An Open Letter To Vince Hemingson
I had posted recently about the excellent informational quality of the materials provided by the Boston Marathon. In his Boston or Bust blog, Vince Hemingson made this post, where he vents about it being improper for charity runners run the Boston Marathon without qualifying. My response follows:
Vince,
My Boston story begins in 1972, when, as a 13 year-old boy, I watched a man named Frank Shorter run and win the Olympic Marathon at Munich. That evening, over dinner, I told my father, who knows virtually nothing about running, about this unfathomably long race. He, a product of Beantown, told me, "There's one marathon run in this country every year, and it's at Boston." That evening, I vowed to run the Boston Marathon.
Since that time, I've run on my high school's teams; been discouraged from walking on to my college team; been fat and thin several times; got married, and began raising a child. I've seen the running boom of the 1970's and seen the rise of big city marathoning. Through it all, I've had the dream of Boston.
At times, I thought the dream was dead. In 1990, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon, finishing in 4:01 and sitting down within sight of the Iwo Jima Memorial at Arlington, VA with tears in my eyes. Three years later, I again completed Marine Corps, in a worse time, and with less training. Three years after that, I supported my wife as she ran Marine Corps, back trouble having ended my training that year.
In the fall of 2003, having set my sights on Boston, I ran two marathons separated by just four weeks. The first was at Mystic Places, where, while sick, I ran a 3:45, missing my qualifying for Boston 2004 by 25 minutes and for 2005 by 15 minutes. Four weeks later (and likely not fully recovered), I went to Philadelphia and ran a 3:39, missing the marks by 19 and 9 minutes. My 2004 training was interrupted by a terrible bout of plantar fasciitis, but that proved a blessing because the time off from running caused me to do some things that resulted in meeting and being advised by legendary coach Arthur Lydiard. Four weeks after receiving Lydiard's advice, he passed away.
Consumed with the desire to honor Lydiard's faith in me as an athlete, I trained harder than I ever had in my life. The volumes were not large by elite standards, but the plantar fasciitis was not well controlled and the pain was brutal at times. In the spring of 2005, I ran the Long Island Marathon, struggling with a different set of problems, but finishing in 3:29, good enough to punch my ticket to Boston!
I now had 50 weeks until I'd achieve the dream. I just had to stay healthy and maintain a reasonable volume of training. Through it all, I'd known there were ways to get into Boston without qualifying, but for me, as for a great many other runners, the value of Boston is its perceived exclusivity. For those of us who regard ourselves as serious runners, getting to Boston any way except by qualifying is tainted. It is a judgement we make for ourselves, for others who go to Boston in other ways, they're legitimate, too. It's just not the route we choose.
Years ago, three marathons mattered internationally, Boston, Fukuoka, and Kosice. Today, it's five (maybe six), Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, (perhaps Fukuoka,) and New York. Qualifying standards have been loosened at Boston from what they were in the 1970's. Today, virtually every major city in the United States (and most in Canada and Europe) has a marathon. Marathoning has become a popular sport, with many participants walking them. Charity marathoning did not exist when my dream of toeing the starting line at Hopkinton began. Times change, and we must change with them.
Vince, you call the charity runners at Boston cheaters. I have to disagree. Charity runners gain entry fairly, under the rules. In the days when you and I were toddlers, anyone could have run Boston by certifying that they were 18 years old, male, and not getting yanked at the start by Will Cloney or Jock Semple. That changed with the institution of qualifying standards in the 1970's. You run the race under the rules in effect at the time. Did the old-timers run less of a race because there wasn't qualifying? They probably ran more of a race because they had to train while being regarded as quacks and oddballs.
Boston is special because it is Boston. Special because it has 109 years of history. Special because it grew from the Athens Olympics of 1896. Special because of the great champions; the two Johnny Kelleys, Clarence DeMar, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit and Uta Pippig. Special because of those who struggled to become champion without achieving that pinnacle. Special because K.V. Switzer's boyfriend kept her number from being torn off. Special because the millions of fans lining the roadsides make it special. It's special because the co-eds at Wellesley scream like we're rock stars. Boston is special because in our hearts and minds it's special. If the B.A.A. keeps doing their job, nothing will ever change that. I have no issue with those who toe the line because they raised money for charity. I'm proud to have earned the right to wear the Unicorn and am extra proud because I did it the hard way.
