OBSERVATION

Thank you so much for your elitist obervation. We all hope to be as fast as you! I'm sure there are things that you struggle with in life. I'd love to be there to smear your pathetic face in it when that happens.

That is one of the great things about our sport, the trotters as you called them can mix and step to the line with the stars of the sport. Can you step on the court with Kobi? Can you get on the field with Barry Bonds? Can you dream of getting on the field with Farve? No, No and No. But you can jump on the line with the elite of running. From what I have also seen most world class distance runners are also very approachable - easy to talk to and willing to talk to you. Not so true about the other pro sport athletes.

Also having large numbers at a local fun run is a good thing as I see it. All we hear about is how America is fat, lazy and out of shape, well here are a large number of people who prove that wrong.

Another gem of our sport is that you do not have to be an elite to "win" at a race. There is always the clock. I know I will never ever run fast again( well I was never really fast to start), but I can achieve certian goals from mid or back of the back.

Hey I enjoy watching the elite race as much as the next guy and I would be the first to walk away once 18 min of a 5k clicked by, but I give these trotters credit - they are out there doing it unlike many armchair quaterbacks.

This whole post is filled with such idiotic contrived tripe that I scarcely know where to begin. For one, the so-called trotters are no where near the starting line when there are stars there. Also, anyone who truly deserves to be on the field with Bryant, Farve, or Bonds is there. And teams in the pro leagues do hold open tryouts for those who think they have what it takes. Do trotters deserve to draw direct comparisons between themselves and the stars? Nope, not at all. The fact that trotters can participate in the same event as the stars only points to what a cult activity running really is. And the stars of running are no more approachable than the stars of any other sport. Don't fool yourself, running does have its Randy Mosses and Barry Bondses.

Amazingly, while road race participation has risen over the last decade, obesity has spiraled wildly upwards, greatly out-pacing the former. Not so coincidentally, the quantity of the quality has dropped off dramatically. Yeah, there's more runners shuffling along out there, but they mostly suck when compared to their predecessors.

Yeah, and finishing is winning, too, isn't it? Or is the victory in having the courage to start? Don't make me barf.

Yeah, great for them, personally, for doing something. How does this benefit the sport, especially when the vast majority of them don't give two shits about the "stars" they are lining up to "compete" with? Ask any one of them to name an American distance runner besides KK or Webb. They don't care about the sport or the stars, they only care what running can do for them, personally.

wow your right - anybody who cannot run 14:30 for 5k on the roads should not be allowed to enter and should just crawl in a hole & die

Turk 182 wrote:

wow your (sic) right - anybody who cannot run 14:30 for 5k on the roads should not be allowed to enter and should just crawl in (sic) a hole & die

More contrived and disingenuous tripe. Just because I don't take the same sugar-coating, over-estimating view that you have doesn't mean that I oppose anyone's presence at a road race or event. It's your own inferiority complex that makes you see things that way, rather than looking honestly at and dealing with exactly what I said. I just won't sit idly by while you distort the truth.

I agree with Turk.

I find it amazing that someone is pathetic enough to look down on people for getting excited about running. Who cares if they just PR'd with a 19 min 5K? How the hell does that affect your life? Christ people, lighten up.

Have you ever played a pick-up game of B-ball and got excited about hitting a shot? You must be some kind of loser if you did.

Wow, everyone missed the point of my post entirely or maybe I did a poor job of explaining. My point was that although these people are sloww and very joyous upon just finishing a 5k in under 23 min that is okkkkk-as longggg as they don't infringe upon people like myself or others like me that take it very seriously by telling me about it or jumping around in my face. I saw a guy come in way back and he was fired up-both his kids were waiting for him-and they were loving his finish-and that is goood for them. He and his sons got joy out of running. That is how people get into the sport-he may have sucked-but maybe one or both of his sons will start running at some point. I must have just explained my original statement poorly-there are other things in other areas of life that this 22-23min 5k guy probably does alot better than I do, the difference is, I don't go around professing my great achievement to him in that area(when it is probably small compared to his ability in that area). Get it?

Hey max,

Unless you run in amongst the elite in the World then you need to zip it because how would you like it if you just finished a couple minutes behind some guy who just ran low 13's for a local fun run. How would you like it if this guy would simply ignore you and the pr you just set.

humidxc:

Why must I be amongst the elite in the World to call a spade a spade? Uh, I'd have no problem whatsoever with finishing a couple minutes behind a guy who just ran low 13's for a local fun run. I would be understanding and perfectly alright with EVERYONE else in the race field ignoring me and my PR. Why should any of them care? Why should I expect any of them to care? On the face of it, PR's really have no significance except to the person who ran them.

Maybe everyone is not like you.

It's just ridiculous to expect everyone who steps out the door for a run to be an elite runner. Not everyone wants to spend every waking second running, thinking about running, or typing on stupid running boards. Fitness is a completely admirable goal.

How many of these runners really "bother" anyone? FEW, if any. Get a clue.

NO LIMIT- I think your elitest, arrogant attitude is way worse than any slight lack of humility the non-elite may show. I highly doubt anyone has ever or will ever "infringe upon people like yourself or others like you by telling you about it [thier success] or jumping around in your face".

Rec runners look up to faster runners, and really don't get in anyone's way.

PR's have significance. I care if Krumm runs a PB 800. Also, the guy who talked about the guy who high-fived his kids was right. Sure, many of these people suck. But maybe if they like running and watching these 5K's, some of them will enjoy watching on tv, or the young kids may start running themselves, and become a lot better than a 22 minute 5K road racer.

Get people to enjoy the sport. Enjoyment brings popularity. Popularity keeps the elite athletes in the sport, and away from football, basketball and baseball. It looks like years of AYSO, and leagues like that, are finally helping US soccer. I, for one, would like to see the same effect on US running.

And it is all those 22 min + 5k people who buy the shoes - that put $ in the pocket of the shoe companies who then make a deposit in the account of the elite runners.

No Limit is the same dick that puts out all the stupid Suzy posts!..case closed!

My intent here was way misunderstood, but those are the breaks I guess. I agree with most of your points-I like that the trotters that buy shoes keep some of the elite from having to work and allows them to focus directly on training. I like the fact that getting young kids interested in the sport allows them, by watching their crappy dad trot along to the finish, become enthused and persue their own running careers-Chances are most of us fast people didn't have parents who were elite runners either.

And Smoke-I was trying to make it through this thread without someone bothering me about Suzy-but I will defend her and her accomplishments forever-you can believe she is all about the mainstream joggers I mentioned that buy shoes so that Nike can put substantial money in her pocket as well-in a twisted screwed up way-alot of the best survive and profit from the worst.

Mad Max,

You opened yourself up for criticism when you called yourself "serious about our sport". Whether you are or not, this statement reeks of arrogance. What could have been a simple comment about some girls getting overly excited turned into a statement about how good YOU are. Self-promotion on a message board is ALWAYS a bad thing. You will get slammed for it every time and rightly so, unless you back up your self-promotion with a real name and then proof that you have excelled (like our own Jason). Jason still gets slammed for self-promoting, but in his case, that slamming is not deserved.

Anway, I hope you've learned a little lesson.

Oops, I meant NO LIMIT, Not Nad Max.

Sorry Mad Max.

I'm not sure there really was a lesson to be learned from this thread. Other than:

1) Fat people look silly when they get excited and jump up and down at the finish of their 45 minute 5k's.

2) Just throw me the damn ball.

3) People get slammed on this board on a equal-opportunity basis. Make a comment, any comment, and someone will disagree.