My Response to the Black Toenails Tumblr

I was told someone had responded to my Fit Shaming article and that I should read it.   Normally, I ignore anonymous responses to anything I write but I figured I might as well give it a read. (Although the person who sent me to the article was also anonymous, kind of a jerk and very well might have been the writer him/herself.) Then, I figured I might as well respond, mostly because I was amused how someone could ask me to reply in a courteous nature while also insulting what I write, how I write and why I wrote it. Let’s see if I can show how the high road is actually taken. (Probably not.)

Dear Anonymous Tumblr Poster,

I am going to have to start this entire response off by stating that many of the questions you ask about what is fit or what is healthy or what is a variety of other things were, intentionally, left without definition.  Why?  Because ANY definition, no matter how vague or specific, will somehow be incorrect and leave one group or another out. As such, I figured that relatively reasonable people could come to an agreement on what fit or healthy or anything else you asked me to describe is. Ergo, I left its actual description blank. (Although a Fit Vs Healthy blog may be in the works.) As that seems to be the crux of many points you made, you will have to accept this as my answer to all of them. (I will add, however, that without a doubt someone could look “fit” and still be unhealthy. Many examples, recently and unfortunately punctuated by the passing of professional wrestler Ultimate Warrior, come from the world of professional sports.  Many of these men and women look to be at the pinnacle of health but inside are probably wrecking their bodies with drugs or other unhealthy items.)

Perhaps it was a poorly written sentence but when I said “And for the purposes of this article, I am focusing mostly on women and body issues for them...”  I was not stating that I knew what body issues for women feel like for women. I was stating that I was going to focus on the way that people speak about women’s bodies as they are usually the ones in question in all the instances I was referencing.  Even though many people can succinctly speak about complex issues that do not personally involve them, I was not trying to be one of those people. (This is in response to your comment of …”more importantly, he is certainly not in a position to comment on how women feel.”)

You asked if I was a medical doctor which I am guessing was rhetorical. Nevertheless, I am happy to answer in the negative there. I am still 100% certain one does not need to be a medical doctor to read what medical doctors write and understand them. And when I don’t understand them, I have a litany of medical doctor friends from all differing backgrounds and specialties whom I call upon when I have questions (which is often.) Of course, this ignores the fact that medical doctors themselves constantly disagree on a multitude of different subjects. That said, you had no problem stating what is fit and you claim not to read any actual medical journals. In fact, you stated many certainties (hedging some with “may” and “might”) without cited medical background. Why did you do that? Because your blog is not a peer-reviewed journal, you probably are not being paid to write it, or a variety of other things that allow you to have an opinion which, if stated relatively well and without ridiculousness, reasonable people will accept.

As for judging, we all judge every day every minute everywhere we go. People complain about making generalizations or stereotypes but both exist so that we can speak about broader topics without having to name Steve from Poughkepesie who I grew up with and know every single thing he has done for the past 15 years. Judgments are a part of life. I hardly think I made any unnecessarily harsh judgments in my post but perhaps I need to read it again. (OK, just did. Nope.)

You asked (adding “philosophically” as if that automatically makes it a more learned question) why we would care if everyone is fit or healthy? I honestly do not even know how to answer that question and not because it is like Plato's Cave and stumped me. Seriously? Why should we want people to try to not be ill or unhealthy? Does that not answer itself? You throw out a strawman argument about unhealthy people potentially being a"...Pulitzer Prize author, or a brilliant musician, or for christs sake, someone with a thyroid disease and no medical insurance” as if I said that we should round up the unhealthy people and throw them in an internment camp. You actually quoted me but seemed to miss what I said. I said being fit is a goal everyone should strive for. You asked me why.  If you can give me one legitimate reason why they should NOT do so, I would be amazed. Because by your logic, being fit apparently would take away their prize writing ability or musical talent.

I can think of nothing that is not improved by being fit. I am not saying that Tolstoy should have worked on his lats more or Yo-Yo Ma needed to really nail some jump shots or that Harriet Tubman was fine and all but I wish she had done some pilates. But wouldn’t it be wonderful if those who contributed so much to our society, but died because of self-afflicted health problems, were around a little while longer to make our society even better still? (Pro tip: That is rhetorical. Of course it would be.)

In your last portion you said that me stating “we definitely should hold the applause for those who actively chose not to be fit” made you sad, reverting to your original statement of what is fit, healthy, etc. If you actively chose NOT to be fit, you are hurting yourself, and, to many degrees, many others. I detailed this in greater extent in my Cost of Obesity article (which I linked to in the article you are having so much trouble with.)

The result of all of this remains exactly what it was when I first wrote my article: the world needs healthier people. If you disagree with that then you probably agree with most of what Fox News talks about as well.

Yours truly,

Self-Proclaimed “Extreme Athlete” Dane Rauschenberg

p.s.  If you truly want to have intelligent discourse about the subject, let me know who you are and perhaps we can actually, you know, discuss it.

Fit-Shaming

Something has been happening over the past few years and its frequency is growing. Blame social media, or political correctness, or the theory that everyone is gorgeous and wonderful all the time for no reason at all.  But it is a backlash against health. I have decided to call it “Fit-Shaming”.  

