runner_pucci wrote:
Getting to run with DK is like winning a package of marshmallow's, lots of fluff and no substance...
The thing is this guy is the Guiness World Records of the running world. Yes, he has done many feats of determination and strength, but none of them are elite... like I wouldn't consider the guy who held his breath for the longest to be a amazing athlete or person.. just a guy who decided to set a record for a bizarre activity which no one else would consider attempting. Is there value in it? Maybe, but its marginal at best.
It's like having the world record for fastest 176.9 m time.. sure, most of our distance events are arbitrary but they are contested. The thing is I don't like when people who are not elite attempt to past themselves off to be in the same category of the truly elite.. and before you get into a metaphysical debate about what constitutes elite I think that for the most part we can all agree who is elite and who is not... Dean is not.
As for the whole “well he is a good guy and he promotes running” well perhaps… but not the kind of running I am interested in. I bet you that at best 50% of the people who read his stuff and go to his lectures know who the current world record holder is in any event over 100 meters. Why do we need guys like Dean to be inspirational for the average runner? Why not actual world leaders like Bekele, Radcliffe, Tergat, Khannouchi, Webb etc… Like why is it that in running our inspirations are not the best but people who are able to market themselves well? Like in football (soccer) we don’t find inspiration from the guy who juggled the ball for 24 hours or whatever, we look up to Ronaldo or Beckham and others. That’s what angers me and the media encourages it, a major distance record can be set without men’s health going ga ga over the athlete. I don’t blame this guy for cashing in, lets face it he must be making a good living off of it, but I get angry that this is what the sport is like in North America.
Mate, I pretty much agree with every sigle thing you say. especially in the last paragraph.
That is the trouble with all the endurance-based sports. people look at numbers in this stuff. they usually don't care about breaking the world mile record by a second, because they cannot relate to it. they don't know what it takes to push yourself to that level, and that it gets harder, the further you progress.
Instead, they will look at the distance. They all have driven for miles. and they know what a drag even just 100 miles can be in a car if you don't fancy a ride. So they see DK or other guys out there run(!) it and are then easily taken in by the media craze, because they can relate.