As John F. Kennedy said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."
Vince, for you and me, qualifying was hard; for most of the charity runners, merely completing Boston will be hard. Their struggles do not diminish our achievements, frankly, they probably burnish them. After all, you and I will probably finish an hour and a quarter (or more) behind the winners at Boston. We know how we struggled to achieve what we've done, the work the leaders put in borders on unfathomable to us. Imagine how the charity runners think of what you and I will have done. Enjoy the experience of Boston without the vitriol of anger. It should be the most special day of your running life.
Wishing you a fast and not-too-painful race,
Wayne Baker
Vince,
My Boston story begins in 1972, when, as a 13 year-old boy, I watched a man named Frank Shorter run and win the Olympic Marathon at Munich. That evening, over dinner, I told my father, who knows virtually nothing about running, about this unfathomably long race. He, a product of Beantown, told me, "There's one marathon run in this country every year, and it's at Boston." That evening, I vowed to run the Boston Marathon.
Since that time, I've run on my high school's teams; been discouraged from walking on to my college team; been fat and thin several times; got married, and began raising a child. I've seen the running boom of the 1970's and seen the rise of big city marathoning. Through it all, I've had the dream of Boston.
At times, I thought the dream was dead. In 1990, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon, finishing in 4:01 and sitting down within sight of the Iwo Jima Memorial at Arlington, VA with tears in my eyes. Three years later, I again completed Marine Corps, in a worse time, and with less training. Three years after that, I supported my wife as she ran Marine Corps, back trouble having ended my training that year.
In the fall of 2003, having set my sights on Boston, I ran two marathons separated by just four weeks. The first was at Mystic Places, where, while sick, I ran a 3:45, missing my qualifying for Boston 2004 by 25 minutes and for 2005 by 15 minutes. Four weeks later (and likely not fully recovered), I went to Philadelphia and ran a 3:39, missing the marks by 19 and 9 minutes. My 2004 training was interrupted by a terrible bout of plantar fasciitis, but that proved a blessing because the time off from running caused me to do some things that resulted in meeting and being advised by legendary coach Arthur Lydiard. Four weeks after receiving Lydiard's advice, he passed away.
Consumed with the desire to honor Lydiard's faith in me as an athlete, I trained harder than I ever had in my life. The volumes were not large by elite standards, but the plantar fasciitis was not well controlled and the pain was brutal at times. In the spring of 2005, I ran the Long Island Marathon, struggling with a different set of problems, but finishing in 3:29, good enough to punch my ticket to Boston!
I now had 50 weeks until I'd achieve the dream. I just had to stay healthy and maintain a reasonable volume of training. Through it all, I'd known there were ways to get into Boston without qualifying, but for me, as for a great many other runners, the value of Boston is its perceived exclusivity. For those of us who regard ourselves as serious runners, getting to Boston any way except by qualifying is tainted. It is a judgement we make for ourselves, for others who go to Boston in other ways, they're legitimate, too. It's just not the route we choose.
Years ago, three marathons mattered internationally, Boston, Fukuoka, and Kosice. Today, it's five (maybe six), Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, (perhaps Fukuoka,) and New York. Qualifying standards have been loosened at Boston from what they were in the 1970's. Today, virtually every major city in the United States (and most in Canada and Europe) has a marathon. Marathoning has become a popular sport, with many participants walking them. Charity marathoning did not exist when my dream of toeing the starting line at Hopkinton began. Times change, and we must change with them.
Vince, you call the charity runners at Boston cheaters. I have to disagree. Charity runners gain entry fairly, under the rules. In the days when you and I were toddlers, anyone could have run Boston by certifying that they were 18 years old, male, and not getting yanked at the start by Will Cloney or Jock Semple. That changed with the institution of qualifying standards in the 1970's. You run the race under the rules in effect at the time. Did the old-timers run less of a race because there wasn't qualifying? They probably ran more of a race because they had to train while being regarded as quacks and oddballs.