I touched on it in my article “Running Will Kill You” but I wanted to expound upon it here. Basically, I am a bit tired of the assertion that choosing to be fit and then sharing their feelings is somehow a bad thing. On top of seeing it happen all the time on the internet or in other media, I have actually experienced this firsthand.  I almost have to apologize for making the decisions that get me to where I am today. To illustrate this point, I almost decided not to post this article after I wrote it as I feared reading the backlash from people who didn’t get the point. Then I saw a Yale student, perfectly healthy, albeit very small, was forced to eat and weigh in each day in order to not be expelled. I decided I needed to go ahead and post the article.

I know this complaint of being fit will be compared to people of privilege complaining about having too much gold bullion but the mere fact I feel bad about complaining about it shows what sort of problem there is. Do not get me wrong - I know we place a great deal of emphasis on being youthful, healthy, good-looking and fit. Denying that would be ridiculous. It is also good that we as a society seem to be more accepting of differing body types and have a firmer grasp on reality. But the pendulum has swung too far the wrong direction to try and correct for standards which may have been a bit unobtainable.

Just as those of us in the running world have seen the minimalist shoes and five-fingered frames (stupidest name ever; you know we have toes not fingers on our feet, right?) swing back and go into the realm of moonbooty Hokas, we now have gone from vilifying obesity to almost celebrating it. If it is not one article from Huffington Post it is a video from Upworthy talking about what “real” women are like or how “authentic” certain bodies are (this link is NSFW). Dove Soap has a campaign celebrating bodies of women who aren’t in the best of shape but again it talks about “realness.” All those bodies are real. Every single one. Not just the ones who are unfit.

A conversation with friends about this subject had some touting the usual party line in this debate. Societal standards say women have to be one way. The media is to blame for making us feel fat or unpretty. Photoshop has taken over what women “really” look like. 

 

Here is the problem with each of those statements.

1. Society definitely does not say women have to be one way. In fact, if anything, society (in America at least) celebrates how women can be many different sizes and shapes. (And for the purposes of this article, I am focusing mostly on women and body issues which can be placed upon them. I am not ignoring men’s issues but realize that for the time being, these articles are predominantly speaking about women.) Is our society perfect with no pressure on women to be super fit? No. Is it much, much, MUCH better than it used to be? Yes.

2. If the media is to blame for making you feel fat, then turn off that media. Someone stated how they had to fight the media to make their daughter not feel fat or unwanted. Well, that person should teach their daughter to feel fit and not rely on those who do not know her to set her definitions (Also, one should probably only do this if the daughter actually is fit.) Educate her. Give her strength to fight back and love her body. To paraphrase Louis C.K. when he said someone there shouldn’t be gay marriage because “What would I tell my kids?”, don’t put it on the media to form your children's opinion of themselves because you don’t want to have a talk with your kid and raise them the right way.

3. Finally, cool it with the complaining about airbrushing and photoshop. We all pretty much assume those covers are touched up. And if you think there should be no touching up of photos, then don’t wear make-up, don’t comb your hair, throw away the spanx and don’t wear black because you know it is slimming. There is nothing wrong with putting our best foot forward in trying to look presentable. There is a great deal right with not trying to cover up something in an attempt to pretend it doesn't exist.

What bothers me most about these campaigns is that they actually do more harm than good. Why should one group of people (those who are fit and take care of themselves) feel bad about these decisions because another group (those who don’t) may have been made to feel bad about how they are? How about we just don’t make anyone feel bad about what they are doing unless it is harmful? Being too thin is just as bad as being too fat. Not running enough is probably as bad as running too much. Being/doing/having too much of anything is usual on par with the same on the other side of the scale. Shaming those who make a concerted effort to be fit doesn’t help the plight of those who don’t. It just creates a safety band-aid.

You may recall the 'Hot Facebook Mom' Maria Kang who started off a firestorm. I loved her statement. She wasn’t touting any product or food. She was just stating that there are often people who use anything as an excuse to not do something else. She says the photo was not photoshopped but was “airbrushed”. In a second photo you can see she has stretch marks. She is just as “real” as any other woman. But because she dared to come down on the wrong side of the “every woman is a goddess!” fence she received a healthy dose of criticism.

Look, the problem we have in this country is complex. I would like to believe it is simply a Calories in, Calories Out thing but it is multi-tiered. As I am relatively fit, I don’t get the benefit of the doubt that I know what it is like to NOT be relatively fit. However, I do understand that as I have definitely had times in my life where I was no where close to being fit. I also know how hard I have to work to JUST be THIS relatively fit. As such, I get it is hard work to eat right, exercise properly, and fit it all into your daily life. It is not easy. We wish it was. That is why we settle for lap band surgery, fall prey to every diet that comes along on infomercials, and do virtually everything but actually eating right and exercising properly.

I know what “real” women look like. I see them every day. Some are fat, some are obese, some are thin, some are fit, and some look so pristinely perfect they look like they were airbrushed in real life. I see these women in many settings. Mostly I see them at races where they are working on bettering themselves in one way or another. 

We live in a different world today where the “average” person does the formally unthinkable. We have people supporting each other in amazing ways. We absolutely do not need to waste any time making those who are fit feel ashamed for being that way. And to be absolutely clear, we shouldn't make those who are average or a little overweight feel bad about themselves, either. But with the enormous cost of obesity we have, those who are doing what they can to be fit should be applauded. This does not take the applause away from those who are not as fit. There is not a finite amount of applause to go around.

