Inspirational New York Times article about unofficial NYC Marathon finishers

Why did finishing last suddenly become inspirational in this country.

Why not remove the clocks entirely so everybody is a winner.

fudge wrote:

Why did finishing last suddenly become inspirational in this country.

Why not remove the clocks entirely so everybody is a winner.

We have an activity where hat is done. Its called hiking.

2/10

Like, oh my god! That's sooo funny!

"They all dreamed of their guilt-free postrace meals. Diaz told her new friends that marathoners burned the caloric equivalent of 24 cupcakes, which led one of them to suggest that race officials put cupcakes at every mile marker. Maybe next year."

This is my favorite marathon story! Congrats ladies! You did it in style!!!

It sounds as though those three ladies had a lot of fun -- maybe more fun than the runners who finished much earlier. This should give all of us hope and shows that all things are possible if we put our heart and soul into achieving our dreams in life.

Is there something wrong with running AND having fun?

Slow Female Runner might be the biggest troll on these boards.

0/10

Slow Female Runner wrote:

They may not have made the official cut-off, but they're heroes in my book.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/sports/completing-the-new-york-city-marathon-even-after-the-finish-line-comes-down.html?_r=0

Maybe it's time for NYRR to step up their game and allow women an additional 2h of finishing time - it would only be fair.

Think about it.

At least they finished.

KMW wrote:

It sounds as though those three ladies had a lot of fun -- maybe more fun than the runners who finished much earlier. This should give all of us hope and shows that all things are possible if we put our heart and soul into achieving our dreams in life.

This is the kind of stupid sh*t that really gets under my skin. Since when is the goal of finishing a marathon to have 'fun'? Since when did setting a lofty goal, working hard to reach that goal become 'not fun'. I would much rather set a time, for myself sub 3 hours, that I have to work for than just 'finish' a marathon.

There is nothing inspirational or glorious about doing the least amount of work to reach a bare minimum standard. That used to be called lazy. Now it is heroic.

8/10 for pissing me off.

Congratulations to these women for accomplishing their goal! Having finished two marathons myself, no one ever asks for your time. Now these women too will always be able to answer yes when asked if they've ever run a marathon. Good for them!!

blew the troll meter wrote:

There is nothing inspirational or glorious about doing the least amount of work to reach a bare minimum standard. That used to be called lazy. Now it is heroic.

Judgmental much?

These brave American women were overweight just a year ago and they worked their butts off and made it to the starting line. Yes, they took a bit longer than the Kenyan runners who won (whomever that was this year) but if you look at the baseline, they had to work harder to get there.

Slow Female Runner wrote:

blew the troll meter wrote:

There is nothing inspirational or glorious about doing the least amount of work to reach a bare minimum standard. That used to be called lazy. Now it is heroic.

Judgmental much?

These brave American women were overweight just a year ago and they worked their butts off and made it to the starting line. Yes, they took a bit longer than the Kenyan runners who won (whomever that was this year) but if you look at the baseline, they had to work harder to get there.

If you're going to use "whomever," at least use it correctly. Yes, they had to work harder to be able to traverse 26 miles on foot than the elites, but no, they did not work harder on Sunday than the elite runners. I know you're a troll, but I wish people would grasp there's a difference between covering distance and covering distance as quickly as possible. They seem to understand it for the 100, so why not the marathon?

Slow Female Runner wrote:

blew the troll meter wrote:

There is nothing inspirational or glorious about doing the least amount of work to reach a bare minimum standard. That used to be called lazy. Now it is heroic.

Judgmental much?

These brave American women were overweight just a year ago and they worked their butts off and made it to the starting line. Yes, they took a bit longer than the Kenyan runners who won (whomever that was this year) but if you look at the baseline, they had to work harder to get there.

1/10. Stanley Biwott started running professionally in 2006 and has worked his way up the marathon/half marathon circuit one race at a time, year after year. His win was the result of a decade of dedication to training at the highest level and getting shipped around the world to compete in different races. Before he started running, he was a dairy farmer.

It is nice that a few women who let themselves go physically are using the marathon as a challenge to try to improve their health and well being or are just trying to boost their self esteem by taking on what they thought should be an impossible task. But they certainly have not been training every day for the past ten years, much less the past two years. The reality is that they went on a very long walk in New York. There are currently people fleeing war and misery in the Middle East who are walking in excess of 26.2 miles a day to reach countries in Europe with favorable conditions for war refugees. Thus, it is actually a bit strange for people to think the 9 hour finishers need to be in the spot light for their accomplishments, other than the oddity of their approach to the marathon.

Back burn wrote:

If you're going to use "whomever," at least use it correctly. Yes, they had to work harder to be able to traverse 26 miles on foot than the elites, but no, they did not work harder on Sunday than the elite runners. I know you're a troll, but I wish people would grasp there's a difference between covering distance and covering distance as quickly as possible. They seem to understand it for the 100, so why not the marathon?

Finishing is finishing, they did it

Back burn wrote:

Slow Female Runner wrote:

Judgmental much?

These brave American women were overweight just a year ago and they worked their butts off and made it to the starting line. Yes, they took a bit longer than the Kenyan runners who won (whomever that was this year) but if you look at the baseline, they had to work harder to get there.

If you're going to use "whomever," at least use it correctly. Yes, they had to work harder to be able to traverse 26 miles on foot than the elites, but no, they did not work harder on Sunday than the elite runners. I know you're a troll, but I wish people would grasp there's a difference between covering distance and covering distance as quickly as possible. They seem to understand it for the 100, so why not the marathon?

Are you saying him wasn't a Kenyan?

By far the best story to come out of this year's Marathon. Give these women the medals they deserve!

Slow Female Runner wrote:

blew the troll meter wrote:

There is nothing inspirational or glorious about doing the least amount of work to reach a bare minimum standard. That used to be called lazy. Now it is heroic.

Judgmental much?

These brave American women were overweight just a year ago and they worked their butts off and made it to the starting line. Yes, they took a bit longer than the Kenyan runners who won (whomever that was this year) but if you look at the baseline, they had to work harder to get there.

Were the brave when they let themselves get fat in the first place?

All you have to do these days in order to be considered a hero is get fat then walk 26.2 miles. You will be held to a higher level than folks who maintain their weight, and health, for lifetime and work hard to run the marathon as fast as they possibly can.

Every marathon should have 5 hour cutoff. (5 hours allows for older folks that stay in shape to finish). After that, get the lazy and fatties off the roads.

David Horton (Ultramarathon RD) to the first finishers after the cutoff:

"Next time run faster."