this is BS. you can have 97% performance outside of time trials by spending 500$ on bike + gear. Training is more important than kit, unless its a TT
this is BS. you can have 97% performance outside of time trials by spending 500$ on bike + gear. Training is more important than kit, unless its a TT
Kill the Hobby Jogger wrote:
Hobby Jogger: jogs to lose weight, doesn’t follow a training plan, doesn’t enter a race, most likely overweight with awful form.
90+% of "participants" in most races are hobby joggers. They enter the race for the finisher's medal and post-race party.
Any one who finishes behind me is a hobby jogger. I am always the slowest "runner" in every race.
Yeah, the whole bike thing is not really true. In my early twenties I was a very serious tribum. I owned a entry level tribike that cost about 1200 bucks. I got used racing wheels for 400 and a used aero helmet for less than 100. I was training around 20 hours a week with 10+ of that in cycling, 5 in swimming and 5 in biking. For olympic distance tri's, I would ride 56-58 for 40k and run 33-35 min 10k off the bike. Fast forward 13 years and I am now a 1% who makes 400k+ but only have time to workout about 5-7 hours per week. I own a 5k tri bike with 2k wheels and 800 dollar pedals, as well as a 400 dollar aero helmet. If I did a tri right now I would ride about 1 hour for the 40k and run about 40 minutes for the 10k if I was lucky. For endurance sports, its not about how much money you have, its how hard you work. Gear is very secondary, even for biking as used racing level equipment can be found for very cheap.
Running is a white collar sport but Ironman Triathlon is even more "white collar." NYC Marathon participants average annual income was $130K/year while the Ironman Championship participants (all of whom can apparently afford a trip to Kona) was $247K. So, we are less elitist than our thriathlete peers
keep it simple wrote:
sheeple-chase wrote:
The white exclusiveness goes beyond the color of your proverbial collar. Don't want to "play the race card" here, but if you look at most running communities in America (road/ultra, not so much track) it is still a very segregated space. I think a lot of it does have to do with who the sport is marketed to by those at the top. It's a shame, because in theory running is one of the most egalitarian sports in terms of who can participate. But our corporate overlords keep their cash flow up by telling us we need more high tech shoes, gps watches, and overpriced fashionable running-specific clothing, not to mention the exorbitant race entry fees "for charity." It all serves to raise the financial barriers for participation, which ends up dis-proportionally excluding racial minorities. (Also the flippin finishers medal! Have you ever considered how much cheaper races would be if the price didn't include a collectible finisher's medal? Just hand me a beer token in the chute instead!)
Most of the things you mention aren't real barriers to participation because they aren't necessary. I've been a serious runner for a decade without ever owning a GPS watch or paying to enter a charity race.
Your post is sort of like saying that fishing is exclusionary because not everyone can afford a deep sea fishing boat.
If you want to play basketball, you can put on your shoes, go to the local park, and join a game. If you want to run, you can put on your shoes, walk out your door, and start running. You can make it more complicated and expensive if you want to, but it isn't really necessary.
Not saying that it is prohibitively expensive to get into running by itself. But what people end up spending to participate in the sport has become increasingly more skewed. This contributes to making it generally more elitist, which is going to turn certain demographics away.
Anyone can buy a cheap pair of shoes and maybe some supportive undergarments to prevent your junk or tits from flopping. I do all my running in flats and never spend more than $60 on a pair. Aside from shoes and shorts, the only running-specific objects I've purchased are a roller, and a pair of compression socks after Solinsky's 10,000 AR. But a n00b goes to buy a pair of shoes, and they tell you, instead of a cheap neutral shoe, you need to shell out extra for "motion control" and a few extra millimeters of foam. Also at some point (I blame trail runners) people got convinced you need a fuel belt for a 5 mile run on a municipal bike path. And even before the pandemic, we had people signing up for "virtual races" where, from what I can tell, you just pay money to run 5 kilometers by yourself, and which used to be, not counting the overhead cost of a pair of footwear distributed over all the times you use them, completely free.
I agree, GPS watches are completely unnecessary. But a lot of my runner friends want to get on Strava so they can do "segments" and partake in that social element. Essentially, you're missing out on part of the experience if you can't afford a type of gear which was never even an option previously. All this essentially amounts to socioeconomic gatekeeping.
And yes, most (but not all) running stores are by white people for white people. If this statement makes you uncomfortable, then you're proving my point.