That said, we definitely should hold the applause for those who actively chose not to be fit. Because it hurts us all in the end.

 

Running Will Kill You

Or at least that is what the folks over at All Malaysian Air Coverage, All the Time (formerly known as CNN) will have you believe. More accurately, that is the headline grabber they use to get you in before you realize that not only do they not really know one way or another but they are probably wrong.

Yes, I am a runner so I don’t want to think something I am doing will be harmful to me.  But I always have been one who likes to take myself out of a situation and see if even though I do enjoy doing it, whether it is good for me. (That is why I almost never have had Chicago Bears players on my Fantasy Football team until the past few years. I loved them but they had no one who was going to help me score points. If that isn’t objectivity, I don’t know what is. GO Bears!)

Ignoring a ridiculous statement made later in the article presented, let me just state the facts.

1. The smoking gun in the article is merely research brought up at a conference and has not been published by a peer-reviewed journal. If you know anything about the medical world, this is not saying it is the same as stating UFOs built the pyramids, but someone else is going to need to take a look at the research before we can all sign off on it.

2. The research was done by self-reporting of individuals, something which is notoriously flawed. Think of your friends and how incorrect they are in thinking about how much they eat in a day, how many calories they burn off in exercise, etc. Self-reporting is not something we can trust.

3. We know absolutely nothing else about the self-reporters. We do not their previous medical history, their current jobs, their stress levels, or even HOW they died. Heck, the study itself even states “The study authors could not find a strong association between cardiovascular health or painkiller use and the long-distance runners' shorter life spans, so the reason behind this link remains unclear.” Of course, that won’t stop them from throwing out the “STOP RUNNING! IT WILL KILL YOU!” flag. (Yes, I am exaggerating.)

(N.B. I am well aware they are not saying to stop running altogether. Although the study reports that those who do not run AT ALL still live as long as those who run more than 20 miles a week, which is more or less the same thing.)

OK, now we get to the part that makes my blood boil. Dr. James O'Keefe, a cardiologist at the Mid America Heart Institute, states “We’re just not designed to run 26 miles at a time, or 100, or go on a full-distance triathlon for 12 hours as hard as you can go.” This leads me to a personal story.

When I ran my 52 Marathons in 52 Weeks I lived in the greater DC area. I was a relative novice to running and there was not a lot of literature out there on how to do this sort of thing. And by “not a lot” I mean “absolutely nothing.” I was a little worried about how it could stress me out, especially since I was planning on running as hard as I possibly could each week. I reached out to a variety of universities in the area (George Washington, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, to name a few) asking if any of them wished to conduct a study on my body as I went along to get information for, well, science.

The responses I received were what I can only say were guarded enthusiasm. To cut to the chase, it appears virtually everyone I spoke to was very excited to do at least something with me but it appeared that from the top of their programs they were getting the pushback. The crux of the issue was signing off on working with someone who was going to out there and “harm” themselves like I was planning on doing. When all was said and done, I was not able to get anyone to work with me. To be honest, while I was confident in myself, this apprehension from people who supposedly knew more than me did make me a little uneasy. Yet, I went out and did it anyway. Stupendously and with zero harm or injuries, I might add.

When the endeavor ended I actually was contacted by some of those same universities stating that they wished they had done something with me and if I ever did this again they would be interested. You can imagine how hard I laughed at the idea of doing it again. Nevertheless, my point is that somehow, nearly a century after people with far less advances in medical science, footwear and apparel, food and drink did amazing feats of long distance running, we (as runners) still face the “freak” flag from non-runners.

No longer are most people looked at strangely as they run on the roads. Beer cans are rarely thrown from cars at runners anymore. Virtually everyone you know has run some sort of long-distance race. But there is still this backlash against running long distances.

A friend recently told me of their constant interactions with their sedentary, overweight relatives who berate them over their fitness goals and running.  (Why is it always the unhealthiest that like to tell the healthy how to live properly?) This interaction, and literally thousands I have heard or experienced myself of the same ilk, are why the statement by O’Keefe above just pisses me off.

I have spent the past 8 years of my life showing people they can do more than they think they can. Can everyone do 52 Marathons in a year safely? Maybe not. Can they run the coast of Oregon in one week? That’s iffy. How about 202 miles in 50 hours? No. However, many people can do similar things (and some have done longer, faster and better than me!) But you needn’t run hundreds of miles at once to know that the body IS ABSOLUTELY EFFING DESIGNED TO RUN THAT FAR.

I am hoping O’Keefe’s statement was taken out of context or was truncated or something else because it is just ridiculous. I mean, how can a man of science say we are not designed to do something that hundreds thousands of people do each year without detriment? Even if you go to hundred mile races we are still talking thousands of people who do those.

The ultrarunning world is actually experiencing a little infighting as to what is really considered an “ultra” and one of the main reasons is the old guard is a little miffed that regular ole suburban plodders have infiltrated the ranks of the 50 mile finishers. If Suzy Homemaker and Johnny Pencilpusher can finish a 50 miler smiling, it can’t be all that hard, is the thought amongst some. And, to some extent, that is true. It is still a great achievement and one anyone who does should be proud of. But we as runners have shown over just the past decade, how relatively average people can accomplish relatively remarkable things.

