What happened to Mexican long distance running?

doctorj wrote:

This is probably the most racist thread I've seen. Brojo, Rojo, whatever the hell you call yourselves I call you the scum of the scum for allowing this kind of stuff float around. Shame on you. And you dare to say your site is visited by the most intelligent, affluent people etc? Who conducted that study, your mommy and daddy? Shameful, this shows the kind of people you really are: bigot, hypocrite racist-mongers.

Racist, In a negative way? I'm trying to promote Mexican running. I think they are great at it and wondering why they are doing well like they used to do.

rojo wrote:

doctorj wrote:

This is probably the most racist thread I've seen. Brojo, Rojo, whatever the hell you call yourselves I call you the scum of the scum for allowing this kind of stuff float around. Shame on you. And you dare to say your site is visited by the most intelligent, affluent people etc? Who conducted that study, your mommy and daddy? Shameful, this shows the kind of people you really are: bigot, hypocrite racist-mongers.

Racist, In a negative way? I'm trying to promote Mexican running. I think they are great at it and wondering why they are doing well like they used to do.

+1

There has been many threads asking the same question about Finnish runners. No one on those threads claimed that it was being bigoted to the Finnish. Ask yourself if Jamaica in a generation or two became non-competitive at the world stage in sprinting, would it not be reasonable to ask what happened? There are greatly more threads asking the same question about American distance runners and what has happened. Do those people asking the question about American distance running hate America? No. They want to see there country men do better, and in this case (unless the OP is Mexican) they want to see other countries do better.

Another good one. College is really paying off well for you sand dunes. More constructive posts. Keep up the good work.

My boyfriend is an undocumented Mexican immigrant. I got him into running about 5 years ago and now he has finished 5 marathons with a pr of 2:42.

He would agree with the statement there is no time to train because any extra time is spent working and trying to make a living. Also soccer is everything down there. (Did you see how many Mexican fans were in Russia for the World cup?!)

Under this US political climate he talks a lot about going back to Mexico, but he knows he would have to give up running- there is just no time for it down there.

He was a volunteer coach for the high school xc team last year. He was in awe of the opportunities kids get here in the states. All things we take for granted- school issued uniforms, free and reduced meals for kids that can't afford it, buses to take teams to meets. He wonders how fast he could have been if he would have gotten these opportunities.

For those antimmigrants- yes he pays taxes. Why don't we get married so he can get a green card?. . . if it were that simple we would have done that years ago!

They moved north wrote:

Manzano

Estrada

Fernandez

Acosta

Torres twins

Mercado twins

Remember this post, Estrada is about to come back 10x Better than ever!

And Dough Padilla, Aaron Ramirez, Joe Falcon, Ruben Reina

my last blunt statement on the topic was perhaps deleted.

don't do that.

From my perspective that article is looking at the problem through an American lens.

It really comes down to the cultural differences on how they look at food and being fat and the portion control- or lack there of- compared to the US.

Sugary foods and fast food? Maybe that's a small part of the problem. As many of you have seen Mexican candy is more savory than sweet. Most do not have the intense sweet tooth that Americans have.

Cultural differences I have observed about food:

1I was at a small wedding and the family killed 5 goats when really one would have fed everybody....and that was just for the day AFTER the wedding party. The family had gone all out to feed their guests 4 difference kinds of tacos at the wedding reception.

2Maybe Greeks and Italians can relate- once I had finished my dinner and was sitting there listening to the table conversation with an empty plate and my boyfriend's aunt gets up, takes my plate into the kitchen and came back with a heaping dish of mole, chicken, and rice---without even asking if I wanted any more! I felt so defeated! How could I finish it all?!

3 Mexican food is just so flavorful! They eat more because it tastes soooo good!

4Fat kids in Mexico are often nicknamed gorditos/gorditas---that would be like calling someone chubby, but with more endearment. Their feelings don't get hurt like American kids'. Also being fat just isn't as looked down upon.

If German Fernandez is not of Mexican heritage, where then?

Joe falcon was born in North Dakota.

Doug Padilla was one of the original storman Mormons .

tstans wrote:

My boyfriend is an undocumented Mexican immigrant.

In other words he has chosen to reside here illegally.

In Mexico, illegal residents go to jail and then get kicked out. Or just kicked out.

