An Amateur Calls out Elite runners

there are kernels of truth wrote:

For the vast, vast majority (and I include myself, a 4:08 high school miler), competing in track and cross country at the college level or beyond makes little sense. While I was privileged to have a track scholarship, and certainly put in the effort, competing at the Division 1 level made no sense given my academic goals. Yes, I was able to finally achieve the academic goals, but college athletics added 4 or 5 years to my adolescence, and it caused me to start later pursuing activities which made sense for the remainder of my life. My perspective may be skewed - I was a very good student - but then again, there any number of very good students who post here with the same kind of skills.

I don't get this post at all.

I've never understsood why people are in such a hurry to get on with their careers. YOu want to start working at 23 verus 25. What's the big deal?

Running got you a scholarship, fun times I assume on the team and cost you a year of your timbe. SOunds like a GREAT DEAL.

If you can't balance track practice (max 3 hours a day) with college, then I imagine the real world is going to be hard for you as well.

I've never understood the mindset of "oh it's just sports, it's a waste of time, it didn't help with my career."

Think of it this way, "It's just a job, it's a waste of time as well."

we all end up six feet under. You don't take your job or money with you. Your experiences in life are what matter.

I don't get how being on a team, competing, wouldn't be awesome. What do people do when they get rich? They buy sports teams. Well guess what. You were getting a scholarship to be on a sports team.

-Robert

he is condescending towards those without religious faith.

hayward102 wrote:

I think it is disappointing that this was the quote of the day.

Why are you disappointed it's QOD. When Time does person of the year, it's not always mother theresa. sometimes it's sadamm hussein.

THe point of QOD is to find interesting quotes whether you agree or disagree. This clealry was a great QOD as the thread iss 6 pages long.

I'm glad you said this rojo.

rojo wrote:

hayward102 wrote:

I think it is disappointing that this was the quote of the day.

Why are you disappointed it's QOD. When Time does person of the year, it's not always mother theresa. sometimes it's sadamm hussein.

THe point of QOD is to find interesting quotes whether you agree or disagree. This clealry was a great QOD as the thread iss 6 pages long.

Is that how you judge the veracity and the quality of your quotes Robert, how many pages? tee hee hee:)

The Biw wrote:

I ran with Clay at OSU, he's a good man.

Definitely not, "Disgruntled."

Was this "OSU" a kindergarten?

Because your writing suggests as much.

Man is this Clay Mayes guy full of himself. I think he oughta spend more time coaching/recruiting for his awful NAIA team Bacone College and a little less time preaching about his belief in an imaginary guy in the sky.

renewed marathoner wrote:

I'm glad you said this rojo.

i like the guys that kiss ass rojo and wojo

rojo wrote:

hayward102 wrote:

I think it is disappointing that this was the quote of the day.

Why are you disappointed it's QOD. When Time does person of the year, it's not always mother theresa. sometimes it's sadamm hussein.

THe point of QOD is to find interesting quotes whether you agree or disagree. This clealry was a great QOD as the thread iss 6 pages long.

I agree with Rojo here. Making it quote of the day isn't endorsing his article, it's recognizing that his blog post has become an extremely hot/controversial topic.

I don't think we're reading too much into his writing to see that religion is at the root of all this. He loves the outspoken religious runners, but doesn't like guys like Wheating or "narcissistic Centro". The tweet at Wheating was particularly mean. Clay, you of all people should respect someone trying to make a comeback. Of course he got overexcited, he just won his first race back from a long layoff. You don't like him though because he's not Christian enough for you so you write snarky, denigrating tweets. Cool.

Nick Symmonds gives back to the community, supports a number of charities, and has used his status as an elite to advocate for human rights in Russia. No mention of him in Clay's post. Could it be because Nick isn't outspoken about his religion, and that he advocated for gay rights?

He as a bright future as the Ann Coulter of the running community

Jealous?

I think people are looking way too much into the religion aspect with this article. I'm assuming as a defense mechnisism for not agreeing with the article.

QFE

German never posted on Dyestat...

themanontherun wrote:

An All-Dyestat top 5 of the best five 5k runners from the old Dyestat boards would be pretty impressive.

