Amusing & infuriating Runners World quote a friend just sent me

Well, yes. But as I alluded to in my response, they're among the company of fellow runners, many of whom are in a similar position. When you face an injustice at work, you commiserate with your friends about it over a beer, don't you?

In a perfect world, yes, what you want would happen. But, as exhibit "a", I give you the world.

Positive Contribution wrote:

simple, really wrote:

Without us hobbyjoggers, you guys would be back to the 2.9 mile 5Ks with 15 males, start and finish line drawn with chalk in front of the RD's house, run on the sidewalk with no traffic monitoring.

You say that like it's a bad thing. Real runners prefer minimalism in their races. Hobbyjoggers need an expo, shoe seminars, and fuel stations every mile. Need at least 3 goo packs to make it 5 miles.

There are still some of these types of races out there. I don't see you running them without b*itching about how the distance was mismeasured and there were not prizes.

But go ahead and give us a link to your results at races like them.

I have no idea why so many LRC posters obsess over slow recreational runners. Could someone please explain to me just what the problem is?

Let me axe you a question wrote:

I have no idea why so many LRC posters obsess over slow recreational runners. Could someone please explain to me just what the problem is?

I don't like reading either. What's your question again?

You are so easily offended that hobby joggers get more attention than you do. Run your own race and don't worry about them.

I'm making the assumption that you are an elite runner, which I'm sure you are.

Blah Blah Blah Blah wrote:

There is also satisfaction after taking a shit, but I don't tell everyone about it.

Shouldn't that be "giving" a shit? :)

Boutros-Boutros Golly wrote:

Blah Blah Blah Blah wrote:

There is also satisfaction after taking a shit, but I don't tell everyone about it.

Shouldn't that be "giving" a shit? :)

perhaps 'leaving a shit" is a more accurate description ?

Let me axe you a question wrote:

I have no idea why so many LRC posters obsess over slow recreational runners. Could someone please explain to me just what the problem is?

Speaking personally ...

1. It's illogical.

The way everything else works, is we give credit for hard work, or talent, or luck. We do not give credit for showing up semi-prepared on game day and struggling. Why should running work differently than every other thing?

2. It's dishonest.

Why act like someone did something amazing, when they did not in fact do something amazing? Why do that?

3. It's bad.

Do you think it's good, to tell adults they're awesome, for not being awesome? Is this better for everyone?

4. It's silly.

It really is. It's just silly. One adult telling another adult 'OMG ROCK STAR!!!' for a 55 minute shuffle ... I mean, what is that? What are we doing?

5. It deprives people of the unique, hard-to-articulate-joys and triumphs of Actually Running.

I'm pretty slow. But I got lucky, because some early running mentors were very much not 'Hug First'ers. They took running seriously and saw no reason I shouldn't either. This made me faster than other people, but who cares. What matters it I got a profound and deeply meaningful experience that I would not have gotten if I'd bought into "As long as you finish!". They say that the great is the enemy of the good. Well, the mediocre is the enemy of the good too, and that happens a lot more often.

I particularly despise the work of Jeff Galloway. "When the going gets tough, walk!" He's done more for running than just about anyone. Unfortunately very little of it is good.

Oh, my early running mentors were later shamed within their run club on social media, for being 'too serious', so they now more or less run in disgrace and no one talks to them at the clubs (many) social events. That pisses me off too.

These are my reasons. Other people might have different reasons.

sorry for you wrote:

You are so easily offended that hobby joggers get more attention than you do. Run your own race and don't worry about them.

I'm making the assumption that you are an elite runner, which I'm sure you are.

I guess there's more than one a**hole here.

My man coebra articulating that 'contentment with mere internal validation is hard', is on point. And him anonymously posting that takes more 'courage' than Gladys (and btw FU Gladys) shuffling away to the guaranteed praise and reverence of friends and other well-wishers.

In my experience, people who glibly toss out pithy nothings like "run your own race and don't worry about them", do not actually live their lives that way. It's just a cheap way to pick on someone expressing an actual emotion.

Really ?

Did they commit some kind of war crimes ?

You're full of it .

I assume you're talking about the run club pariahs? No, no war crimes, and they weren't even rude to others.Just stuff like this:Becky: What'd you get in the 5K?Lily: 28:00!Becky: That's pretty good ... but I'll bet you can do better!(then later to her friends)Lily: So Becky just told me that I'm slow. TO MY FACE.(End of Becky)That's what happens when running can't be about running, but has to be about telling everyone they're amazing, all the time.

Disgrace ??? wrote:

Really ?

Did they commit some kind of war crimes ?

You're full of it .

Hmmmmm.... My perspective is: what happens behind me does not concern me. If people want to pin on numbers to waddle 5 kilometers while snapping selfies, I don't care. If they want to wear colorful wigs or super hero costumes, big whoop.

The point is, road races ceased to be competitive events many years ago. That's just the way it is. They do not exist for "serious" runners, they exist for everyone else. The under-trained, the slow, the overweight, the posers, the fundraisers, et al.

Why ridicule people who finish behind you? Or get pissed off because some aren't as dedicated to running? Pursue personal fulfillment and you'll be much happier for it.

You guys need to get your heads out of your asses

You guys need to get your heads out of your asses

You guys need to get your heads out of your asses

these guys ... wrote:

sorry for you wrote:

You are so easily offended that hobby joggers get more attention than you do. Run your own race and don't worry about them.

I'm making the assumption that you are an elite runner, which I'm sure you are.

I guess there's more than one a**hole here.

My man coebra articulating that 'contentment with mere internal validation is hard', is on point. And him anonymously posting that takes more 'courage' than Gladys (and btw FU Gladys) shuffling away to the guaranteed praise and reverence of friends and other well-wishers.

In my experience, people who glibly toss out pithy nothings like "run your own race and don't worry about them", do not actually live their lives that way. It's just a cheap way to pick on someone expressing an actual emotion.

I bet you're the life of the party.

Everything wrong swimming wrote:

If you don't finish a swimming race, you drown and die.

In a crossfit "endurance competition" lurching onto a jetski is OK.

This LR obsession with slow hobbyjoggers fascinates me. I wonder if professional golfers spend their time going to public courses with binoculars so they can observe, report, and ridicule all the silly things the stupid fat duffers do.

Anyway, if y'all got what you wanted, you'd still bitch about it. A year or two ago there was a race that decided to run their 5k in two separate races (i.e., heats): one for "competitive" runners and one only for those running 25 minutes (I think) or slower. Runners on message boards freaked out about it, how the slow race isn't a "race" and how they're discriminating against fast runners by not allowing them to win the slow heat and how it's the downfall of 'Merican exceptional-ism and it's like evil participation trophies and that whole business. The race got the fat hobbyjoggers to pay for the prizes and infrastructure without allowing them to get in the way of the real runners, and the real runners still complained.

Cue the responses of "25 minutes is slow".

The problem is that these people complaining on this thread aren't elites. Probably some 15:xx wannabe elites.