They also have a southern border wall with troops and police guarding the area in a containment zone.

Muddler wrote:

tstans wrote:

My boyfriend is an undocumented Mexican immigrant.

In other words he has chosen to reside here illegally.

In Mexico, illegal residents go to jail and then get kicked out. Or just kicked out.

They also have a southern border wall with troops and police guarding the area in a containment zone.

Where in the fuctk did you learn that about illegal immigrants in Mexico dipshik? Fox News? Breitbart?

You are 100% correct he is here illegally. Just like 11 million others taking advantage of the jobs Americans scoff at. How many letsrun.com posters work picking in the fields in Salinas, CA, or pull a 12 hour over night shift milking cows, or work in a smellynfarrowing unit getting piglets off to the right start? All jobs he has done here.

And you are also right in the fact that Mexico is super strict and in some cases more brutal to the Central Americans that try to come into Mexico. That doesn't make it the ethical thing to do.

I used to have a very conservative way of looking at immigration and when you get to know the people from other countries and hear their stories you realize they are just like you and I; and have the same desires as you and I. To be safe, have a family, and be prosperous. How can you fault them for that?

So getting back on topic on why the Mexican pro running scene has dwindled since the early 90's, according to a wikipedia page that I can no longer find and site, it appears something happened to the Mexican economy around 1994.

Also a quote from Diego Estrada "I think that running is not such a popular sport among Hispanics. We prefer soccer. And I don't think it's portrayed as a fun sport."

Luckily due to fast American sprinters (who were questionably clean) American track and field was carried through the late 90's/'00 when distance running was very dismal.

"Under this US political climate"... undocumented and illegal...complaining about life here in The States...absolutely ridiculous.

I'll pay for his trip back to Mexico. Unbelievable

Is Joe Falcon Native American or of Mexican decent. Re. Padilla being Mormon does not detract from his Hispanic heritage, Mexican?

German Fernandez born in California, I’d bet a few pesos he’s of Mexican decent, even if it’s because the border moved but not his ancestors.

HAHA go for it! He will take you up on it. Please send $2000 to my pay pal account and I'll make sure it gets to him.

I live and run in Mexico City. And I've often asked my self this question. Granted it's a big city and we don't have many open roads like Kenya, but there are spots for some decent running. Trails in the woods at well over 10,000 feet, everything here is sort of hilly and we all pretty much live and train at altitude.

There is practically one or two races on any given weekend, I once was told that there are about 250 race in the city in a year. However you do see Kenyans taking up the big events.

But like kimani said, it's mostly made up off middle class people who do it for fun. The races are sort of expensive, but when you have to close roads in a city like this one, it won't ever be cheap. Also, I've noticed that when I'm out running in the morning (5:30 am at the latest, gotta finish early to beat traffic) there is already people walking tu bus stops or the subway to get to work, they get up even earlier just to make it to work. Running is a privilege here.

Also, you have to be REALLY into the scene to compete at track meets. Schools (college or HS) don't promote running, or any sport at all. There is no established athletics department like in the US or leagues. I'm pretty sure there are only like 5 tracks in the entire city.

Over all, there was a good thing going in the 90s but the running scene was still to small, the boom was around 10-15 years later. sure people paid attention because we're very patriotic, but I'm sure it would of been a much bigger deal if that generation was competing today. They would be stars. I also believe the torch wasn't passed to the following generations, I feel like it sort of died off. I think Barrios is pretty much the only one that anybody would recognize, and he has a very old school vibe to his training (camping for weeks at over 13,000 ft to train, he's a grinder)

Given the chance and support some decent runners would come from this area.

tstans wrote:

HAHA go for it! He will take you up on it. Please send $2000 to my pay pal account and I'll make sure it gets to him.

He probably spent $20 to get here. What's the other $1980 for?

Actually he probably paid $3000 back then to have a coyote get him across the boarder, then walked for about 3 days through the desert living off of one orange and a few crackers. He ended up giving the orange to an older Mexican also crossing the boarder illegally who was worse off than he. Mexicans are so generous. He survived by drinking from water tanks meant for cattle. Then traveled 9 +hours like a sardine packed into a van to get to California. He was 18 years old then. Now I hear a coyote costs $8000. So you make a good point. I will take $8000 in my paypal please.