Great New York Times article on New York's West Side Runners - The Ultimate Blue Collar Runners

These (mostly) Latino runners build the backbone of WSX but 99% of WSX's visibility are the 5 Ethiopians that typically win the NYRR races (where there is price money). My understanding is that these guys are not blue collar. They run and that's their job. I wish this article would have dug a bit deeper about how these athletes are being brought to the US, how they're booked for major Marathons, how they share their price money, and what happens after they retire from running. Do they go back to ETH or do they become a part of the American society. Unfortunately, this article leaves a lot of questions open about heir stars.

why does it matter if running is "blue collar" or not?

Ok, some people who run have lower socioeconomic status.... What's the point?

Is it a point of pride on behalf of poor people in order to help validate/self-justify ?

Great article. Office workers are simply too soft for long distance running.

Anyone else find it hilarious that some runners are going to run in Mexico instead of the US because of the money? Obviously the competitiveness factor is different, but still, sign of the times...

themanontherun wrote:

Anyone else find it hilarious that some runners are going to run in Mexico instead of the US because of the money? Obviously the competitiveness factor is different, but still, sign of the times...

1. Mexicans can make more money racing in MX doesn't surprise me. Ryan Hall can also make a lot more money racing in the US than in Dubai, despite Dubai being a much, much richer place.

2. I would like to see the name and PRs of the Ethiopians who went to MX. Frankly, I don't buy it.

3. Rent is expensive in NYC so I never understood in the first place how they can afford to recruit 2nd tier ETH runners to have their camp there.

NYCRunner wrote:

These (mostly) Latino runners build the backbone of WSX but 99% of WSX's visibility are the 5 Ethiopians that typically win the NYRR races (where there is price money). My understanding is that these guys are not blue collar. They run and that's their job. I wish this article would have dug a bit deeper about how these athletes are being brought to the US, how they're booked for major Marathons, how they share their price money, and what happens after they retire from running. Do they go back to ETH or do they become a part of the American society. Unfortunately, this article leaves a lot of questions open about heir stars.

I thought it was a poorly done article that amounted to an interview with Bill Staab. There was passing reference to the Ethiopians who are actually West Side's fastest runners nowadays, but no exploration of interesting questions like:

-the team's history prior to Bill Staab's arrival;

-the influx of North African runners on the team in the late 80s / early 90s + the end of the team's affiliation with the West Side Y;

-the rise of Mike Barnow's East-African led Westchester Track Club;

-the sudden emergence of a group of East Africans on West Side Runners.

I'm pretty sure there's an interesting and complicated story here, but it sure wasn't told in the NY Times quick gloss. Perhaps Joe Garland knows more about it than I do and will chime in with a thought or two?

bump

Great article. This was reminiscent of the Village Voice article on Westchester Track Club, except that one was about the lives of the Ethiopians who dominated city running, and this one is about the lower tier (local competitive) level of runners, mostly Latino. There are three guys in the article that are mentioned from the club that I've raced many times. They are tough competitors and you better dig deep at the end because they will not give in. It's good that the writer appreciates the sacrifices these guys make every day for running despite generally having no chance (in New York City) at prize money, because it epitomizes the life of running for its own sake, against all inclinations (Sauce talks about those mornings where he gets up after little sleep and doesn't want to run but does it anyway). And it should send a message to NYRR that by continually raising the prices for their races, particularly the Marathon, they are really cutting out or making it tough for the most dedicated runners out there, who should be their core audience. Instead, they raise the prices, tighten the qualifying standards, affecting guys like these, push the package tour runners from overseas, and try to get 8,000 charity runners in (they're not able to fill that group this year, for once).

That is nice, but they are not elite runners now are they?

There are many fine, dedicated runners on West Side. There are also many fine, dedicated runners on other NYC-area teams. It's presenting the story of West Side as Bill Staab tells it without asking him any hard questions and with no independent verification that bothers me.

luv2run wrote:

That is nice, but they are not elite runners now are they?

