Quality

Gnar Runners brought the first ultra to Fort Collins, and it was aptly described as Ultra Successful

Many of us paid money to run on trails we could run on anyway -- and the overall experience vastly exceeded anything we could find on a solo run.

Meanwhile, some established "experiences" have screwed up big time:

• The Green Bay Marathon was cancelled 2:25 into the race due to unprepared race direction and runners. Race temperature was 70 degrees at the start with humidity in the 60s, with a temperature in the low 80s (but dropping relative humidity, now down to 50%) when cancelled. The dew point for the OKC marathon I ran a few weeks ago was higher, and it was far higher for the non-cancelled, hotter-than-Chicago 2007 Twin Cities marathon.

Keeping in mind that half-marathoners started at the same time, and outnumbered marathoners by over 2-1, an unfortunate scenario played out in which plenty of water was still available among the rest of the route, but fully-prepared and healthy runners were denied a finish because the possibly-needed medical support was no longer available.

Make no mistake: this race was not cancelled because of objectively high temperatures that are a threat to health; rather, the meager (but responsive, qualified, and probably overworked) medical staff was overwhelmed by runners that succumbed to the heat. Even more strange, the top 5 men had finished; finishers after 2:35 were physically barred from the finish line, with a strange exception for allowing 5 women to finish well over this time so as to satisfy promised USATF prize money.

Everyone else was denied the opportunity.

What a disaster!

• Meanwhile, in the Fargo half-marathon, there was a chaotic finish involving both hubris and a dangerous merge with 10k walkers. The video is worth a quick watch.

I've recently commented on the frustrations and dangers of shared courses with people running dramatically different speeds with regard to the OKC marathon, and the female winner herself mentioned the concerns of smacking hard into other people, worrying about a concussion, or getting hit by a car. It's clearly time that RD's take the responsibility to ensure separate finishes to prevent a truly disastrous injury.

• Finally, here's a terrible way to spend a few months and $65,000, in my opinion:
I don't care if it is the world's highest mountain.
So far, 5 Deaths in 2 days.

*

Loosely, the common trend I'm noticing here is the low bar for almost anyone to "experience" things via a social quirk that allows substitution of capital for experience. Normally a practical trade, it's not a problem when it doesn't affect others -- to each, his own -- but becomes a problem to the extent that it results in negative consequences towards others, when the whole becomes less than the sum of it's parts. Our only choice is to choose events that treat the overall event in a way that's positive for everyone, and avoid those that take shortcuts with regard to a quality event. (Additionally, we can cluck our tongues and write Blog entries. So that's two more things we can do!)

Lastly, I fear the social constructs of "bucket lists" and Facebook-bragging make a strident and mindful effort toward meaningful achievement even more rare: more unprepared people on the mountain.

Whatever happened to Quality?

This is why I like Blogs and avoid Facebook and (personal) Twitter. The bar for Blog entries is usually higher, serving up more general topics for discussion and information.

American Idle: Kennedy's challenge to "The Soft American"

It's April: Baseball season...and Boston Marathon season.

3 years ago, I realized a dream of running in the Boston Marathon. From hating running and the fits of asthma it induced as a kid (though I did prefer riding my bike), to barely running 3 miles in my 20s as a grad student, to slowly taking on the challenges of half marathons, and finally the marathon, it still took me 3 decades to finally learn that it's OK to through out preconceived notions of yourself, and your abilities, and that it's OK to try something hard.

Rather than dwelling on your own limitations from the past, it is far better to look above and around at others for examples of greatness, and bring that into yourself.

And so it was when J, Debbie, and I visited Boston 3 years ago, and decided to visit the JFK Library and Museum. In our current era of rancorous politics and shallow pandering to complicit simplicity, our Presidents from decades ago stand out as more reflective, erudite, and inspirational men. JFK himself looked at his surrounding men for greatness, and published the Pulitzer prize-winning Profiles in Courage biography in 1955.

5 years later, as I've just recently learned (from RT magazine), Kennedy published an excellentarticle in Sports Illustrated magazine, titled "The Soft American." In this, he challenged the declining physical vigor of the average American as a threat not only to military supremacy, but also workforce productivity, mental capacity and creativity, and the ability of the U.S. to continue to be a shining example of excellence:


For physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. The relationship between the soundness of the body and the activities of the mind is subtle and complex. Much is not yet understood. But we do know what the Greeks knew: that intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong; that hardy spirits and tough minds usually inhabit sound bodies.

In this sense, physical fitness is the basis of all the activities of our society. And if our bodies grow soft and inactive, if we fail to encourage physical development and prowess, we will undermine our capacity for thought, for work and for the use of those skills vital to an expanding and complex America.

Thus the physical fitness of our citizens is a vital prerequisite to America's realization of its full potential as a nation, and to the opportunity of each individual citizen to make full and fruitful use of his capacities.

I put a sticker from the JFK museum on my race bib, where it accompanied from Hopkinton down into Boston.
Many ultrarunning fans are also familiar with JFK's challenges, in the form of the JFK 50-miler race in the Fall. But such challenges are not partisan, as they harken back to Teddy Roosevelt's challenge against a life of "slothful ease," in which he detailed his vision of "The Strenuous Life."

