On I went, out of the wood, passing the man leading without knowing I was going to do so. Flip-flap, flip-flap, jog-trot, jog-trot, curnchslap-crunchslap, across the middle of a broad field again, rhythmically running in my greyhound effortless fashion, knowing I had won the race though it wasn't half over, won it if I wanted it, could go on for ten or fifteen or twenty miles if I had to and drop dead at the finish of it, which would be the same, in the end, as living an honest life like the governor wanted me to. -Alan Sillitoe, "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

How is this a Thing?

I was trolling fall races the other day, trying to combine a long overdue trip to Nebraska* with finding a fall race that fit my schedule. One of my Nebraska friends recommended the Omaha Marathon, which took me to their website.

There, I saw this:


That's right - barefoot runners get their own award category at the marathon. Pandering to a new demographic, or a sign of things to come?


*You can understand why I've been putting this off, I'm sure. Nebraska.
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6 comments:

  1. GeekGirlWed May 30, 08:49:00 AM EDT

    I am so sick of being asked what I think of barefoot running. It's ridiculous how many people are being sucked into something that is not the best for everybody.

    I'll be so glad when this trend passes.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeff HWed May 30, 10:06:00 AM EDT

    I fully support this and creation of new divisions. I think there should also be divisions by religion, sexual preference, and whether or not you like cilantro.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TWed May 30, 03:45:00 PM EDT

      I do believe I took first at the Soldier Field 10m in the "female Egyptologists in their 30s who flew in for the weekend from NYC" category. Or maybe 2nd.

      Delete
    2. Jeff HWed May 30, 04:51:00 PM EDT

      If you really want to win your division just add "who were accompanied and heckled by a male Chicagoan in his 30s wearing skechers and a beer run shirt around miles 1 and 9"

      Delete
  3. Silly Girl RunningWed May 30, 11:26:00 AM EDT

    I think us Redheads deserve our own award category. Some believe we're freaks of nature anyway, so I'd say...I'm on to something here.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousWed May 30, 11:54:00 AM EDT

    Oh, hell.

    ReplyDelete

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