I only really care about my own running.
I only really care about my own running.
I used to live and die with elite and sub-elite race results...now I just am happy to get out the door consistently.
Rojo and I exchanged e-mails about the "Fan of My Running" idea a long while ago and he was going to do an article. Frankly I do not remember if he ever produced it.
A very valid point about the difference between taking part in a sport and being a fan of the pro version is important when we evaluate the long term health of the commercial side of the game..
How many folks golf but do not follow the tour any deeper than the headlines and the face hawking the box of balls?
T&F News had a what if they threw a meet and nobody bought a ticket issue a while back too.
HRE wrote:
I do some of that on Facebook and a tiny bit on Twitter and it does keep my interest in what some people in the sport are doing and there are definitely people I like and am interested in. I suppose that even though I'm not advocating a return to amateurism though, I personally found the sport more interesting when it was amateur.
Do you post about your own running on facebook?
Umm....ever heard of Jordan Hasay?
That's alright mate, don't worry 'bout it. Come and ave a few pints and forget about it. Don't get your knickers in a twist.
ukathleticscoach wrote:
HRE wrote:I do some of that on Facebook and a tiny bit on Twitter and it does keep my interest in what some people in the sport are doing and there are definitely people I like and am interested in. I suppose that even though I'm not advocating a return to amateurism though, I personally found the sport more interesting when it was amateur.
Do you post about your own running on facebook?
Almost never. I can't imagine that would interest anyone.
fanatic runner & racer wrote:
When I finish a major race, I don't really care who won, or which elites competed. I'm interested in my results and my competitor's results. I run with a bunch of guys in their early 40's who are serious runners and we will talk college and pro football and basketball but we never discuss elite competitive runners.
During the Olympics we are interested and if some new and great US runner, Mary Cain, comes along we follow that a little. But really we are not fans. We are typical runners.
I'm not saying this to offend or anger anyone, but you guys need to understand the status of this participant sport. Sometimes wish I was more interested and feel guilty that I'm not, but it doesn't change anything.
Not a fan.
You make me sick.
How DARE you call yourself a runner?
Now then, you do know what you REALLY are don't you? Huh? I SAID you DO know what you are...don't you??? Hello? Huh-huh-Hello? Are you aware of what we call people liiiike you? Well? It's a little uh well it's a nice little title...uh a little...a little nickname that we like to uh "give" to folks of your ummm...how do I put this...persuasion. Yes yes persuaaaaasion. Uh um you see, I'm going to uh uuuuunpack this and illuminate this pet name that we give to worms just like you and your fecal friends. It's uh ummm well it's HA HA HA it's uh wait hold on wait ahhhhhh oh it's ok ok..hold up hold up...wait friend...ok ok ok okok ok so ok wait ok HAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! Ok wait let's let's do ok wait...do you uh ok wait I'll tell you what ok wait...do you know what you are?
You are a HOBBY JOGGER and you make me sick.
Good perspective and attitude from the OP.
Anyone who thinks that being a fan is important as opposed to being a competitor is, well, a fan. It is difficult to envision a worse insult.
They're two different things. You can be a competitor without being a fan and a fan without being a competitor. Some are both. Not sure why you'd be so proud of one that you feel the need to make a post about it on LetsRun though.
great post, thanks
HRE wrote:
I'm not at the point the OP is but I'm drifting in his direction so I'm going to take a stab at this hoping you'll find it useful. It may run kind of long for which I apologize in advance.
As you get older it is much tougher to keep track of individual athletes. When I was a kid, for example, there was a time when I knew the starting line ups of every MLB team. Now it's not uncommon for me to not recognize the names of guys who are in the discussion for MVP or the Cy Young award. My interest in the game hasn't diminished but I don't have the time or inclination to go through multiple box scores pretty much daily. I'm a Celtics fan. Twenty years ago I knew pretty much the whole roster. Now I can't even identify their whole starting five.
The same is true for track. When I look at Track and Field News' annual rankings most of the names mean nothing to me outside of the distance events, which I follow a lot more closely than other ones. But even there the percentage of recognizable names has dropped for me and as that's happened my interest in the elite level of the sport has dropped to a greater degree than it has with other sports.
I think the reason for that is in team sports I can not know the athletes especially well but still get interested in the win-loss angle, in games strategies, etc. I like it when the Celtics or Pirates win. I really don't care if Rondo puts up a triple double or not or whether or not Andrew McCutcheon goes 4 for 5. Eventually they'll both be gone but the teams will still be there and whatever interest I have in the individual athletes is dependent upon the effect they have on whether their teams win or not.
When I look at the 100 meters in a big track meet, it generally doesn't matter to me who wins. I may suspect some guys of being drug cheats and hope that they lose or maybe I like one who runs for a smaller shoe company than adidas or Nike, but aside from that, they're all generic running pros, they have similar lives, and there's no equivalent to hoping one of them has a triple double because I'm a fan of their team and that performance will help the team win.
Maybe this is just my age showing, but I thought the sport was more interesting when it was an amateur sport because it forced the athletes to have lives outside of the sport. It was neat that Jack Bacheler was sneaking insects from Mexico back into the US after the '68 Olympics for his Ph. D research. I was a huge fan of Ron Hill making himself the best marathoner in the world while running back and forth from his full time job or of George Young waking up a couple hours before he had to go and teach school thinking, "Those Russians have already been training for hours" to get himself out the door for his first run. It was interesting and inspiring to see people whose lives were like mine doing what I did but doing it so much better. To me, a pro who can do his first run at 10-11 AM, eat, nap, do a little gym work, then head out for run #2 is just not as interesting as the old "amateurs" were.
I'm not suggesting a return to amateur running. If good bowlers can get paid for bowling good runners should get paid for running. But, well, you asked.
When I was younger, I was a competitive runner, but I was not a fan of the sport. Now, I no longer run or even jog, but I am now a fan of the sport.
fanatic runner & racer wrote:
To some extent if the people around me you are right. If people around are excited about a sport I TEND to take a greater interest in it.
Isn't that just normal?
It is normal for a teenager. Many of us grow out of that "phase" in our lives.
Did you start running because people around you were running?
Thanks!
I'd bet that a LOT of people who run started because people around them were. Imagine a middle aged guy looking for a way to get into shape and sees his sister, neighbor, a few co-workers and so on running and who figures they must be onto something. It's not at all uncommon for high school kids to go out for the cross country or track teams because they have friends on those teams.
xenonscreams wrote:
They're two different things. You can be a competitor without being a fan and a fan without being a competitor. Some are both. Not sure why you'd be so proud of one that you feel the need to make a post about it on LetsRun though.
You need tremendous motivation to make a post on LetsRun? Seriously?
So, you guys dont talk about girls/women????
I'm interested in elite running but not "fanatic runner & racer's" running/whining. Does that warrant a new topic?
HRE wrote:
ukathleticscoach wrote:Do you post about your own running on facebook?
Almost never. I can't imagine that would interest anyone.
I meant to ask the op
Oliver wrote:
So, you guys dont talk about girls/women????
Men with women do not talk about girls/women. Unless of course the man is a loser. But then he wouldn't be a real man.