So, I suggest you just file this away into your “Full of Crap” file. Don’t worry about dusting it off to re-read it. It won’t be but a few more weeks until the next study comes out telling you it is impossible to do the things you or someone you know has already done.

On Being a Race Bandit

Last November, runners were told to get over ourselves. While I agree that on some level this assertion is true, I can also think of no subset of the human population that couldn’t be told the same thing. What raised the ire of many runners was this proclamation was coming from the mouth of a self-professed non-runner. Like the old adage of “I can make fun of my family but you can’t”, this one came from outside the inner circle. That’s not acceptable. 

Then runners were hit from within.

One runner at a half-marathon in NYC recently posted a bunch of selfies with herself and other “hot” male runners in a race. Relatively harmless, the piece went viral, although I wondered if it would have received the same haha praise if a male runner had done it with “hot chicks” in the background. (No, it would not have.)

Then a few days later, another runner and blogger Ashley Hesseltine, thinking this selfie idea was brilliant, usurped it for her own article. Problem was, unlike the runner in NYC, she didn’t pay for the race she decided to run. She became a bandit. But worse, she became a smug, not-particularly-funny bandit, writing about it without the best of writing skills relying on mainly snark and cursing for humor. When runners deemed to tell her being a bandit was wrong, her self-righteousness went to eleven.

I have no doubt that some people were probably far too bothered by it and I am sure others took to insulting her personally rather than her actions. Of course, if you title your own blog “Witty + Pretty” you are asking for people to take swings. I get it.  My job title on Facebook is “Manufacturer of Awesome.” You don’t think if I have a bad day or race or comment or whatever that those who don’t like me aren’t going to jump all over that? Please. But I digress. (I also am pretty freaking awesome, so no worries on that one.)

By the time many read Hesseltine’s blog for the first time, the addendum she added in response to the initial commenters simply oozed with indignation. If I had to guess, even though Ms. Hesseltine is a runner, I bet she never had banditted a race before. She probably wasn’t expecting such vitriol or anything other than “You so funny!” Thinking she did nothing wrong, she had to stay on the attack when those speaking of what she did pointed out it was uncouth. (Coincidentally, I had unknowingly read other articles by Hesssletine in the past which I only now realized were hers and the same confrontational-for-the-supposed-sake-of-being funny attitude permeated throughout those as well.)   

Races cost money for a reason. People who take part in them fairly do so because they have paid for that right. I won’t list all of the things that runners’ fees go to pay for but police officers, road closures, aid station food and drink, chip timing, race medals, t-shirts and course entertainment are just a few. Claiming, as some of her defenders did, that the roads are public and they pay taxes so they can use them during race day is asinine. Your taxes pay for school chemistry labs too but you can't just waltz in and fire up a Bunsen burner whenever you want. Plus, on top of all the other safety reasons in races that existed prior to April of last year, we now live in a post-bombing of the Boston Marathon world. People who aren’t where they are supposed to be are going to be looked at different. Sure, Ms. Hesseltine is a white woman but if she was a Chechen or Middle-eastern man doing the same thing, her experience would not be the same. This is not me taking the slippery slope too quickly; this is looking at real life.

Here’s the thing. We all make mistakes. I banditted a race once. I felt wrong after, especially when it was pointed out to me, a newbie, that it was wrong. But even in that race I did not take any of the fluids, food, or medals for finishers which others spend their money on. (A picture since taken down, apparently showed Hesseltine taking bling she didn’t pay for.) Also, I definitely did not bandit specifically to write a post about it in hopes of bolstering my writing career. Therein lies the fundamental problem with Hesseltine’s post and why so many were bothered. The whole  “Thanks for the PAGEVIEWS, suckas!” attitude showed absolutely no remorse whatsoever or even a hint of “Sorry, my bad.”  If either had popped up, I am guessing runners would have dropped the whole issue. But, the more people disliked her, the more it fueled her post being viewed and the more she fired back at her “trolls.” Unfortunately, just because someone disagrees with you, does not make them a troll or a bully, both words Hesseltine threw around in her middle-fingers-up-and-ablazin’ responses.

But that sort of response is fairly typical of the too-cool-for-school Gen Y blogger. Saying “Get over it already” and then writing ANOTHER blog with one of those horrible non-apology apologies to milk her 15 minutes even more didn’t help matters at all. I guess that is what they do over at the Huffington Post. Click bait. (Just be happy she doesn’t write for CNN or she might have written about Malaysian Air 370 for the past two weeks and then complained about people being upset about her mocking the crash before writing another post about us needing to get over it.) 

Stating she had raised money in the past for charities and had signed up for this race again already (which I found shocking that the race would allow) seemed to show she was a good person. She probably is. But it was strike two at missing the point. She made a mistake and did something wrong but rather than just owning up to it she put up another layer of talk-to-the-hand to her haterz.

Perhaps this is another case of runners needing to get over themselves. But runners are rather good at self-policing their sport. When someone gets out of line they get whacked down. One can claim as Hesseltine did that her entire post was all in the name of showing off her city or just trying to be a comedian. Even supposedly sending in a check afterward to pay for the registration fee smacks of Hesseltine trying to buy her way out of the hole her own attitude created. Simply taking it on the chin would have done her a world of good. Of course, contrite and logical doesn’t get pageviews.

