Paula Radcliffe had a fourth place finish in the New York Marathon. For most competitors, that would be a reassuring finish. However, for Paula Radcliffe, it meant disappointment and pain:

“… The way she stopped and vented her agony after finishing fourth, clasping her left leg, proved that this was another heroic effort, but also made you wonder how long her body can withstand the marathon toil. “Maybe I should have come back steadier and just written the year off,” she said afterwards.

Radcliffe has been so unlucky with injuries that you have to be an optimist to believe she will make it to London 2012 in perfect health.”

link: Paula Radcliffe facing the mother of all battles to land elusive Olympic gold

additional link: Injured Radcliffe vows to race on

additional link: Britain’s Paula Radcliffe insists she won’t quit on her 2012 London Olympic dream

There is speculation that Paula Radcliffe faces two formidable foes as the 2012 London Olympics approaches. She has to overcome age and injuries to compete for gold in those 2012 Olympics. There are whispers that Paula Radcliffe should retire.

The best response to those suggesting retirement may be a quote attributed to basketball coach Rudy Tomjanovich: “Never underestimate the heart of a champion“. And Paula Radcliffe is indeed a champion.

Catherine Forsythe

Derartu Tulu is a veteran runner. She was the first woman Olympian to win an Olympic gold medal. Now she can add a win in the New York City Marathon to her impressive resume:

“Derartu Tulu has raced to history throughout her career, and on a cool, cloudy day of surprises for the New York City Marathon, the 37-year-old runner charged to a remarkable new milestone. She became the first Ethiopian woman to capture New York’s laurel crown in its 40-year history, 17 years after becoming the first African woman to win a gold medal in the Olympics in the 10,000 meters.”

link to the article by Liz Robbins for The New York Times

additional link:  Paula Radcliffe finishes fourth in New York City Marathon as Derartu Tulu wins

additional link:  Radcliffe’s New York reign comes to an end

[Photo by Harry How/Getty Images]

Among the marathon community, she is a ‘rock star’. She has first name recognition. When marathoners mention “Paula“, it is Paula Radcliffe. On this Sunday morning, she will be in New York City:

“… Today she will be going for her third in a row, her fourth in total. Her year thus far has been hamstrung by injury and illness. She withdrew from the London Marathon in April because of a foot operation. She missed the World Championships in Berlin in August because she was not ready to race the full marathon distance, and withdrew from the World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham last month because of tonsillitis. Still, such is her pedigree – the fastest female marathon runner of all time by a distance, with her 2hr 15 min 25sec clocking in London in 2003, winner of eight of her 10 marathons (the two failures having come when illness and injury struck at Olympic time) – she lines up on Staten Island the clear favourite…”

link to the article by Simon Turnbull for The Independent

[Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images]

Yuri Kano is a Japanese marathon runner. She is not sponsored by a corporate entity. In this way, she is breaking away from the accepted Japanese approach. Yuri Kano supports herself through the success of her running and she is in New York for the marathon:

“… the marathoner Yuri Kano is something of a maverick in her native Japan. In a sport dominated by company teams that tightly control their runners, Kano runs for an independent athletic club that lets her enter races based on her chances to win rather than those her corporate sponsor deems necessary for promotional purposes.”

link to the article by Ken Belson for The New York Times

[Photo via Newscom]

Eileen Croissant took a break from triathlon competition. That break stretched to a couple of decades. Now, in her seventies, she’s back and she’s competing:

“… When Croissant competed at the national championships this summer with the Greeley Triathlon Club, she was the only 70-year-old woman there. That was true at all her races, though she did compete with one other 70-year-old at a race in Cheyenne.

Croissant doesn’t feel much different than she did when she was racing in her mid-40s.”

link:  After two-decade break, 70-year-old returns to triathlons

Kudos to Eileen Croissant! Welcome back from your hiatus!

Catherine Forsythe

[Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images]

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]

It is remarkable to win one World Ironman Championship. The triathlon is a gruelling event. It is astounding that Chrissie Wellington has won the event three successive times:

“In winning the event – which sees competitors tackle a 2.4 mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and, finally, a full 26-mile marathon – she smashed a 17-year course record and trounced her nearest female rival by 20 minutes.

Jenson Button, the Formula One racing driver, who also competed in the event, hailed Wellington’s winning time as “a little bit scary”.”

link: Chrissie Wellington stakes her claim to be world’s fittest woman

additional link: Wellington wins third world title

additional link: Chrissie shatters Ironman record in steamy Hawaii

Athletes focus of such championships and try to achieve a performance peak. To maintain this level of efficiency, over three championships, is simply astounding.

Kudos to Chrissie Wellington!

Catherine Forsythe

[Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images]

It is ironic timing. Erin Allday, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, filed an article on October 17 about heart fitness and competition. She wrote:

“… It’s rare for athletes to die in training or competition, but a handful of recent fatalities have drawn attention to a devastating reality: A small percentage of Americans have hidden heart defects that can kill them if they put too much stress on the muscle.”

link:  Runners’ heart woes can be discovered too late

Ms Allday wrote that article prior to the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. In Detroit, the next day, three runners died competing in the Detroit marathon.

Catherine Forsythe

[Photo via Newscom: Susan Tusa/Detroit Free Press/MCT]

Sarah Plaxton has run fifty two marathons. The Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Bank Marathon was her first win and she caught the leader in a sprint:

“… “I’ve been doing this for a long time,” Plaxton said. “I was just hoping to place as a masters runner today, so I’m thrilled.”

Plaxton participated in her first Freep marathon in 1995. She also qualified for the 2004 U.S. Olympic women’s marathon trials. She ran a personal-best 2:46:27 in the 2002 Philadelphia marathon.

link to the article by Jo-Ann Barnas for the Detroit Free Press

Kudos to Sarah Plaxton!

[Photo by Joern Pollex/Bongarts/Getty Images]

Alert Steve Jobs. This is a cause that he might like to champion. It seems that a runner was disqualified because she was using an iPod. The runner was Jennifer Goebel:

“… Race photos showed Goebel with an iPod tucked into the waistband of her shorts and she admitted using the device in violation of a USA Track and Field rule that applied only to elite runners in the Lakefront Marathon. Runners competing for USATF championships and or cash prizes are not allowed to use electronic devices.”

link:  Second Lakefront Marathon winner disqualified for iPod use

additional link:  Marathon winner disqualified for wearing iPod

Much has being said that listening to music while running has some inherent dangers. One is not as aware of the environment and that can be a safety issue. However, if one is running a marathon, there are bystanders along the route. It would seem that the runner with an iPod is carrying extra weight for twenty six miles. The debate continues.

Catherine Forsythe