Many social scientists believe that sports reflect the culture. What happens on the playing fields is an indication of the cultural Zeitgeist.
Legendary coach John Wooden can remember when some basketball leagues banned African American players. He also witnessed Michael Jordan become a revered athletic icon worldwide. There was no question that the slogan “be like Mike” referred to Michael Jordan. Only a first name was necessary.
The examples of cultural change and sports are numerous. Perhaps some doctoral student somewhere is drawing the relationship between drug use in major league baseball and the near collapse of Wall Street.
Sports reflect us as a people. And so it is disturbing that there is a growing elitism in the marathon community. The troublesome attitude is ‘if you are too slow, we don’t want you‘:
“… Many of those slower runners, claiming that late is better than never, receive a finisher’s medal just like every other participant. Having traversed the same route as the fleeter-footed runners — perhaps in twice the amount of time — they get to call themselves marathoners.
And it’s driving some hard-core runners crazy.”
link: Plodders Have a Place, but Is It in a Marathon?
It is an attitude of exclusion.
The marathon is a legendary distance. Some people want to participate as a personal challenge. It is not a matter of crossing the finish line first. It is trying to achieve a personal best. It is setting personal goals. It is the joy of participating and being part of the running community.
There is a retired gentleman in this local community who runs every day. He does his run no matter what the weather. He is in his sixties (perhaps older). He is not fast. He is persistent. And he is dedicated. He looks forward to his next competitive run, whether at a marathon distance or shorter. He trains and it fills his day. He is an athlete. And people like him are legion.
It would be a disgrace to exclude people from the marathon. To those who think that exclusion is the direction that marathon running should take, may you be ‘forever young‘. And may the infirmities of life never catch you.
Catherine Forsythe
[Photo via Newscom]