I hope those pageviews were worth it in the long run. Of course, if she did a few more of those long runs, her times would be better.  

Burn.

Book Review: The Swashbuckler's Guide to Running Away from Dinosaurs

I read a lot.  Not nearly as much as I would like and not always things I am happy I spent time reading (like, for example, the steaming crap pile that is Ashley Hesseltine’s Huffpost article about being a pedantic annoying thief at the Georgia Half Marathon. No, I am not linking to it.) When I read something good I want to share it. Which is why I am telling you to get The Swashbuckler's Guide to Running Away from Dinosaurs by Sputnik.

 

Full disclosure: I am quoted in this book (on page 102-103, thank you very much.)  And my quote is one I am particularly proud of.  But I am quoted often and that means very little to me. So, know I am talking about this book in spite of my addition to it.

For the most part, if you know me, you know I can’t stand trite, flowery, everyone-is-a-winner sentiments. I know they sell well and I should just put out a 50 page book of those sayings and retire. But I can’t and it is not because I don’t like money and wouldn’t mind never having to ignore some idiot on twitter again. This is not to say Sputnik’s book is the things I described above.  It just could have been that and the fact it isn’t makes it great.

There are tons of quote in the book, interspersed with Sputnik’s own brief race recaps. It is not too heady, it doesn’t take long to read a passage and its brevity allows it to be picked up, read for a few minutes and then put down. But unlike other books filled with quotes, there are some really good ones in here outside of the typical rah-rah fare. Most are not the contrived drivel meant to be clickbait on Upworthy. Some I am absolutely going to be putting into my own words and stealing down the road.

I don't know if it is the Australian author and the well-known great attitude Aussies have but it permeates through the book. You owe it to yourself to grab yourself a copy. I only wish I got royalties.

Race Reports

I read lots of race reports. Race reports from people I know and don't know. Race reports about races I have no desire to do. Race reports from people far slower and far faster than me. I feel a learn a little from every one of those reports. Sometime it is what to do and a lot of the times it is what not to do. Here is a partial list of things I have come across.

* People are often disappointed in their result no matter what it is. It could be a PR by a huge unexpected margin but they are still not happy. I really find this disheartening because I wonder if they are ever truly happy about anything. I finished a half marathon last weekend 11 minutes slower than my PR and found tons of silver linings.

* People do not seem capable of listening to their own bodies and running within themselves. One particular runner will always go out way faster than they are capable of holding onto for the entire distance, falter and crash. This is not just once but dozens and dozens of times with the same end result. Yet they steadfastly hold to their ill-conceived, completely irrational plan that has never panned out. I think it is the German in me that gets a tad bit of schadenfreude by watching them never succeed.

* People do not listen to the advice they ask for from others. This is one reason why I hesitate about giving any when asked for advice. Regardless of the fact that everything depends on factors too numerous to list, I just bristle when I am asked for advice, give it, have it not be followed and the person does poorly. A much wiser friend of mine taught me a trick that basically just involves asking someone what they think they want to do and then agreeing with it. Makes you seem like the smartest person on the planet.

* People do seem to be enjoying themselves in a variety of different races. That's good. That's really good. The marathon gets too much attention anyway. I love it. It is a great distance but it has become a tad blase'. I think far too any people take on the distance before they should and then having completed it, don't go back. So when I see all the other distances getting some love, I smile. The more people who race hard at shorter distances means the more people will eventually race hard again at the longer distances. Fast is Fun.

* People seem to enjoy in eating and drinking after a race almost as much as they do running the race. There is nothing wrong with enjoying food (I guess. I am not a foodie so I don't get it.) But, it appears to be very evident that they are not helping their own health as they are vastly underestimating how many calories they are taking in for their "reward" for finishing a race. Finishing a race should be your reward for finishing a race. Not eating something that has three times the calories you burned in the race.

* People are stepping up their writing game a lot. Race Reports used to be awfully short and uninformed. I wrote a race report on how to run the Old Dominion 100 miler 7 years ago because I couldn't find anything other than "There is a hill . You go up it.  Drink water." when looking online for help. There are also a lot of people who still think writing is easy and it shows. That makes me feel good about my own writing. :)

Basically, I need to get over the flu so I cannot stop reading and go running. 11 Days and counting. This is not fun.

Prize Money Equality in Races

I saw a recent post about the Irving Marathon that offered prize money for the first place finisher only. Not per gender but overall. This sparked a discussion about gender inequality and how it will ruin this race in the long run and a dozen other tangents. I had to sit back and think about whether this bothered me and I still don’t know if it does. So I decided to try and think it out before coming to an opinion (how novel!)

Firstly, the prize was offered to the first person crossing the line so on its face it is not discriminatory.  If a female won the race, she would win the purse (a term which I am surprised has not come to be called sexist.) So, that doesn’t bother me. First person wins. Good.

However, more realistically, the chances are far less that a woman will women based on physics, previous race results and common sense. What I found interesting was watching people decry this prize money structure and flat out admit that the chances of a woman winning were slim to none. Undoubtedly, a large percentage of these people are the ones who also say that anything a man does a woman can do better. Except run faster, I guess.

