Are Marathons too Egalitarian?

I love everything about road races, especially marathons. I love the expos at big races, the fanatical pre-race rituals, even the grueling hours of training put in before the race. Big races, little community races, I don’t care I love them all.

I have this passion for it for the same reason as most other runners I met. It makes me different. I jog around the block because it’s good for me and clears my head, but training for a race gives me a structure and routine I haven’t had since high school. It becomes your “Thing”, the adjective that the folks at the office identify you as, “Do you know Dave, you know Marathon Dave”. I like being part of a community, but I know my place in the community. I’m not an elite athlete, I’m not going to be setting PBs in New York.

With the aftermath of the Chicago Marathon and the Army 10-Mile Run in Arlington, Va., a few weeks earlier, it got me thinking. Are marathons too egalitarian now? Have we opened up the running world to the point that people could put their lives in danger trying to not only be part of the community but the elites? I am far from the race snobs that feel only people that can qualify for the Olympics should race. I’m concerned that as a community we’re not helping those that do not have the skills or training from hurting themselves. I ran a half marathon in 3:34:02. Thirty years ago, they wouldn’t have let me run in Boston with those kind of numbers. Really its just a matter of statistics, with 40,000 people running in New York (by the way this race has a population four times the size of my home town) statistically X amount of runners will be ill prepared physically and more important mentally to run the race.

I have always said runners run for themselves but we race together. There is something very solitary about running and that’s part of the appeal, but maybe we should be investing more time contributing to the connectivity of the running community and not just drawing a sense of self away from it. Some times that may mean some tough love.