Distance running in America is too white. Especially women. How can we improve inclusion?

Go to TedCorbitt.com. Ted's son Gary runs it and it's devoted to the history of black distance running in the US.

I'd post the actual link and some others that come up if you search for Gary Corbitt but when I try I get a message saying that new users, which I definitely am not, cannot ;post links, which I have done several times.

Have the sprinters move up.

Notice thingz wrote:

So interesting how people respond. Let me put it the opposite way too. I, and I assume most of you, have heard white kids saying they can’t compete against black kids in basketball or sprinting, and so don’t try. This also might be a wasted opportunity for some individuals. Similarly, if any ethnic minority looks at the make up of distance running and decides they can’t compete because it looks like they “don’t fit the type who runs distance”, this is worth addressing.

Also, the analogy that increasing ethnic diversity would not also help Kenya in the sport is false. It would help Kenya. Increased participation in this scenario increased probability of success.

I don't agree that white kids don't participate in basketball and football because they don't think they can compete against black kids. Our local high school is 99% white and has a huge turnout for those sports. If they receive a scholarship they will play in college and if they are drafted they will turn pro.

SDSU Aztec wrote:

I don't agree that white kids don't participate in basketball and football because they don't think they can compete against black kids. Our local high school is 99% white and has a huge turnout for those sports. If they receive a scholarship they will play in college and if they are drafted they will turn pro.

The fact that whites show up to sprint at your 99% white school does not address the issue. Do white kids show up to sprint when a school has percentages same as overall US? When a school is 55% white, do white kids show up to sprint 100m? When a school is 55% white, do white kids show up to play cornerback on football team?

@Truthful answers wrote:

Truthful answers wrote:

The OP doesn’t want the real answer. Distance running requires patience and hard work. The individuals who do well are the ones who put in the work. So your real question is why don’t more minorities want to put in the hard work to become good?

Now THIS is the typical racist post found on this forum. If you don't think guys in the NBA and the NFL work hard, you are the one that obviously doesn't want to know the real answer. There are many ways to work hard without slogging long distances.

When asked why there aren't more Jamaicans running 800 Usain Bolt said it's because Jamaicans are too lazy.

not just letsrunners who think this wrote:

@Truthful answers wrote:

Now THIS is the typical racist post found on this forum. If you don't think guys in the NBA and the NFL work hard, you are the one that obviously doesn't want to know the real answer. There are many ways to work hard without slogging long distances.

When asked why there aren't more Jamaicans running 800 Usain Bolt said it's because Jamaicans are too lazy.

Bolt's playful give and take with press was not ever intended to be fodder for racists posters on letsrun or somewhat racists self-appointed sociologists.

what is this? wrote:

not just letsrunners who think this wrote:

When asked why there aren't more Jamaicans running 800 Usain Bolt said it's because Jamaicans are too lazy.

Bolt's playful give and take with press was not ever intended to be fodder for racists posters on letsrun or somewhat racists self-appointed sociologists.

Exactly. It should have been taken for what it was. The truth.

I B La Z wrote:

what is this? wrote:

Bolt's playful give and take with press was not ever intended to be fodder for racists posters on letsrun or somewhat racists self-appointed sociologists.

Exactly. It should have been taken for what it was. The truth.

Are you the spokesman for white people? Are you by default saying white people are too lazy to properly train at sprinting?

Your analysis is helping wrote:

SDSU Aztec wrote:

I don't agree that white kids don't participate in basketball and football because they don't think they can compete against black kids. Our local high school is 99% white and has a huge turnout for those sports. If they receive a scholarship they will play in college and if they are drafted they will turn pro.

The fact that whites show up to sprint at your 99% white school does not address the issue. Do white kids show up to sprint when a school has percentages same as overall US? When a school is 55% white, do white kids show up to sprint 100m? When a school is 55% white, do white kids show up to play cornerback on football team?

My point is that even though there is a large population of white kids participating in those sports, very few are good enough to play professionaly. You seem to be implying that white kids that are intimidated by black athletes at 50/50 schools, are better athletes than those at predominately white schools.

There are thousands of white kids playing cornerback in high school, but there aren't many fast enough to cover an NFL WR.