In speaking to you, men of the greatest city of the West, men of the State which gave to the country Lincoln and Grant, men who preeminently and distinctly embody all that is most American in the American character I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life. the life of toil and effort, of labor gold strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph .

Roosevelt walked this talk, even as a South-American explorer after his Presidency, and observed that, as we transitioned from an economy of hard, manual labor, our time could instead be filled with other pursuits of greatness:

[We] are all the more bound to carry on some kind of non-remunerative work in science, in letters, in art, in exploration, in historical research-work of the type we most need in this country, the successful carrying out of which reflects most honor upon the nation.


Both men considered physical activity important, but as a foundation of a complete, cultured, introspective life.

I am reminded of these challenges by great men, again in April, as the transition period between winter and summer. First, we are ending the traditional season of Lent, in which some people "give up" any marginally easy vice other than outward boastfulness for a few months; and we are also in the same month of TV turnoff week, in which Americans are challenged to avoid an expensive and mind-wasting voyeuristic medium for a mere 7 days. (Kennedy even gave this a mention in his essay, at a time when we had less than 1% of the TV channels now available).
Even the notion of being a "sports fan" -- which, with television, should be more aptly described as being a "fan of spectating" -- has a hollow feel when it comes to inspirational characters, whether it's drugs in baseball, drugs in cycling, or institutionalized assault in the NFL. Or, if reality TV is your thing, there's apparently nothing better for good family-values married folk to watch than vapid young people having making out, giving a rose to the best candidates before having sex with the final three, and then considering marriage.

Rather than inane chatter and gossip about what other people are doing -- famous people that are famous for being famous -- we should encourage and nurture those seeds of excellence within all of us.
Instead, let us consider this challenge: with electronic books, audiobooks, cheap shipping, and a fantastic library system, never before in history has true greatness and inspiration been right at our fingertips. This is an incredible time to pick up a book about some of the great men and women in history, and in some small part, try to be like them. Time to get outside our comfort zone and challenge ourselves, individually and collectively, to greatness.

Leadville Race Series Survey

Lifetime has already ensured that corporate executives of companies with > $1 million in revenue can buy their way in, had a controversial (well, among maybe a few dozen people in the world) incident last year in which certain people received special treatment in allowing for outside aid and cutoff times, and briefly offered pre-paid post-race IV bags (before pulling due to criticism).

So I really enjoyed the Leadville marketing survey, which was all demographics (income, etc.), spending (races) and nothing about training, performance, etc. The best part, though, is the jobs: 5 out of 7 listed being management (and the other two being important but additional peripheral meta-jobs)...with distinctions between President and just Vice President, dontcha know.

Medical researcher? Doctor? Lawyer? Teacher? Engineer, IT? Fireman, paramedic, police? Artist of any kind? We're all lumped together under "Other." I can't recall a survey that didn't at least have "Education" or "Civil Service" or "Military" or other large swaths of the population. But, it's their survey, and I do get whom they're targeting -- just not what I look for in a race.

"Others" unite!

Save Edora's Disc Golf?

I've played disc golf maybe 3 times in my life, but never at the popular course at Edora in Fort Collins.
I have, however, run or biked or rollerbladed hundreds of times (a minimum estimate of 3x/week for 5 years, 2 of which included a regular bike commute to CSU) past the course.

This means, potentially, that I'd have to watch out for errant discs and confused stoners wandering across the path in a cloud of smoke, yet another set of obstacles to avoid.
...
Right?
...
Except that hasn't happened. Instead, I've seen thousands of people (and their dogs) of all ages enjoying a game, and never gotten close to being hit by a disc. I've gotten respect and head-nods from them, without being judged while I pass through shirtless or in funny lycra or in outdated rollerblades (or -- on hot days when I'm feeling sassy -- a combination of all 3!)

But disc golf is too popular, it seems: hundreds of people play in the summer, leading to a wait at the tees. And the city mentioned a desire for more "passive use" in Edora, for being able to sit under a tree and read a book. (We here at the Rambler love reading books under trees -- except for the damn ants in Summer! -- but think that the northwest corner of the park, near the creek and bridge, is already a fine place to do so, although City Park instead can't be beat). So the planned solution is to shut down half the course.

Huh?

To be fair, there is a new course being built on the west side of town, near Future Former Hughes Stadium (FFHS). The new course has a goal to be even better than the Edora one: the problem is, FFHS is currently flat and treeless...and is across town. (An equally ridiculous solution to the "passive use" argument would be to suggest that someone read a book under the saplings at FFHS instead). Within a decade, the new course will undoubtedly be quite nice; meanwhile, the town population and the popularity of disc golf is unlikely to decrease.

There is an online petition to save the course.

Although there will be a net gain of 9 disc golf holes by building a new course on undeveloped land, we here at the Rambler think that removing the Edora course is short-sighted. We're not a fan of tearing down existing, working, popular infrastructure. We like the idea of having a course on both sides of town: one closer to CSU and some of the west-side schools, and the current, very popular Edora course closer to the numerous east side schools and businesses. We think supporting disc golf supports the economy in a sustainable way, supporting the work and vision set more than 30 years ago by legendary local disc golfer Bill Wright. We enjoy the mixing of populations that occurs in shared-use parks and have an idealistic belief that it secretly engenders respect and understanding. And we like doing whatever we can to get people outside.

And we, here at the Rambler, aren't even disc golfers!