Mr. Doritos wrote:
Everyone has a point on the falsified accomplishments, slow speed, etc., but there is something deeper to the Dean hatred that most people on this board will not admit.
To preface, I am not a Dean supporter. If I met the guy, I probably would not want to hang out and have a beer.
That being said, letsrun posters are social pariahs. Many of them think that, based solely on their running achievements and nothing else, two things should happen. First, the media should beat down their door and offer instant fame and fortune. Second, members of the opposite sex should flock to them. Nobody is willing to face the core truth that is hard to face: social attention does not stem solely from athletic achievement in running. You have to actually self-promote, and people are scared of that.
People rarely want to face the fact that the only thing holding them back from great success is putting themselves out there and risking rejection and alienation. It is easier to justify their own fears by tearing down those who are successful at self-promotion. Thus, you see things like the "nice guy vs. jerk" myth with dating, or the "brown-noser vs. hard worker" myth in the corporate world, or the "friend of the hiring manager vs. qualified applicant" myth in job searches. Everyone wants to live in a fantasy world where success directly correlates to hard work, but that is rarely the case - the subjective judgment of others is the cruel equalizer in society, and this is the piece that is hardest to master.
It is also important to consider that, from a media and publication standpoint, Dean's story sells a lot better than others. Whether Dean's story is truth or fiction, the average couch potato is more likely to identify with the story of an average drunk guy who leaves a bar during his 30th birthday and decides on a whim to run 30 miles through the night than a story of an Olympic athlete who trains consistently for years while shunning the temptations of the modern world.
You may claim that Dean's lies about his achievements upset you. However, are you more upset about the fact that he lied, or about the recognition that you wish you could have been the one to do so but Dean beat you to the punch? The jealousy and hatred of others is rarely altruistic; instead, it reveals more about the character of the jealous person than it does about the character of the object of their scorn or ridicule.
TLDR: people with no social skills are jealous of successful self-promoters, and seek to tear them down instead of facing their own fear and anxiety of social interaction.