Tuesday, June 13, 2006

IS THIS SAD?

Is it just me or is this sad?










Do we really need a podium with 9 places? Seriously, I believe the meet only scores 8 deep. Why have a podium with 9 places? Hell, there were only 16 people in the race. You might as well have a 16-place podium.

I know, I know. It’s part of our “everyone is a winner” mentality. It’s the same reason states now have 8 different divisions for certain sports, instead of just 2 or 3 – or even 1, like back in the day of Hoosiers.

That mentality ties in with an article I read on Sunday on Grandma’s marathon. These statements jumped out at me;

“…but only a fraction of the 9,758 officially registered runners in this year's 26.2-mile race care much about speed.

More significant to most participants are the picturesque scenery along the North Shore, the supportive citizens who turn out in droves along U.S. 61, London Road and Superior Street and the festive gathering of nonsmoking revelers after the running is finished.”

The thing is; the author is not just some sports writer from the paper. He’s a runner who has a weekly column on running and outdoor recreation. And here he is talking about most runners not caring about speed. WTF? Please tell me it’s not true. If that’s the case, let’s just have 2 waves. The first one will be timed and people can wear watches, while the second wave won’t be timed and all watches must be left at home.

Yesterday I mentioned Elizabeth Yetzer. Last year I wrote about the first time I met her. It’s still one of my favorite stories.

Last year I also wrote about the state track and field meet. Freshman sensation, Rob Finnerty won the boys 1600 and 3200 – even breaking Garry Bjorklund’s Minnesota record for freshmen in the 1600. Well he ended up with a stress fracture and missed the x-c season. I’m not sure if he’s 100% or not, but he was able to run 4:13 and 9:07 – both 2nd place finishes.

It looks like things could be interesting next year as the top 8 finishers in the 1600 were underclassmen. Also, this year was the first time there have been 3 guys under 9:10 in the 3200 meters – and they’re all underclassmen.

I made it out for an easy 6 miles last night. Ever feel like you’re the slowest person on earth in terms of getting in shape, yet the fastest to fall out of shape? That’s exactly how I feel. I’m still able to run close to 8 minute pace for my “easy” days, but they’re just not as easy as they were 2 months ago.


Quote of the day:
“All I want to do is drink beer and train like an animal.” – Rod Dixon

7 comments:

Bart said...

I wonder if the people standing on podiums 5-9 are feeling proud. You have to figure if they are one of the top 9 runners in the state (at a specific distance), they've won their share of races and are not believers in the everyone is a winner mentality. If fact, I would guess that at least a couple people on the bottom half of that podium had hoped to place higher than they did.

Justin said...

Hey man, at least you're running again, that's more than I can say!

My leg flared up again this morning so I thought I'd let you know I set up a doctor appointment for Thursday morning. It really is better to err on the side of safety for something like this.

Unknown said...

What do they dofor the sprints if the track only has eight lanes?

brent said...

that would be kind of embarrassing to be on the podium in 9th.

have you ever been a spectator at grandma's? are the logistics pretty crazy? i was thinking about checking it out this year, wondering if its just too hectic to get up there and back...

SRR said...

So are you saying that the last place person should not get a medal? :-) Hmmm...I'm always last, but that's fine with me!

Thomas said...

I've run my last two marathons in amazing scenery, but can honestly say that I didn't take any notice of it. I don't know about others, but when I'm running a marathon I'm far too much inside my own bubble to look around me. I definitely agree with you, the majority of marathoners definitely DO care about their time, and not just the sub-3 hours (or any other threshold you care to pick) guys.

qcmier said...

I hear you; why race when you don't care about your time? And to the victor goes the spoils.