Gamera wrote:
Or sometimes the angle of running coverage is on amazingly difficult long distance running is, and how amazing it is that these grim, superbly conditioned people can run through such adverse conditions....still not interesting to watch in and of itself. Or how many marathons/ultramarathons so-and-so has completed within whatever amazingly short time period...still boring. And let's not even talk about how depressing it is to listen to Carol Lewis commentate a track meet.
It's like distance running coverage is about everything except the race itself. They're missing the most interesting part! The tactics, the rivalries, the various moves within the race, the attempts to drop people, the attempts by people who've been dropped to claw their way back, etc. There is an exciting sport in there somewhere, but you wouldn't know it when the announcer is constantly trying to explain to you how many football fields per hour the runners are covering, or how courageous some of the back of the pack runners are.
What is wrong with athletes taking on extreme endurance challenges? Simply running for fast times, by athletes who only run 1-2 marathons/year, is what I consider boring. Even more boring is the fact there's a gazillion Africans now doing it, yawn. If you don't think watching Kawauchi grit his teeth through his 11th marathon and another sub-2:10, you need to think about broadening your perspective on life and challenging the human body. Speed is only 1 talent.
Furthermore, Jon G. is like a typical Letsrun message boarder who's personified in real life as a cynical journalist- the only difference being that he uses his real name, which takes a bit of cojones. Not too many athletes are going to like this (understandably), but at the same time Jon needs to learn to write respectfully.