It reminded me of an article written by Ellie Greenwood, an elite ultrarunner, about the politics of prize money. The situation was basically the same but this time it was in a 100 mile race instead of a marathon. If you follow ultrarunning at all you will have seen many articles recently touting that ultras might be where the pendulum finally turns an women beat men on a semi-regular basis. Women, the articles say, are better built for it.

Now, all of those articles have stopped recently as, well, none of that has actually happened. The gap in times between the absolute elite men and the absolute elite women has stayed the same or widened. Sure, more women are less likely to DNF at ultras than men but that is mostly because women seem to have more common sense about taking on a distance that they are likely to finish. Male hubris takes over upon registering and they often take on a challenge without proper preparation. Hence more DNFs. (Yes, I am probably over simplifying this, so deal with it.)

So, even in the distance and sport where the playing field seemed more level, women haven’t quite closed the gap yet, if they ever will. Which leads us back down to marathons. The women’s world record in the marathon is a 2:15:25. That is so fast the closest other world record is nearly 2 minutes slower and it was set by Paula Radcliffe.  In addition, it was set 11 years ago. The men’s world record (not world’s best which is actually faster) is a 2:03:23 and that was set just last year. Women have seemed to stagnate (or Paula Radclliffe was so otherworldly good we won’t realize this for another decade) while men continue to get faster.  This seems to go well for those saying there needs to be separate purses for this race as, obviously, men and women are basically competing in different worlds.

But as much as I am an advocate for women in running (an entire chapter in my book sings the praises and documents the trials and tribulations of women fighting for even footing in the racing world) I just can’t seem to get bothered by this one race offering one prize in a winner-take-all style. There are something like 600 marathons in North America alone. This race in Irving is one out of many, many, many marathons out there with prize money. In addition it is hardly the standard bearer for races. I doubt other races will follow suit and give away the same sort of prize money. So it sort of sits alone. If you feel it is not right, then don't run the race. It is not like it is the only deal in town.

[Sidebar: Interestingly, I never heard any females complain about the LA Marathon challenge bonus.  This year, elite women were given an 17:41 head start. I am not sure where that number comes from but I am sure there is some scientific reasoning (obviously it is not the difference in the World Record times.) When the smoke settled, the male winner won the race in 2:10:37 and the female winner in a 2:27:37. Because of the headstart, the female winner took home $50,000 by “beating” the male by 47 seconds. Ever since this was instituted in 2009, I have thought it was the most sexist thing imaginable. But if you were against it, you were a chauvinistic pig. I have heard that because there were men’s races for so long that events like this and “women’s only” races exist rightfully to make up for lost time. I cannot even begin to talk about how ludicrous an argument that is.]

So, even though I wanted to bothered by this, I simply cannot. It is one race. They had a decision to make about what they wanted to do with their prize money and they are sticking to it.  No matter what. Or until enough people complain about it and it get changed, as it did almost during the time that I first saw the hubbub about the event and the time it took me to write this article, that is. (I am not joking.)

I would have had greater respect for the race if it had simply kept to its original intentions. Reminds me of a few years back when a marathon in DC had a 5:30 cutoff.  People were up in arms. Never mind how difficult it is to shut down the nation’s friggin capitol on any given day, people were bothered the race wouldn’t let those finish over five and a half hours. I thought it was a great idea. What is wrong with having a race that encourages people to try harder? Like I said about the Irving Marathon, there are literally hundreds of other marathons in the US alone and I guarantee 99% of them would not follow suit. Why? Because slower runners make up the bulk of registrations, sales of apparel and merchandise. If race wants to make money it has to accommodate those in the back of the pack. Which leads me to the final point I heard about accommodating elites and its effect on the race’s success in general.

As I said a few months ago when Competitor, the owners of the Rock N Roll series, decided to end their elite program, it is their prerogative to do so. They know what benefits them the most as a company making money and it was not helping elites. (Of course, they did a semi-about- face a few months later but that is another story.) I heard elites complaining that prize money is how they make their living. Well, this is a bitter pill to swallow but it is not up to anyone else to make you earning a living easier. I have learned this many times personally the hard way. Just because you think more races should coddle elites because you think it will help the bottom line and bring in more sponsors and grow the race, doesn’t mean it is true or that the race sees it that way even if it is.

All told, if I felt that offering money for the top finisher (or the top 3 or 5 or whatever) was a trend that was going to take hold and, for all intents and purposes, completely shut women out of making a living at the sport, I too would have to give this a thumbs down.

As it stands, if you want something and it is given to the first person to get to it, I guess you just have to run faster than everyone else.

Gupton Jeep Tom King Classic Half Marathon Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 9; 5th Edition 
32,9 miles run in 2014 races
Race: Gupton Jeep Tom King Classic Half Marathon
Place: Nashville, TN
Miles from home: 2346
Weather: 50s; bright sun

Running when you are not in the best of shape is, by definition, what we do most of the time. It is, however, that subset of running efficiency, running when we are far below our best which is not very fun. Speed is relative but every runner understands how not fun it can be to try and race when they are a shadow of their best.

Two years ago I was in a bike crash.  Prominent injuries were tended to. However, it appears that less prominent ones have shaped my running since then. My legs have hurt, somewhere, somehow since that bike crash.  I assumed it was because, well, my legs hurt. Now, I have found out that chances are strong they hurt because of something that happened to my body during that bike crash.

