Whaaaat?! Let Me At 'Em....

I think I can feel a vein in my temple throbbing.  I was catching up and seeing what was going on in bloggieland and happened across this post over at Shut Up and Run.  Of course, being the inquisitive little Asian lady that I am, I decided to go read the article "Are New York Marathoners Athletes?" to see what the fuss was all about. 

After I extracted myself from the ceiling and calmed myself down, I started to think about what these asshats are saying.  And alls I gots to say is that some people are so negative.  And jealous.  OK, I get that these two jackasses are trying to be controversial and get people to read their article - but to poo poo on the effort it takes to run a marathon?  That everyone who isn't an elite is ridiculous - and not an athlete?  That runners are all self involved?  I'd love to see either of these guys take the months required to train for the marathon, try to complete it and then see what they have to say.  Personally, I hate armchair critics.  It's pretty obvious to me that these two individuals have never set any kind of physical challenges for themselves but somehow feel justified in mocking those that do.  Sad.

The other part that really gets my goat is how they define an athlete.  No - marathoners are not twisting in the air or doing backflips.  But is running not a sport?  And is an athlete not someone who trains for a sport?  It takes hours and hours to train to build up the speed, endurance and stamina to run a marathon.  In a lot of ways, those who are running for hours and hours are the real athletes - mentally and physically the battle to just keep moving is a feat in itself.   But really, who cares about labels.  It's the overall negativity and derisiveness in this article that really makes my blood boil. A small minded article from smalled minded people.

Whew...OK, got that off my chest!  My blood pressure is back to normal now.