I have to admit, I think the NYC Marathon is overrated. I had a close, personal friend run it several years ago and he said it sucked. (His words; not mine.) And although I'd love to qualify for it, I'm not sure I'd want to run it, mostly because of my fear of bridges. Lastly, it angers me that it gets so much media when there are other great marathons (Boston, Chicago) that should get the same amount of coverage.
But there was some force that drew me to tuning in this year. Sunday morning I got up and logged onto universalsports.com. The website, for us, is hit or miss if it's going to work. Luckily after a few tries, the marathon was live. Both the women and men's race were so excited that for 2+ hours I sat in front of my computer without moving. And with about two miles left in the men's race the tears started to roll down my face. An American was going to win. It was beautiful.
There was a lot of conversation about Meb in the following days. Unfortunately a lot of it was incorrect and downright hurtful. Meb not really an American? His win doesn't count because he's "naturalized"? That's just crap. And luckily those idiots have taken back their stupid words. Maybe Meb wasn't born here, but damn right he's an American. He proudly wore his USA singlet; none of the other 5 Americans who finished in the top 10 did.
As a runner I am so excited about what I saw on Sunday. It has inspired me to work harder. As an American I'm excited to see the future of our distance runners.
Thank you, Meb!
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7 comments:
As an American you should love the NY Marathon. I mean, even I think it's pretty rad!
I ran a half marathon on the same course put on by the NYCRR that was part of the grand prix for the NYC Marathon. I was really disappointed. It was overcrowded, had terrible support, and the finish line was awful. I think it has definitely tainted my view.
I've run it 3x's and other than the trip out to Ft Wadsworth in the morning, you couldn't ask for anything more in a marathon. The crowd support is amazing. The on course support is also top notch. I've done Chicago and it doesn't even come close. I would have to say that NY is a must do marathon.
I totally agree with you as far as Meb being American. We get a lot of people naturalised here in the UK and some athletes as well. They are British!!!
I went to NY to watch the marathon this year and fell in love with it. Of course, I have a HUGE love for NY so maybe I'm biased.
With that said, Meb had an awesome day out there and I've found all of this "controversy" to be ridiculous. He's been here since he was 12 and is a product of American running. As you pointed out, he's the only American runner that chose to run in his USA singlet. I think that speaks volumes as to how proud he is to be running for America. I wish Americans could just be happy for a runner that had a great day rather than worry about who's a "real American". Whatever that means.
Love Meb. Our American.
i'm jaded. i have no desire to run a marathon in a big city. when your high rises are sequoias and granite buttresses and your aid stations are rivers and streams, it makes it hard to wrap your head around why i'd want to run in that environment. it has nothing to do with nycm being the epitome of american racing. r2r2r could be said to be more 'american'. traversing the pct could be said to be more 'american'. in the end, a lot of that comes down to personal preference.
now meb? he IS american. and i'm fiercely proud of him and what he represents.
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