uphill run wrote: Wow, Runner's World shows just how little they actually care about the sport.
Yes, that's right. They hate the sport and are laughing maniacally in the RW control room at this very moment as their evil plans to destroy running come to fruition...
It always amazes me how some people are unable to imagine points of view other than their own. But I guess that's why magazines love to publish lists like this, because they invariably stir up so much response. Personally, I wouldn't have put Pre on any list like that, and don't even get me started about the mention of Karnazes. But I also understand that the editors who made the list are different from me and value different things. In fact, their criteria are explicitly stated in the piece:
"We also used a deliberately broad definition of 'greatness.' Beyond objective data such as world records and medal counts, we wanted to take the full measure of each runner’s success — considering, for instance, to what extent he or she has inspired others."
So they're making a list that gives importance to some things that I don't think are important. Fair enough. In the end -- if we're talking about "caring about the sport" -- isn't it great that the hundreds of thousands of casual and beginner runners who read the magazine will now have heard of Emil Zatopek and Lasse Viren and some of the other names in that list? To me, that seems like a pretty great outcome.