Boston is special because it is Boston. Special because it has 109 years of history. Special because it grew from the Athens Olympics of 1896. Special because of the great champions; the two Johnny Kelleys, Clarence DeMar, Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit and Uta Pippig. Special because of those who struggled to become champion without achieving that pinnacle. Special because K.V. Switzer's boyfriend kept her number from being torn off. Special because the millions of fans lining the roadsides make it special. It's special because the co-eds at Wellesley scream like we're rock stars. Boston is special because in our hearts and minds it's special. If the B.A.A. keeps doing their job, nothing will ever change that. I have no issue with those who toe the line because they raised money for charity. I'm proud to have earned the right to wear the Unicorn and am extra proud because I did it the hard way.
As John F. Kennedy said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win."
Vince, for you and me, qualifying was hard; for most of the charity runners, merely completing Boston will be hard. Their struggles do not diminish our achievements, frankly, they probably burnish them. After all, you and I will probably finish an hour and a quarter (or more) behind the winners at Boston. We know how we struggled to achieve what we've done, the work the leaders put in borders on unfathomable to us. Imagine how the charity runners think of what you and I will have done. Enjoy the experience of Boston without the vitriol of anger. It should be the most special day of your running life.
Wishing you a fast and not-too-painful race,
Wayne Baker
posted by Scooter at 10:32 AM
11 Comments:
Howdy Wayne! WELL SAID!! I especially love the Kennedy quote. Nevetheless, the Boston Marathon could and should be even more special than other marathons due to its traditions and heritage, as you would agree...it's not just another marathon. I have nothing against charity runners, but so many other marathons have charity events, why don't they race in those and make Boston even more special? Eventually the size of the Boston Marathon will be so huge as to limit those who have struggled so hard to reach their time goals. I can see how they would have felt "cheated" by someone who got their ticket punched due to charity. Happy trails, Bruce
Great post Wayne. I think I have a better idea now about just how important this race is to you. Good luck and smooth sailing to the starting line. There's not much more you can do to help things at this point beyond the obvious resting and recovery. I was touched also to read about Arthur's influence on your training.
I lived in Central Massachusetts, an hour from Boston, for 17 years. I ran during all of those years, but I never ran Boston because I was too slow to qualify. I could have run without a number as many did during those times, but I respected the traditions and organizers of Boston too much to do that. Instead, I ran the Green Mountain Marathon in Vermont twice and the Foxtrotter Marathon in Foxboro, MA twice--those were my "boston".
If Boston requires qualifying, great! If Boston allows charity runners to run without qualification, great! The BAA organizes the race and sets the rules. The runners I don't respect are those who break those rules to satisfy their own pride.
Bruce,
As you can tell from my post, I encourage charitable fund raising through the marathons. I have some doubts about how effective it may be over the long-term, but that's a whole different bee's nest! If you were a Bostonian, how would you feel if your local marathon were CLOSED to you, who wanted to do charity fund raising? Would you complain to your mayor? Town or city council? Boston could have chosen not to permit the charity fund raisers to enter unless qualified. Having them involved in the race changes community perception from "a bunch of running wackos keeping me from getting to the store" to "they're helping to do good work". It can be argued that Boston, by its history shouldn't be subject to community pressure, but it is. Additionally, most big city marathons must deal with just one or two municipal governments, Boston, by virtue of its point-to-point route must deal with 7 (or 8?). Any one of these municipalities could conceivably choose not to permit the marathon to pass and the Boston Marathon, at least as we know it, would cease to exist.
Does the presence of charity runners radically alter Boston? There's a case to be made on both sides. It certainly opens the door for less serious runners to participate, yet because the charity runners start after the qualified runners (except for the few that are also qualified), they have no significant impact on the qualified runners. It could even be argued that because the charity runners are there, that since race management must see that amenities like water and ade on the course are there for the charity runners, it ensures that qualified runners will get these amenities, where without the charity runners, spot shortages may occur. The presence of the charity runners probably means the slower qualified runners get served better.