Chris Derrick

German Fernandez

AJ Acosta

Steve Finley

Clay Mayes

I'm sure there are others unnamed who used to post on Dyestat who were faster than 14:18. Still, a 14:18 for your number 5 guy is pretty good. By going from team Dyestat to OSU, did Mayes actually take a step down in team depth?!

I think you missed the point

Has anyone noticed that all the people who claim to be from OSU or OU have poor spelling, bad grammar, bad sentence structure, etc. (including the author of the piece)? I guess it just goes to show what type of education you get there...

rojo wrote:

Why are you disappointed it's QOD. When Time does person of the year, it's not always mother theresa. sometimes it's sadamm hussein.

THe point of QOD is to find interesting quotes whether you agree or disagree. This clealry was a great QOD as the thread iss 6 pages long.

If long comment threads determine the quality of a QOD, just put in some stuff from Kip Litton and watch the quality roll in. Seriously, read the comments on the thread. He has not started a substantive debate about the narcissistic nature of an individual sport. People are pissed that a fairly stupid religious rant is being given a prominent forum.

You didn't quote the guy because he was "Saddam Hussein" (note - never Time's Person of the Year, nor was Mother Theresa) You explicitly said "I enjoyed it as well. It's always good to thik."

There was nothing to think about. you misunderstood the kid's stupid point, which appears to be that religious runners are better than Andrew Wheating and therefore make more money.

And now I've added to the length of this thread, meaning that both you and this smug moron somehow feel justified. Ugh!

rojo wrote:

Why are you disappointed it's QOD. When Time does person of the year, it's not always mother theresa. sometimes it's sadamm hussein.

THe point of QOD is to find interesting quotes whether you agree or disagree. This clealry was a great QOD as the thread iss 6 pages long.

If long comment threads determine the quality of a QOD, just put in some stuff from Kip Litton and watch the quality roll in. Seriously, read the comments on the thread. He has not started a substantive debate about the narcissistic nature of an individual sport. People are pissed that a fairly stupid religious rant is being given a prominent forum.

You didn't quote the guy because he was "Saddam Hussein" (note - never Time's Person of the Year, nor was Mother Theresa) You explicitly said "I enjoyed it as well. It's always good to thik."

There was nothing to "thik" about. You misunderstood the kid's stupid point, which appears to be that religious runners are better than Andrew Wheating and therefore make more money.

And now I've added to the length of this thread, meaning that both you and this smug moron somehow feel justified. Ugh!

His post was a bit hard to understand, but I think I understood what he meant.

I was also an extremely good HS runner (FL XC qualifier, sub-9, sub-4:10) and I was given a substantial scholarship to a D1 school. I put in the work and held up to my end of the scholarship deal. I ended my career with multiple AA awards, individual and team conference wins, and helped the team to top 20 finishes for each of the four years I competed.

Honestly, I didn't really enjoy it all the much, and I, like the OP, felt like my athletic experience was kind of a waste of time. I ended up choosing an easier major that I could fit around practices and wouldn't require excessive amounts of studying. I went to a top university, and the competition in the classroom was intense. I still studied a lot even though I chose an 'easier' arts major. My time was consumed by running and studying. And, FYI, I did graduate with a good GPA (>3.0).

Also, it was the culture among the team, and encouraged by coaches, to choose easier majors. The majority of our best runners were Health & Physical Ed., English, Art History, Sociology majors. None of these majors have a proven track record to starting careers in the 'real' world.

Now that I've graduated with little prospects in the job market, I look back at my experience in undergraduate and wonder if it was all a waste of time. I spent four years getting a degree that I doubt I'll ever use. What the hell was the point? In retrospect college ended up being like an extension of high school. I spent four years not really acquiring any specific skills, and now I'm behind my peers in terms of job success and financial stability.

Now I'm back at school acquiring skills that are more marketable. I feel like I'm using my time much better this time around.

But, again, I'm just someone who ran because I was exceptionally good at it. I suspect that the OP is similar to me in this regard.