Once upon a time.

Remember that nobody is forcing you to buy a watch or an HRM

Remember that the Kenyans are among the best runners in the world and it was a shame they weren't around then

Remember that you don't have to worry about pronation factor if you don't want to

Remember that inflation makes your $20 back then a lot more money now (and that the shoes they had back then mostly sucked, now matter how much your fuzzy memory says otherwise). Remember also that you were crying even back then about how $20 was just way too much

Remember that you can still "just run" if you want

Remember that for your $10 all you got was more often than not an inaccurate course, no splits, very little support, and no access to the finishing list. Remember even back then how you thought that $10 was a ripoff.

Where you went wrong was in romanticizing running in the 70s. I was there too. It sucked.

Wow.

Gee.

It didn't s*ck for me, sorry to hear about your experience.

There was something called an "entry feed" back then? What was that?

The Kenyans were never a tribe, they were always citizens of Kenya.

Running shoes are so much better now that I am surprised you even bring that up. Also, in real dollars the ones for around $50 are cheaper than the $20-25 ones from the '70's.

Who worries about their "pronation factor"?

If you don't like watches and HRM's don't wear one.

That was a typo obviously and you are insecure enough to draw attention to yourself by pointing it out.

Great.

Congratulations.

Bravo.

Good for you.

Go get yourself a bowl of Bran Flakes, you seem a little backed up..

I was there too (the 70's, the 80's). I think if you look at the rankings, mile to marathon you'll find an incredible depth back then compared to today. So the quality of performance didn't "suck" back then. Where did things go wrong???

Citrate of magnesia works better.

I know.

Why don't you try some after a big dinner? You'll remember my advice. Believe me.

Remember when there were no digital watches there was no Nike either?

fsbrsp wrote:

I was there too (the 70's, the 80's). I think if you look at the rankings, mile to marathon you'll find an incredible depth back then compared to today. So the quality of performance didn't "suck" back then. Where did things go wrong???

Who said anything about the "quality of performance"? Not me.

It sucked in general, compared to now. Shoes were worse, races were worse and there were fewer of them, running clothes were much worse, there was no internet to find races, results, etc.

We romanticize the past too easily.

"The older I get, the faster I was."

This kind of stuff makes me burst out laughing because I used to run in those "Golden Days" of the Running Boom. Yes, those were the Xanadu days when everyone "just ran" and the world was a kinder, and more peaceful place. I remember joining hands one day and singing the Coke theme song -- you know, with the world. But then, we went and ran a 20 miler to make up for that wasted time -- because we were SO much more focused than "kids today."

On the one point in particular, anywhere I've run and at any point in my life there have been some people that overanalyze and others that don't. One of my friends had a log book that would have made Einstein blush -- he only ran on courses that he marked (with a wheel, not a car), and he tracked every single mile. In his room, he charted each mile of each run and traced his progress (or lack of progress) for each and every day. He predicted what he would run, not only in raced, but on recovery runs. I tried to figure out his system once, but my head came quite close to exploding.

[quote]no wrote:

[quote]fsbrsp wrote:

Who said anything about the "quality of performance"? Not me.

It sucked in general, compared to now. Shoes were worse, races were worse and there were fewer of them, running clothes were much worse, there was no internet to find races, results, etc.

We romanticize the past too easily.[/quote

But I LIKED it that way! I think the shoes and races were better. I really dislike the mob scene that races have become now in many instances and I just can't get excited about running clothes.

I remember training in cotton t-shirts, watches that couldn't track lap times, coaches that had you training "balls to the wall" every day, athletes that couldn't get paid, etc...

Certainly time makes things look better but I'd say that running is doing quite well these days. We have a nice crop of young guns, tons of races, loads of choices of shoes, the net as a means to communicate with other runners, and my favorite new running "invention" over the past 30 years- CoolMax.

Indeed.

My nipples (and other parts) thank whomever invented Coolmax.

I ran NYC a few years back and thought everything about it was outstanding -- that alone convinced me that the "golden days" are best left in the past.