A recent NY Times article addresses the change in attitude toward marathons in the past few years. While marathons were long thought to be unattainable for the average person, they are often now considered "the everyman's Everest."
I see that reflected in the world around me. I can name at least three friends, right off the top of my head, who have run a marathon. And now a fourth has come to mind, just as I write this. Maybe it's beacuse I have health-minded friends. Maybe it's because I live in health-minded California. But I think it is also becuase it's something people like to do nowadays. I have always said I wanted to run a marathon before I die. With the inspiration of friends and strangers all around me running marathons, many of them less athletically inclined than I (and I'm not so particularly athletic, compared to many others), I feel that I, too, can complete a marathon. I don't have to be the fastest. I just have to finish. That is very exciting.
I was disappointed to read in the mentioned article that many attribute the rise in female marthoners to Oprah's completion of a marathon a few years back. I'm happy for Oprah, but I'm not an Oprah follower, and I innately resist anything that might suggest I'm becoming one, such as reading from her book club list or running marathon after she did. Still, it has been on my list since I made that list in high school, and I don't remember most of the other stuff I put on that list.
But here is a question. Why do we all have to fundraise to run marathons? I didn't even sign up for a marathon that required fundraising, but I am still doing it. I'm tacking on a cause I care about and asking people to give money.
For me, it helps my level of accountability. It would be easy to quit training out of laziness or inconvenience. (It takes a LONG TIME to run so many miles each week!) But if you've sent out an email to 300 of your closest friends who are going to ask you about the run come time, well, it makes that much harder to face quitting. And if they've given $5, $10, $26, or more, again it becomes even harder.
I guess, also, it takes a lot of effort to run 26.2 miles....might as well put it to a good cause.
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3 comments:
I'm not an Oprah fan either.
I have no plans to run a marathon.
But I did like Anna Karenina (sp?) before it was an Oprah book. She is very influential.
i like oprah. she's good. but that doesn't make me an oprah fan, but don't know why people hate the oprah, she's fantastic.
anyways, i do not like marathons. don't understand them and not sure why people put them on their list of things to accomplish before they die - ? i would think there are more important things that you would want to accomplish. but you are talking to a walker. why run when you can walk? you get to enjoy the scenery a lot more and you can walk longer than you can run. cuz you get tired faster while running than walking. walking is also better on your body. i guess i would do a marathon if i could just walk, which i guess i could. but then people would prolly say i was cheating. why is running more valued than walking? or more impressive?
anyways, if i had to put a body function/physical exercise as a goal in life it would be to master some asanas in yoga. be able to do a perfect head stand, hand stand, a perfect downward dog. to me that's much more impressive.
I'm not a hater, I'm just not a fan. I guess I'm opposed to being considered a fan, but not so much having anything to do with Oprah, more to do with the fact that SO MANY PEOPLE do x, y, z.
I think the draw of marathons are what the woman said in the NYT article: Everyman's Everest. Why would anyone want to climb Mt EVerest? It's kind of insane, really. I have no desire to do it. But lots of people feel compelled to do so, and marathons have that same kind of draw. I can't explain it.
I like walking, and think there are many advantages over running. But running is so intense, and really influences you body in a different way... I guess I love it for the high!
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