Of course there is a cultural effect. Although there are many black athletes that would be better in baseball than football, only 8% of MLB players are African-American

I agree with a lot of things stated in this incendiary thread, but if you're going to talk about demographics at least talk about them accurately. Many minorities are concentrated in cities where it is difficult to find space for running. Many minorities have less income, which makes it hard to afford running a charity 5k that almost never costs less than $20. Running is not as hard to access as something like skiing or hockey, but it's still hard to imagine a group of kids growing up to run in their neighborhood when they could be shooting hoops instead.

Notice thingz wrote:

Obviously there is significant under-representation of American minorities of both genders in any premier marathon or distance event. Any ideas for equalizing this? It may be what American distance running needs to compete globally.

Any stats on distance racing participation rates by ethnicity at HS, college, or post collegiate levels ?

Any programs currently focused on this?

Obviously there is not significant under-representation at premier marathon or distance events, especially in men's distance running. If you look at the makeup of the team that competed at the 2017 World Championships, you will see that that it was a majority minority team. 10 out of the 18 men who competed in the events between the 800m and Marathon were not white. Based on the racial makeup of the USA, you would expect to see only about 5 of 18 be non-white. You would only expect to see 2 of the 18 be black or African American.

As far as the overall running demographic (fitness runners, joggers, competitive runners), the racial make up is 84% white and 8% black. But if you adjusted for things like income and educational attainment (runners statistically have higher incomes and more education) the ratios would be in proportion.

There may be plenty of areas of non-inclusivity in our society today, but I don't think running is one of them.

Here are stats on the demographics of runners.

http://cdn.trustedpartner.com/docs/library/RunningUSA2012/RunningUSA_NRS_2017.pdf

I B La Z wrote:

what is this? wrote:

Bolt's playful give and take with press was not ever intended to be fodder for racists posters on letsrun or somewhat racists self-appointed sociologists.

Exactly. It should have been taken for what it was. The truth.

This is a racist thread which began asking why there are too many white people. But you're not allowed to answer the question without being called racist.

I do not know why some posters think you are a high level athlete? You post as if you are the opposite. White kids at 99% white schools are not intimidated to sprint because they are competing against their brothers and cousins. Richard Sherman is a 4.6 40 yard dash athlete. There are plenty of 4.5+ NFL cornerbacks. You went to a white school as you said. I am sure white kids at your school were able to sprint 40 yards faster than 4.6. White people did not stop playing cornerback because they are too slow. The answer lies in sport psychology and/or sociology.

In other news:

74% of the NBA is black.

80% of the NFL is black

And when was the last time a white person won a gold medal in the 100m?

Why did white people quit sprinting? Black people who were sprinting 10.3 or 10.4 and winning Olympic medals gradually started sprinting faster as tracks surfaces and shoes improved. Why did white people stop sprinting when they were also sprinting 10.3 or 10.4 and winning Olympic medals? There must be a sport psychologist on letsrun? Did white people become too lazy to sprint? Sprinting has higher risk of injury than jogging. Are whites too afraid of risk of injury? Did white people lose the competitive spirit? Did white people make other choices? Are the 4.4 40 yard dash white athletes playing tennis?

It is all economics. Certain sports are understood to be a way out of the ghetto because they are in high demand on the pro level and do not cost much to participate. These sports are dominated by people who occupy the low end of the economic spectrum. In the 1920s, a large influx of Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe filled the dilapidated tenements of NY. During that same time period, Jews dominated basketball. Overtly racist commentators at the time speculated that this was because Jews were naturally inclined towards deception and were better at faking out opponents. But for Jews at that time, it was well understood that there was good money to be made playing basketball and it was a way out of the ghetto.

Sports that have high entry costs (golf, tennis, sailing etc.) or that have minimal professional opportunities (endurance sports in general) are seen as leisure activities. Participation in these sports will track closely with economic status. Minority participation in distance running tracks pretty close to minority representation in upper middle class income levels. So, if you want more minority representation in distance running, you either have to make it more attractive on the professional level like basketball is or have more minority representation in upper middle class income levels.

I really think the US Army should have a program where we get Kenyans to run for us and moonlight as “soldiers”. We would immediately see our medal counts go up. Nobody will ever really ask why the taxpayer is paying for the Kenyans and no one will ask the “soldier” what they actually do since that is seen as insulting in our PC society these days. Everybody wins!!!