This is not Rosie Ruiz, guilty in 1980 of faking the Boston Marathon.
It's the opposite, actually, and very 2005: A Toronto runners' group admits to assisting its members at the back of the pack in taking a short cut of "several miles" at Washington's Marine Corps Marathon last month:
Some of the slowest runners were encouraged to take a shortcut. They left the route and rejoined it, shaving off several miles and ensuring that they would be able to reach the key bridge and finish the event within the seven-hour limit. ... between 150 and 200 others finished without following the full course, (the race director) said.
I'm not going to jump on a group for promoting healthier lifestyles, which is what JeansMarines, the group in question, have been doing for some time, and good on them for it.
But this story points to an overused misnomer -- this current "running boom". It's more like a walking boom, and one of its prime tenets is this myth that 42.2-kilometre marathons are healthy for anyone to do after a few months of training from scratch with like-minded newbies at your local shoe store. And so the aging baby boomers stretch out the fields at major marathons like Washington, where they have to institute rules to prevent excessive straggling. And in a few cases, because they can't finish within the rules -- because they really shouldn't be in there in the first place -- they cheat.
"The only reason they would cheat is just personal bragging rights -- which you gotta live with."
Rosie got a bum rap. At least she cheated to win.
Come on man, give the dudes a break. "They really shouldn't be there in the first place" wow, that's kind of harsh don't you think?
Let them be a part of something. Who knows maybe it will inspire them to try again and not be one of the 150-200 who have to take the detour next time.
Posted by: Farhan Lalji (not the dude from TSN) | November 11, 2005 at 05:49 AM
Farhan, there's always shorter races - 10K, half marathon, 30K, etc. if someone can't finish an entire race at what's an extremely generous pace, they shouldn't be doing the race in the first place. they should be going shorter -- then maybe, some day, with proper training, they won't be one of those 150 to 200.
btw, i do like your work on TV.
Just kidding there.
Posted by: cy | November 11, 2005 at 09:52 AM
Fair point, but for some reason these people value the whole "I did a marathon" thing. Sure didn't really do a marathon, but to compare them with Rosie Ruiz and the whole cheating aspect I think just went to far. Is this a case of devaluing sport, for sure. But cheating? Don't think so.
Posted by: Farhan Lalji (not the dude from TSN) | November 11, 2005 at 11:11 AM
"Is this a case of devaluing sport, for sure. But cheating? Don't think so."
Personally, I don't see how they differ in this case, but for argument's sake, why is one worse than the other?
Posted by: Alex | November 14, 2005 at 09:38 AM