I think the Boston Marathon is richer by the admission of participants of unknown ability (and certainly the charities they support are also richer) and that we, in the running community, are also richer for having had this discussion.
(The Kennedy quote struck me here because getting to Boston on my terms was hard, and that's what made it valuable. Certainly I couldn't have put the idea of it mattering because it was hard any better.)
Mike,
I have confidence that Arthur looks down on me trying to share the many benefits I received in the tiny portion of time he spent with me and smiles, just as your marathoning success doubtless makes him smile. Thank you for the good wishes.
Scooter,
You make a great point, they do qualify under the rules and that's that. However, I think it's garbage. I don't care for the charity run groups at any marathon and here's why. People asking for donation fail to disclose that if they hit a certain dollar amount that their airfare, hotel, entry fees and God knows what else will be paid for from those donations. That's just lying. And then there are those who are walking a marathon and that's not the same. Walking a marathon should be illegal unless you have hit the wall and are suffering. If you want to walk that distance, great, just don't do it with a bib number, especially at Boston. Thank goodness we don't have this crap in ultras.
Good Luck and enjoy the race, you have earned that bib number.
Wayne,
You ,sir, are a RUNNER,and with that comes a mindset unknown to "charity" runners/joggers or people who walkjoggstroll the distance. You and others like you, follow another drumbeat--that internal drumbeat called passion- it makes you strive to be better,
to run your race against not the distance but against yourself. You have worked hard at a dream....this year your personal'moonwalk' will be realized,drink deep from that victory cup of stew... you have earned it.
I have been lucky enough to see our sport blossom from the inside during the 1970s' when I got to work with the NYRR and Fred Lebow as we brought Nina,Miki,Beth and the boys out of Central Park and marched them right past the whole city, and thanks to TV the whole world.........BUT all that came at a price. Unlike items on the supper-market shelf Porta-Sans are not cheaper by the hundred, they just didn't exist in the numbers we came to need........ raising $$$$$ became the job of running officials,not better stopwatches or improved scoring systems but raising the MILLIONS of dollars it takes to make NYC,Boston,London and other major cities stop and listen to the pitter-patter of runners feet.The race officials slowly became two groups fundraiser/promoters and working officials,both tied to the sport by a different set of apron strings but tied nonetheless.In short it became a business... BIG BUSINESS. But the reason the Semples Clooneys and Lebows of the world put these thing on is to let you follow your runners dream. The rest is just a means to an end.
Wear your number with PRIDE after all you're a RUNNER!
Tom Hyland-AKA-wineturtle
Blazer85 here. Back in 1996, Boston had a lottery for a certain amount of runners to run the race who may never have the chance to qualify. At that point in time, the closest I had come was 18 minutes and I never thought I would get there. The idea of the lottery was subject of discussion bewteen me and my brother is also a marathoner who has never come close to qualifying. We both decided that were would not judge those who entered the lottery, but neither of us would never go to Boston, without qualifying. Too many people worry too much about others. I am just going to worry about myself. If the BAA allows certain groups in, then fine, it is their race. Qualifying is a goal I have been chasing since 1989, and I have reduced the spread to only 82 seconds. When I get there, it will be way cool and a personal victory. I am not going to worry about anyone else.
Wayne, I would defend to the death, your right to be wrong. And disagreement after all, is what makes a horse race.
But you completely missed my main point.
Some things should not be for sale.
Vince and I have had an interesting exchange in his blog. I realized that I was misunderstanding what he was saying. Here is my response.
-----------------------------
I appreciate your last post, because, if I understand it correctly, it has clarified what you've been saying and has corrected my misunderstanding of what you've been saying. I went back and reread your original post, and it now has a different message than the one I first received.
I think you said that you don't object to runners "who put in many hours and much work and who raise their funds from many different people" from running Boston without qualifying. You do object to runners who sponsor themselves by collecting money only from themselves and then run Boston without qualifying. As you've been saying, they have bought their way into the race.