Two years ago I met a wonderful gentleman by the name of Peter Pressman.  Peter is the president of the Nashville Striders running club. He mentioned that he was interested in potentially bringing me in to speak for the Striders signature event, The Tom King Classic. A mutual friend, Joe Henderson, had graciously given me a good review which piqued Peter’s interest. I was more than happy to consider the request but given that many people approach me for events which never pan out, filed it away into my mind.

I did, however, do my research and found out that not only were the Striders a very well-received running club but the Tom King race was known to be extremely fast, reward runners very well before during and after the race and the entire endeavor would be enjoyable one.  Then I promptly forgot about it.

You can then imagine my surprise and pleasure when Peter contacted me and we solidified this gig. Given 2014 was supposed to be my year of getting faster at the shorter distances again, I saw the Tom King Classic as one of the races at which I would test my fitness level. Then a painful calf problem cropped up right after I set a record for the fastest known time running a marathon on a cruise ship. I don’t correlate the two any more than their proximity in time, but that’s when it happened.

The week prior to the race had me experimenting with my leg. I had, 7 days prior, run a completely pain free run and thought perhaps the problem was gone. But then on four consecutive days it got worse. I ran the exact same course in an attempt to ascertain from where the pain was coming from but simply could not. I finally decided that I would run, not race Tom King and then probably shut it down.

Presenting at the dinner before the race, I was happy to have an engaged and excited crowd. I love speaking to any organization or group of people and given my varied background can relate to pretty much anyone.  But speaking with runners is like telling inside jokes. And as I relayed my issues with my legs I told them I have always said the hardest run a person does is their first one. The second hardest is every run afterward that they don’t run when they want to. I got a lot of knowing nods.

Race Morning:

After snow and storms had struck the region earlier in the week, the day before the race and the day of were just about as nice as you could ask for. This was, to me, just basically another dagger in my side.  Great course, great organization, great weather; gimpy Dane. Prior to the race my friend Candice had mentioned she was also on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list  and would be taking it out relatively slow. I said it would be good to hang together for as long as we could and enjoy our pain together.  We lined up in the back of the pack which is hard to do for two reasons. First, it is admitting you are already not racing. Second, and to this day I cannot understand why people do this, without a doubt there are hundreds of people who place themselves WAY far ahead of where they should be. We figured it would just feel good to pass all these people as we work out our kinks.

First 3 miles: 7:07, 7:07, 7:06

The first quarter basically had me hobbling along with a peg leg.  But then, as usual, the leg felt better and I could ambulate with minor amounts of Captain Ahab-ness. This portion of the course had us starting outside of the Tennessee Titans stadium and heading out along some wide city streets. Candice and I had to part a little as we calmly picked our way through the throngs.  We then joined back up and started running side by side. She had a hip issue bothering her and was trying to do her best to run controlled.  When I saw our first few miles I felt bad. I felt bad for me because I wanted them to be faster. I felt bad for her because I know she wanted to run closer to 7:15s.  I figured something would give eventually for both of us.

We encountered the only hill to mention of the entire race right along the second mile. For those who run in Nashville, to find a long stretch of flat running is almost impossible. Tom King, however, manages to have virtually every mile of its 13.1 do just that. Not too shabby.

To the Midway Point: 

The race has to cap its participants at 1500 for one main reason: the bike trail.  For roughly 9 miles runners head out and back along a bicycle trail along the Cumberland River. Perfectly fine as bike trails go, once runners are coming and going, there is not enough room for lots of people. So the Stirders wisely cap it.  They also cannot close it to outside traffic which, for the most part, was not a problem. We did, however, get a big kick out of the woman on her bike out for a leisurely stroll who tried to weave her way through all of us staring around mile 4.

I was beginning to feel human and picking up the pace right around the time she went by.  So basically, I spent the next half mile right behind her as she dainty asked runners to move over to let her pass.  I wonder what I would do if I tried to go for a bike ride and 2000 people (including the 5k) were in my way.  I am pretty sure I would pick a different path. But that’s me. I’m considerate.

Before much longer the leaders were coming back at us. They were flying.  Candice’s husband, a 2:26 marathoner seemed to have a lock on third place and would come in with a 1:10 half. Dang.  Even more dang was the women’s overall winner, one Lanni Marchant, who set a new Canadian women’s record finishing also in 1:10.

Around 5.5 miles, I felt Candice begin to fall back a bit just as I was beginning to feel better.  I had a feeling we were parting ways. As the turn-around neared, I began counting people in front of me that I felt like I could still pass. I stopped when it got to 30.

Onto Mile 10:

I told Candice good luck as we passed in opposite directions and began to set my invisible lasso on the next group of runners in front of me.  My just over 7 minute miles began to dip into 6:50 and 6:40 miles. I would grab one group of three or four and soon leave them behind.  My leg felt, for all intensive purposes (thank you, Mike Tyson) pain-free. The best part of this portion of the course were seeing all the runners I had met at the dinner the night before and waving at those who shouted my name as I passed who I had no idea who they were. You have to shout before I pass you so I can find your face!

