And your other two references to cite the superiority of outdoor track were KK and Paula Radcliffe -- neither of whom goes to the track with anything that could be called regularity.
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"It only insults those who think that indoors is more important to the rest of the world than either outdoors or even cross...."
Actually, what I do not understand is the need to rate one of them above the other. They are three legitimate athletic endeavors, each requiring considerable training, detemination, and so forth. I attend track meets (outdoors because there is no indoor track in Ohryghun), cross country meets, an occasional road run, and participate in marathons and ultras.
I continue to admire and respect athletes of all events, whatever the venue.
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"I'm not sure where you are seeing any intense dislike or even viciousness,..."
"The clowns are in the racewalk, but I'm not going to go there...."
I suppose using those two sentences would be a start. "Clowns?" There was a pretty good race-walker I used to meet on some of my training runs. I am not fast. My training pace on roads is about 7:15-7:30 -- we had several good conversations comparing our different training regimens. He was training for the '92 Olympics. I was training for a 50-mile trail run. It was intereting and educational to learn about an event that was totally foreign to me.
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"...Cragg's double was definitely tough and impressive, as was Gorton's. Yet, I would be more impressed if Cragg was in the top 10 at World Cross..."
Well, gosh, since he has already said he won't be going over there while he is still in school, that's a good choice. Always pick something that isn't going to happen as a standard. Now we are back to "Jorge would have beat Cragg if he had showed up at the NCAA indoors."
R. Jacobs has more medals from the outdoor season than from the indoor season. To me, it is more impressive that she can compete at elite level on both circuits, but I am sure you can dodge that issue somehow.
"Maybe you think that isn't fair, but that's simply how it is in this sport. The more competition and the better the competition, the more highly esteemed the performance..."
It is tempting to bring up Broe and his avoiding some competition in regards to this last statement, something about his reason for not going to world xc last year stirs in my memory.
Fairness has not been an issue here. It is the idea that one of the seasons is more important, more valid, more something than the other. Factually, they aren't. Subjectively, they can be. The monetary prizes are determined by marketing, but the records set indoors are just that, a record for some event done indoors. To say that they have some comparative merit is as bad as the recent attempt at comparing J. Torres' xc 10k times with outdoor track 10k times--they just don't match up as valid comparisons.
We, fans of some form of running, whether T&F, XC, roads, or trails, are lucky to be able to watch so many different forms of it. I have ran (competitively even if my competitors didn't know it) from 50 yards (tells about my age) to 100 miles. At the NCAA outdoor championships we were among the first to arrive and the last to leave. I just enjoy all parts of track and field and running and to decide that one is better than the other robs the fan of overall enjoyment.