If I now understand you, I agree. I think it is morally wrong, but probably legal per the BAA rules, for runners to run Boston that way. Such is life. People who want something different than that intended by "rules" usually find ways to bend the rules to get what they want.
Do I now understand you?
----------------------------------
Vince replied with the following.
----------------------------------
Dear Allen,
The misunderstanding is not yours, but mine, for failing to clearly articulate my position.
Yes, my objection is to those who attempt to buy their way into a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for which others make tremendous personal sacrifices to achieve. Either through qualifying on merit - or perhaps - and because I know how the system really works - say this through gritted teeth, good works.
And "morally" wrong is wrong enough for me. Wrong is wrong. And we can spend many worthy hours, days, months and years, defining what that is...
I am, as I hope are many other people, sick and tired of people who try to finagle their way through life by splitting hairs and finding loopholes in the fine-print.
Barry Bonds. Right? Or Wrong? It wasn't illegal.
President Clinton. It depends on what your definition of "is" is.
Secretary Rumsfeld, "It is what it is." Fungible?
President Bush. Where do you stop and start?
Tom Delay and Mr. Abramson.
Tobacco lobbyists.
Halliburton. Enron. World Com.
Republicans, Democrats, Liberals, Conservatives, politicians and athletes of every stripe, colour and creed, the list is seemingly endless...
We should hold up a few things to be sacred, because so few things are any more.
Obviously from the posts, comments and additional torrents of e-mails I've received from people decrying the current state of the Boston Marathon, my idea of what the Boston Marathon means no longer really exists.
I think the world is a lesser place for that.
I think we understand each other perfectly.
Best, Vince
-------------------------------------
This was my final reply to him.
-------------------------------------
"I think we understand each other perfectly."
Not just understand, but agree!
Your journey to Mecca is almost finished, and I wish you the best as you run! I've dreamed of running Boston for 33 years. I've reached the coveted age of 70 and its lower qualifying time, so maybe in four or five years I'll make serious attempts to qualify. Right now I'm getting used to long distance running again. I'm planning on doing a half in August, and I'm hoping 2007 will be the year I run my next marathon, after being away from it for 24 years. By the time I'm ready to seriously try to qualify, I'll be looking at a 4:45 time (if I'm still alive and still running by then :) )
for dirt runner:
I am responding to your comment about charity runners. I am one. I have only been a runner for about 2 years. Ran short distances fine by myself. Didn't know any other runners in my area that would run my pace or help me succeed in my dream of running a marathon. Saw the ad and joined a charity. I worked hard, very hard to get ready for my marathon. I ran 3 days during the week on my own and the long run on the weekend with the group. They kept me going when I was sore, tired, and not sure I could do it. I then still had to work hard to earn my money to go. Yes my airfare and hotel were paid but I WORKED for that and did my training. I know I will never qualify for Boston but I worked just as hard as the next guy to get ready for my marathon. Maybe there are others out there abusing the system but not me. I earned my way in with my sweat and hard work. Now that I have completed my marathon I feel confident I can do the training and do one on my own but you know what I went back as a mentor to help that person that always wanted to do one but was afraid to fail. I hope you with your smugness have helped others and not ran over them in you attempt to qualify. If you have I feel sorry for you.
Dear too chicken S--t to leave your own name:
Your Words:
"Yes my airfare and hotel were paid but I WORKED for that and did my training."
How did you work for the airfare and hotel? Did you pay for it or did the people who pledged money for you know about that part? My problem is not with the people running with the charity, it's with the charity and how they go about doing business.
Your Words:
"Didn't know any other runners in my area that would run my pace or help me succeed in my dream of running a marathon. Saw the ad and joined a charity."
So you really didn't care that much about the charity you just wanted to run a marathon and they served your purpose, right?
Read my blog and you will see how I help out other runners and visa verse and they don't need to raise any funds with hidden cost.
It's easy to blast people without knowing your facts and hiding behind "anonymous."
Scooter,
Sorry about using your space to vent. Maybe they will comment on mine under their real name... or maybe not.
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