the anti jogger ad campaign

I largely agree, anony, though I feel it's not a totally black and white issue as few things are, and I have some concerns about tyrannies of majorities and devaluation of healthy competition and so forth. But by and large, yes.

And there's a spectrum, not a sharp divide. I'd think of myself as a runner but closer to jogger than anyone who's ever run as part of a team or club. I'm not awfully fast even for a 39 year old, by nature or training. And though I'll push myself hard as I can in races and pretty hard in workouts, I don't have the natural appetite for pain some of y'all do and have had to cultivate some masochism.

But I will run 80 to 100+ miles a week for a handful of months, 50 to 80 most of the other. I'll carve out the time, I'll make it a top priority and bump plenty of other stuff, I'll run doubles and workouts, in some pretty gruesome hot, cold, and storms. Enjoying most of it but still putting in the miles when it ain't so fun. I won't stop because of a minor ache but I will seriously back off for a few days if a real injury seems at all imminent. I'll run a handful of races and probably a fall marathon, and train and compete my best; but honestly the races might be more important to me as justification for the daily training and the hard work than they are on their own.

I might be shooting for a 1:20 half marathon in fall, and/or a 42k somewhere in the 2:50's, comparable for shorter races. Those times will put me in something like the 97th percentile in big NYC races but I recognize several whole classes of superior runner making up that 2 or 3 percent finishing ahead of me.

I'm mildly amused by both Reebok's "Run Easy" and the PI campaign but have no interest in either of their products.

Most of all, I'll spend way, way too much time on letsrun.

Does that make someone like me a runner or jogger? I can handle "jogger" but would then prefer that you recognize there's different levels of jogger, or a spectrum.

Or at least let's divvy it into three categories: jogger, runner, racer. Someone like me is clearly a runner in this taxonomy.

quote" Come on, is it healthy to treat running as a religion? It's just a sport. Where does someone running 16:30 go off treating running as a religion when someone who makes a living off basketball doesn't do the same?"

-healthy or not, right or wrong? the fact is that there is a subset of runners for whom running is a serious way of life. for many, it has nothing to do with making a living, nor necessarily how fast they are. it's a way of life, a lifestyle that is loved and taken seriously. isn't it a bit presumptious of you to tell others what they should or shouldn't take seriously. it's not like the people who treat running as a 'religion' are hurting others or having an ill-effect on society.

Pearl Izumi is still the most yuppified brand.

That's enough for me to buy a pair.

anony wrote:

In general, I find that the runners quickest to scoff at the "joggers" are the ones with their own inferiority complexes. (They are decent and dedicated runners who are not "elite", probably never will be, and beat themselves up about it.)

In general, I find that other people "discover" trends in others that basically fit their own predetermined conclusions.

If they don't like people who scoff at joggers then they find that those runners have "inferiority complexes." (where the symptom of an inferiority complex is apparently scoffing at joggers - circular reasoning).

If they don't like people who run with headphones then they find that those runners are "plodders" and weekend warriors and not serious runners, nevermind how fast the people actually are.

They then post these "trends" on message board threads and pretend like they've actually said something real.

You guys don't seem to get it. Not everyone is interested in running fast! Most joggers are the people who put in a full days work and find time to log a few miles. Is there goal to be the best runner they can be? No. There goal is to be the best doctor/lawyer/architect/teacher they can be. Just because people don't persue running with all their heart doesn't mean there isn't something that they persue with as much vigor as all you "elite" runners. I play the piano. Am I any good? No. Will I ever be the best piano player in the world? No. Do I even care? Hell no! Somewhere out there, there are thousands of piano playing elitists who look down their nose at me. There all probably on "letsplaythepiano.com" right now blaming people like me for some huge decline in American piano playing that I don't even know about. I'm no more responsible for that then joggers are for the performance drop in American distance running. I'm sure all of you elitists have hobbies you half-ass, which makes you hypocrites. Give the middle-aged joggers a break. Who knows, maybe back in their day they could've whipped you in a race. That all being said, I don't like Reebok's new ads because they encourage people to not try. People shouldn't be forced to train and race like elite runners, but it's kind of insulting to serious runners when the "run easy" mantra is ingrained into the masses. I don't like Pearl Izumi's add either, because they are too condescending and are basically saying that runners are better people than joggers. Note to all shoe companies: Just tell us about the shoes, then be done with it, okay? No need to alienate anybody.

The "secret" to advertising: image > product

What's wrong with a little elitism. Did any of you actually think that the band kids or the debate team deserved a varsity athletic letter in high school?

lol 1:20 isnt a "jogger" its pretty dang good

Pearl Izumi is gong to Make Racing Flats.

Just same the lastest issue of Sporting Goods Bussines News and there was a preview of new shoes including Racing Flats from Pearl Izumi. I think they were called the Peak and Peak XC for road and trail.