Runners

Is running the cheapest sport you can compete in? To run you really don’t need much more than a pair of running shoes, some gym shorts, and a shirt. That’s all you really need. Compare that to other sports:

Baseball: You’ve got to have a bat and glove, cleats, and a baseball jersey along with a place to play which should be cheap or free.

Football: This one is pretty cheap. You can buy a football and maybe some pads. If it’s full contact you need pads and a helmet.

Triatheletes: This is easily one of the most expensive sports to participate in. You need a bike (keep that in good condition with tubes, lube, new brakes, new chains, a pump, etc), you’ll need a helmet, you will need a wet suit, you will need running shoes, and you’ll need the biking/running clothes. Plus to train you have to have a pool. Add that to the massive amount of time to train for three sports! To compete, which is what it’s about, you generally have to pay a good deal to race and possibly travel.

Soccer: Most people join a league which will cost a little. Then you’ll need soccer clothes, a ball, a pump, cleats, and some travel to play maybe?

I’m leaving out plenty of other sports that people do. Biking and swimming can sort of be pulled out of the triathelete column. Of course, the difference is that you don’t have to compete to do it. Kayaking and watersports also require a huge investment.

Shalane Flanagan did a good job of dismantling the American 10K record previously held by Denna Kastor. Her sprint to the finish ended with a time of 30:34.49 which undid the record of 30:50.32. Below she speaks of how altitude training helps her prepare for races.

I think you’d be hard pressed to find a serious distance contender who doesn’t have a good amount of altitude training in their routine. There are some but it’s fewer and further between.

Congrats to Angie and Anton Krupika along with any others who finished the Zane Grey. Angie ran the 50K while Krupicka braved the 50m. Meanwhile, I sat on my butt and ate Mexican food.

The New York Times published a great article about middle-distance great Bernard Lagat. In it they discuss his acquisition of citizenship in the United States and how his residency status changed just before he ran in the 2004 Athens Olympics. A lot has changed since he was outrun by Hicham el-Guerrouj of Morocco.

At the time he was running for the Kenyan national team. However, he was secretly no longer a legal permanent resident of the United States — he had become a citizen. Had this been known he might not have been eligible to compete for either the United States or Kenya for three years. Now he is fully eligible to compete for the United States which he will do in the 2008 Olympic games this summer in China.

In the article he discusses what it was like to lose in 2004 and what it’s like to be a front runner in the 2008 Olympics. He discusses his rivalry/friendship with Alan Webb. And he spends a little time talking about how some runners are unhappy with him joining the US team because that takes away one spot that would otherwise be open.

David Epstein at Sports Illustrated wrote a column that argues that American distance runners are rebounding into the spotlight. It focuses on this past amazing Saturday in New York when 300 some hopefuls ran for a spot on the US Olympics team.

Of course, number one in the spotlight is the 25-year-old Ryan Hall who can run a 4:32 minute mile on mile 17 of a marathon (amazing, yes…) and still finish without showing much pain for the effort (even more amazing).

Next he discusses Dathan Ritzenhein who is probably more impressive to me than Ryan Hall (in spite of the 59:43 half marathon!!!). At 24 years old, Ritzenhein is famed for his 10K times that are much better than my 5K bests.

Finally, he discusses his favorite (at least it seems that way) — Brian Sell. He argues that Sell is the most important for American distance running. Why? Because he’s the everyman. He wasn’t ever a running prodigy before or during college. He just worked hard, trained with a good group, and kicked some ass. That’s what runners should do if they don’t land a scholarship to a fancy college. In fact, he now won’t have to resort to being a dentist as he would have gone to dental school had he not made the team.

Is American distance running catching up? Indeed. And in the words of Sell, “the future of American distance running is bright.”

I was trying to think of some of my favorite tv shows right now where there are runners. I know that in this past season of How I Met Your Mother they are going to run the NYC Marathon — it ended up being Barney who ran it without many complications until after the run when he couldn’t walk to get off the subway.

What are your favorites?

Catra Corbett is going to hit 5,000 miles of running this year. For her 8 years of running, she has tried to consistently hit at least 4,500 miles.  In case you aren’t good at math, that’s nearly 12.5 miles per day. This year it will be 13.7, or just over a half-marathon a day…

She also recently got a new, cool tattoo with a deep meaning. I’m not sure if that was a reward or not but she definitely deserves one for that many miles. Keep running and you’ll surely find that true love!