There was a group of three runners, one woman and two men, who were about 20 yards in front of me that were running virtually the exact same pace. As such, they were chewing up and spitting out runners in front of them as well.  I always wonder when I see someone running so akin to what I am running, what their plan was for the race.  Did they intend to negative split and took it easy? Were they battling injuries that mysteriously disappeared for most of race? Why is it we are both so far back in the pack but now running the same pace that the ones we are passing can’t seem to hold on anymore?  This, non-runners, is just a small sampling of what I think about when running. What the hell do you think about when you aren’t?

A small looped portion that we did not run on the way out allowed for a slight deviation from the original out and back. It was a nice diversion that took runners over an extremely quaint, if not hazardously twisty footbridge. Running solo as I was, I could plot an exact straight line to not deal with a single right angle, as long as I kept my elbow unnaturally high for about 30 yards. Also, by running virtually with no one by my side, I could hit every curve in the inside. Even running the same speed I would, by physics, catch some of those in front of me.  And I did.

A friend I had known for seven years, but whom had never actually met, was on the sideline cheering runners on. Trent and I would later break bread two more times over the weekend but getting cheered by someone you knew but didn’t know was a nice treat. Now it was down to the nitty gritty.

Heading Home:

When I am not in racing form and am way off my PR speed it is never how much longer time wise that a race will take me to complete that gets in my craw.  Rather it is the distance left to travel when I hit my PR that rankles me so. In this instance, when I hit the 11th mile, I knew that if I had been running at mile half-marathon PR pace, I would have been done. To think I was 2 miles behind my own self, set just last fall when I was hardly in 13.1 PR shape, was rather disheartening. Alas.

In a race designed like this, there is not a great deal that the volunteers can do to mess things up out on the race course itself, especially at the aid stations.  I designed the revamped Drake Well Marathon course (now apparently scrapped by the new race committee) partially for the same reason. One portion contained an out and back on a bicycle trail which meant that aid stations doubled up.  Less volunteers needed, less aid stations which needed to be set up and manned. That said, people can still go above and beyond the call of duty and that is what these volunteers were doing.

As we went through what would be the last aid station I reached out to grab just a sip of liquid. The sunny weather was perfect for the race organizers and a welcome respite for the runners.  But it was a tad warm out for yours truly.  As such, I had already grabbed drinks twice before by comparison (in the Heart Breaker Half a few weeks ago I ran the entire 13.1 with nary a sip) but needed one last drink. My pace had quickened to a 6:38 mile and I was desperately trying to reel in as many runners as I could.  I knew after the slight downhill we had gone up earlier that we would have a virtual flat plane the rest of the way. For whatever reason I don’t run fast on flats.  Haven’t figured it out yet but I am exceedingly better at something with a slight grade in it.  So, needless to say I was doing all I could to push hard and getting that drink was necessary.  Of course, I then proceeded to drop the cup from the last aid station volunteer. Bollocks.

As I tried to deal with this small setback, I pushed forward. I heard brisk footsteps and figured one of my competitors had read my body language and knew this was the time to take advantage of me. Suddenly a hand appeared almost over my shoulder holding a water cup.

“Here,” said the volunteer whose cup I had missed. I was dumbstruck.  He had taken the time to grab another glass and then sprint after me to catch up just because I had messed up and missed the hand off. I thanked him profusely which I am sure came out as “Fankewe berry dunch” in my dry mouth, running hard phase. Just wonderful stuff though.

Here, however, even with the surge from liquid in my throat, I found my leg not responding for the first time.  More accurately, it was the first time I called upon it to surge forward and it plain and simply would not do so. I was still gaining or passing a runner here and there but one I had been tracking down for quite some time no longer was getting any closer.

We neared the stadium where we started but I knew we finished inside of it. I wasn’t 100% sure how we got inside the stadium or what we did once we were in there but I knew we still had about a mile left of running. That being said, and knowing this, it is still hard to run all the way around a stadium, and as I learned once we exited the tunnel the Tennessee Titans exit for game, that we had to run all the way around the field as well.

We could see the finishers ahead of us crossing the finish line on the gigantic screen above the field. This was great for the spectators but not all that helpful per se for runners. That doesn’t matter as we should be focusing on the road in front of us. One last turn at the end zone and around mid-field the finish awaited.  I suddnelly felt a presence and saw a shadow.  A person was trying to pass me.

I have almost never allowed someone to outkick me in a race.  As the runner approached and got to my shoulder, I realized today was going to be one of those times. I knew two things for certain
1.    Given his speed and acceleration and my leg not working, I could not match him.
2.    He had been way far ahead of me at the start so losing by a second meant absolutely nothing here.

As it ends up I finished 77th overall in a time of 1:31:11.  Not too shabby given all the circumstances but definitely a little disheartening.  I waited after the race with Ben, Candice’s husband, and a few other new friends to cheer Candice in. Her time was not what she was hoping for either but given her own injury I hope she realizes it was solid.

After the race, runners were treated to an amazing smorgasbord of breakfast food in the warm confines of the club levels of the stadium itself. If that weather had been inclement in any way, I can see how people might have never left this comfortable area. All told, the Tom King Classic (named after one of the founders of the Nashville Striders who is not only still alive but a wonderful gentleman in his own right) is a race that is a must-do. It is definitely know by people far and wide but not nearly as far, nor wide, as it should be.

Here’s hoping this recap helps remedy that as soon as possible.