The Times are a Changin’

I’m feeling a little bit like Forest Gump. After the article in the New York Times last Friday about whether slow runners should be allowed in marathons my email lit up, my Facebook page went nuclear and my Blackberry just about died from the overload. Like Forest, I want to tell everyone ”That’s all I have to say about that” But, ignoring it won’t make it go away.

It wasn’t so much the article in the Times that got people so worked up, it was the comments and the responses on various Forums [Fora for those of you who know Latin.] The debate centered around one women who complained that she, as a four -hour marathoner, was bothered by all the slow runners.

I mean no disrepect since I have never and probably will never run a 4 hour marathon, but – let’s be honest- that’s not exactly world-class. It will get you into Boston if you’re of a certain age and gender but it won’t get you on the podium of many major marathons. And that, it seems to me, was the point that most readers missed. She – as a 4 hour marathon – was complaining about SLOW runners.

It wasn’t that long ago that the 3-hour marathoners were complaining about the slow, 4-hour marathoners. In fact, my buddy Bart Yasso and I agreed “back then” that the grumpiest marathoners were the 2:50 runners. They were good, to be sure, but not quite good enough.

So, in a way, we’re making some progress. The Grumpy bar has been pushed back to 4 hours which means, I think, that anyone running UNDER 4 hours is safe from bashing by the new elite. If you extrapolate out it won’t be long before the 5-hour marathoners will be the new elite and they will complain about the slow marathoners.

Where will it end? It won’t. As long as there are people who need to use others to feel good about themselves it won’t end. As long as there are people for whom excellence is relative it won’t end. So, I’m not going to worry about it.

As my buddy Major Dan O’Conner [USMC Ret.] said about his career in the Marines, excellence, personal excellence, the kind of excellence that you can only demand from yourself, and the kind that can only be satisfied in your own core beliefs, is expected of Marines. Excellence is expected. Not relative excellence. Absolute, personal, excellence.

Standing at the start line of a marathon – or any race – or any training run – you only have to answer one question; am I prepared to do my best today?

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Waddle on.