No, the team members mentioned in the article aren't elite runners, although they are at/near the top of their age groups locally.

The article does make passing mention of the "elite" Ethiopians who run for the team, although generally I think they could more fairly be termed sub-elite [guys of the 30 for 10k, 1:05 for 1/2 marathon, 2:18 for marathon variety - very good but not likely to hit the big time.]

One female runner from the local East African community - Buzunesh Deba - has made it to the fully elite level. Her husband Worku Beyi also showed a lot of promise but has had injury issues and has said in recent interviews that he's focused on coaching his wife rather than competing himself.

Worku and "Buzu" both ran for Westchester when they first came to the US but switched to West Side in 2010/2011.

As I said before, I believe there's a story here, but the Times article isn't making any attempt to tell it.

I get what you are saying about the Times not getting down to the nuts and bolts of the team and the dynamics of recruiting runners. This is just a feel-good story (one of many in the Times) that are common leading up to the race. The kind of article you are talking about would prob never be in the Times because nobody cares outside of a handful of people.

luv2run wrote:

That is nice, but they are not elite runners now are they?

Oh I was waiting for someone to bring that one up.

Blue Collar Jumper: Brittney Reese

1 Olympic Gold, 3 World Championship Golds.

NO CLUB OR SPONSOR

This is the reality for most. Many so-called professional runners don't make enough from their sponsor to stay above the poverty line. Most of them are blue collar runners.

TourGuide wrote:

I get what you are saying about the Times not getting down to the nuts and bolts of the team and the dynamics of recruiting runners. This is just a feel-good story (one of many in the Times) that are common leading up to the race. The kind of article you are talking about would prob never be in the Times because nobody cares outside of a handful of people.

Fair enough. It just bothers me to see this article featured on the home page + given the message board subject line "Great NY Times article" when in fact it's just a lazy article based largely on an interview with someone who I believe has a long history of self promotion.

I just scrolled through the pictures of the article since they tell more of a story. The one thing that caught my eye was the last pic of a guy sitting on his bed putting on his running shoe. I couldn't help notice the nice big flat screen tv in the background.

Not sure why I had to mention this...

Realism wrote:

why does it matter if running is "blue collar" or not?

Ok, some people who run have lower socioeconomic status.... What's the point?

This. I don't get the blue collar fascination either. I'm honestly a lot more impressed by white collar people who can swing a demanding 80hr/week job with an unpredictable schedule and still train enough to do an Ironman. The local running scene around here is dominated by teachers. No wonder.

Little off topic wrote:

I just scrolled through the pictures of the article since they tell more of a story. The one thing that caught my eye was the last pic of a guy sitting on his bed putting on his running shoe. I couldn't help notice the nice big flat screen tv in the background.

Not sure why I had to mention this...

I just bought a TV that size for $100 less than it costs to run the NYCM.

Realism wrote:

why does it matter if running is "blue collar" or not?

Ok, some people who run have lower socioeconomic status.... What's the point?

Is it a point of pride on behalf of poor people in order to help validate/self-justify ?

Have you ever had a blue collar job? As someone who has worked both in blue and white collar working areas, trying to run after shoveling tons(literal) of asphalt daily in 90 degree weather is physically harder than staring at my computer for 8-12 hours, sitting in an AC controlled building and then doing it.

I give respect any full time worker who tries to compete and work, but the toll many blue collar jobs takes on the body just sucks.

Also, blue collar doesn't always equal poor. Most of my former blue collar workers make double what my current office co-workers pull in.

Road Crew wrote:

Have you ever had a blue collar job? As someone who has worked both in blue and white collar working areas, trying to run after shoveling tons(literal) of asphalt daily in 90 degree weather is physically harder than staring at my computer for 8-12 hours, sitting in an AC controlled building and then doing it.

I give respect any full time worker who tries to compete and work, but the toll many blue collar jobs takes on the body just sucks.

Also, blue collar doesn't always equal poor. Most of my former blue collar workers make double what my current office co-workers pull in.

Great post.