could have made up a lot of numbers here, I'm embarrassed about some of my times, but a torn achilles will do that to ya. I was a crappy 10K "specialist" in college, a good role for a walk-on with an 18:20 5K pr

mile: 4:30, 3K-8:33, 5K-15:15, 10K-32:23, 8K cross-25:54

What gets more public exposure? Facebook, instagram, or the Letsrun forums? I'm not saying I'm the fastest runner alive or that I'm "special", it's more a case of hobby joggers not having earned the honor of a runner. I don't demand to be called "elite" or "amazing" or "fast", I just don't want to be lumped into the same group as joe schmo

I'm serious about this wrote:

What gets more public exposure? Facebook, instagram, or the Letsrun forums? I'm not saying I'm the fastest runner alive or that I'm "special", it's more a case of hobby joggers not having earned the honor of a runner. I don't demand to be called "elite" or "amazing" or "fast", I just don't want to be lumped into the same group as joe schmo

No hard feelings, I don't want to be in your group either.

I blame social media for a lot of it but I only see this issue getting worse and worse. Eventually they'll have things like virtual runs where you don't have to do anything and you still get a medal if things continue down this path.

Have I got the race for you!

http://werun5k.pulsemob.com/event/fat-turkeys/

And you seem too uptight to fit in with our group. Please carry on about your business and ignore our group. This is where the cool kids hang out.

See, this is the kind of stuff that is going to kill our sport. I mean seriously, nothing about the course, past results, age group rewards, top finisher rewards, course records.... and look how many people they have signed up already :/

I'm serious about this wrote:

What gets more public exposure? Facebook, instagram, or the Letsrun forums? I'm not saying I'm the fastest runner alive or that I'm "special", it's more a case of hobby joggers not having earned the honor of a runner. I don't demand to be called "elite" or "amazing" or "fast", I just don't want to be lumped into the same group as joe schmo

"Honor of a runner"? Please explain what this even is.

You don't need to ask for my permission, I'm just a regular dude. Personally, I think age group rewards are awesome, because it keeps some of the older veterans of the sport going and involved--- fast, slow, doesn't matter to me. I'm more disturbed by participation/finisher medals really. I guess I should have specified that what bothers me more are the 5 year or less crowd, who feel like they deserve the same respect as people that have been running for pretty much their whole life. I base this on seeing most of the

I'm serious about this wrote:

See, this is the kind of stuff that is going to kill our sport. I mean seriously, nothing about the course, past results, age group rewards, top finisher rewards, course records.... and look how many people they have signed up already :/

Yes, this is an absolute tragedy and must be stopped at any costs. Do you think we can get a group of those students to come and protest? We'll need a snappy little catchphrase, like "Hobby Joggers Suck" or something...any ideas?

whatthehell wrote:

"Honor of a runner"? Please explain what this even is.

Typo, sorry. I agree that doesn't make sense, sounded better in my head. Should have read something like "honor of having the title of a runner" or something to that effect. I'm too tired to proof read my rants, shame on me.

I think I know how we can judge who is and isn't a runner, beyond PR's and all that technical stuff. Just ask this: "If being a runner guaranteed that you would die 15 years premature, would you still do it?" I know my answer to that would be yes.