“Running is stupid.” – Trent Rosenbloom
Running is stupid, especially running a marathon. When I was training to run my first marathon, I found the 16+ mile training runs to be unusual. By the third or fourth marathon, I knew that my training regimen was weird. It wasn’t weird for someone who runs marathons, but people who run marathons are weird. That I am weird comes as no shock to most people.
What is probably even more weird is that I loved all of that training. Almost all. I find training runs over 16 miles a bit tedious. In some of my later efforts, I have switched from 3-5 mile runs during the week and 18-20 mile runs on the weekends to 4-6 mile runs during the week and 16-18 milers on the weekends. That works out pretty well for me. It did work out well. I haven’t run with any consistency since last November due to a back injury.
Which has given me time to reflect a bit on the running. Conclusion #1: I’m a healthier person physically, mentally, and spiritually when I run. Conclusion #2: However much I try to make it a community thing, I run for myself. That’s fine, but I need to be honest about it. Conclusion #3: My pursuit of physical, mental, and emotional health does not grant me special privileges vis-à-vis the rest of the world. I’m talking to you, annoying bike commuters who claim the same rights but do not adhere to the same rules.
I’m also talking to you, NYC Marathoners. I’m sorry the race got canceled, but not very sorry. Ultimately, your running is a selfish act. Again, a perfectly acceptable and in plenty of cases admirable act, but selfish nonetheless. I have been inspired by the stories and actions of fellow runners. I have experienced great joy while volunteering at races in which I am not running. I have been a part of remarkable expressions of community like the Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon. In the case of New York City, I have two words: too soon.
The city is clearly gravely wounded. Damage has not yet been completely assessed and there is more weather on the way. If your pursuit of a finisher’s medal seems superfluous to some and downright insulting to others who have been living in the midst of raw sewage without electricity or heat for almost a week now, perhaps you might try running a mile in their shoes before you retort that this event is really about the community in which it takes place. As has been said of so many athletic endeavors in Brooklyn and Queens (thought not so much in the Bronx) “Wait until next year.”