The problem is "big marathon," just like big pharma or big agriculture. I'm only half joking. There's a huge financial incentive for marathon organizers and they've spent the last few decades cultivating the image of the marathon as the ultimate white collar achievement.
My brother in-law doesn't know the first thing about running, he's a lifelong coorporate kind of guy. So many times he's told me, "You need to get a BQ so you can put that on your resume, it'll impress so many people!" He's not wrong, and it's not bad practical advice, but it is very silly how many people have been "tricked."
Woman here and all of my upper middle class friends who like running do marathons. It's so stupid. How about you train to run a fast 5k instead?? It really is a weird development in society. Putting it as "the ultimate white collar achievement" is accurate. To me, it's vanilla wafers, cardboard, boring. I put the marathon (at the non-elite level) up there with knitting and home crafts
I agree with this. I have a friend who has yet to break 3:00 for a half marathon or 6 hours for a marathon.
The problem is "big marathon," just like big pharma or big agriculture. I'm only half joking. There's a huge financial incentive for marathon organizers and they've spent the last few decades cultivating the image of the marathon as the ultimate white collar achievement.
I'd say triathlon, especially Ironman, is the ultimate white-collar achievement as per the general consumer or recreational athlete.
The marathon is not 'white-collar' and the term at least has been cheapened by the vagueness used to describe completing one - yes it's covering 26 miles on foot but people walk/jog/stumble around for hours and consider it (or speak of it) as an equivalent accomplishment to those who actually "run" a marathon.
Even a sub-4 effort is not fast, but at least is running slowly but continuously and is a very simple but valid accomplishment of basic aerobic endurance and deserves differentiation from the hordes of costumed walkers & bluffers.
They'll also not even be in a position to grasp the difference between a 3:00 and a 3:45-50 marathon, which on paper seem almost similar but are poles apart.
Why is training to run a fast 5k any more or less weird than training to run a marathon? Yes, for a lot of people running a marathon is an "ultimate white collar achievement." Running a fast 5k is not. So why would a white collar worked looking for an achievement not try for the ultimate one?
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