The human body is marvelously designed to adapt to the physical stresses of long distance running.
My fastest female friend is 36 and a pediatrician and has 4 kids under the age of 8. She recently ran a 3:07 and is chasing down a sub-3. She will get up at 3:30 am to run and work long shifts if she has to, because she is goal-oriented. She said was forced to learn to survive and perform on little sleep in medical school, so that skill transfers over.
I think the discipline required to have a successful white collar career is what makes people good runners.
discipline wrote:
My fastest female friend is 36 and a pediatrician and has 4 kids under the age of 8. She recently ran a 3:07 and is chasing down a sub-3. She will get up at 3:30 am to run and work long shifts if she has to, because she is goal-oriented. She said was forced to learn to survive and perform on little sleep in medical school, so that skill transfers over.
I think the discipline required to have a successful white collar career is what makes people good runners.
I think of the lifestyle you describe as a disease. This person's quality of life would, in my opinion, be improved by slowing down and not trying to achieve everything at all costs. If chasing sub-3 (an arbitrary goal) has you getting up at 3:30 am consistently, maybe it's time to let the running take a back-seat to your own well-being. Yes, one way to document health is to step on the scale. I'm sure your friend checks that box. But in a lot of ways, I hear the story of an unhealthy life. Strivers gotta strive.
I write this as a reformed striver myself. I am intimately familiar with this cultural disease.
Growing up in New England in the 70s, there were the rich kids, but there were a ton of blue-collar runners too. Shoes didn't cost that much. Races were $3 or $5. I was from a well-off family but knew plenty of working class kids who I ran with, trained with, and competed against.
I ran a marathon two months ago in my $250 dollar shoes, and paid $150 to run the race. Yes it is different now.
sheeple-chase wrote:
The white exclusiveness goes beyond the color of your proverbial collar. Don't want to "play the race card" here, but if you look at most running communities in America (road/ultra, not so much track) it is still a very segregated space. I think a lot of it does have to do with who the sport is marketed to by those at the top. It's a shame, because in theory running is one of the most egalitarian sports in terms of who can participate. But our corporate overlords keep their cash flow up by telling us we need more high tech shoes, gps watches, and overpriced fashionable running-specific clothing, not to mention the exorbitant race entry fees "for charity." It all serves to raise the financial barriers for participation, which ends up dis-proportionally excluding racial minorities. (Also the flippin finishers medal! Have you ever considered how much cheaper races would be if the price didn't include a collectible finisher's medal? Just hand me a beer token in the chute instead!)
To be fair some of the burden has to fall on local running clubs and running stores for not making blacks/latinos feel welcome. Then of course there are the high school track coaches, who subconsciously funnel the black kids into sprints and the white kids into distance events.
Oh and let's not forget that if you're a black man running on the street, there's the chance, real or perceived, that you're more likely to get arrested or shot, even if you are doing everything you can to signal that you're just exercising by dressing like Michael Cera in Juno.
But yes please tell me how the real tragedy is we don't have more participation these days from trailer trash like Steve Prefontaine.
Incredible how politically correct you speak about non-white marginalized groups. But if they're white, then "trailer trash". C'mon, man.
A rare piece of sense posted in a LR thread like this. Nature is healing.
Ten years ago I was working as a construction laborer for very long days. I was the only one I knew that ran at all. I was running 100+ weeks on top of my 10-12 hour work days.
Most construction guys can't fathom getting extra exercise after working.
On a side note. I won an ultra national championship on a very hot day. I attributed it to work.
people realized in the last 10-15 years that you can capitalize on rich middle-aged white womens' excessive need for validation.
Now the cheap shoes are $120, and a 5k under $40 that isn't a 2.5 mile fun run with 30 people is hard to find, and marathons are $200. And they're taking over trail running and ultras too.
I mean 10 years ago shoes were $100 max and big 5ks were $25
If it wasn't for corona I'd was wanting to run some races around this time but I'm broke and can't justify dropping that kind of cash on races right now
The poster saying running stores are somehow racially discriminatory is being silly though. They made some reasonable points then just completely jumped the shark.
bluecollardude wrote:
Ten years ago I was working as a construction laborer for very long days. I was the only one I knew that ran at all. I was running 100+ weeks on top of my 10-12 hour work days.
Most construction guys can't fathom getting extra exercise after working.
On a side note. I won an ultra national championship on a very hot day. I attributed it to work.
I've done manual labor and hard training at the same time as well. Best shape of my life.