tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post9078628189651665788..comments2024-03-21T00:30:32.509-07:00Comments on From A Left Wing: Tough Mudder: The Deskilling of the Cross Country Runner?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-49512497948463152402012-12-05T20:30:22.698-08:002012-12-05T20:30:22.698-08:00Thank you to Amanda and Antigone Archer for lettin...Thank you to Amanda and Antigone Archer for letting me use their photos!Jennifer Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05004554513454749517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-39991972152579049572012-12-04T22:11:38.195-08:002012-12-04T22:11:38.195-08:00Amanda - wow, thanks for writing in. Let me know i...Amanda - wow, thanks for writing in. Let me know if you don't/she doesn't want to use the picture and I'll take it down. It's a crazy (and great) photo. You can email me directly at fromaleftwing [at] gmail<br /><br />All the runners were so tough. I was really moved by that. And they have a great attitude. Nike could do a lot more to honor that. Been really enjoying reading the discussions on track sites. Interesting to read people debate what makes x-country x-country. It's a fantastic sport. <br /><br />JDJennifer Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05004554513454749517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-14172633950540346032012-12-04T20:43:51.123-08:002012-12-04T20:43:51.123-08:00Thank you for reading and taking the time to comme...Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. <br /><br />My remarks about the worst time all season were taken from a couple runners - not winners, but people deep in the pack. My thoughts are, in fact, more about the pack than the winners - I wouldn't want to take anything away from what it would feel like to win that race. I imagine that would be a great feeling. I guess I'm interested in what makes a race honorable, ethical, good - even if you finish, say, 50th. <br /><br />I was on the sidelines and I swear some of the runners looked close to tears. Sure, that happens at every race - I mean, people run so hard they vomit! - but something about this one felt worse to me. Purely subjective perspective. <br /><br />Of course the pleasure of x-country running is the encounter with nature - snow, rain, mud, dry dirt, you name it. But this meet was different. There isn't anything remotely natural about that course - no hills! - and the mud this year was just hard to fathom if you weren't there this year. (Maybe you were.) Nike officials were surely alarmed - they'd been trying to pump water out of the field before the meet. <br /><br />I've been reading running forums and am not alone in my perspective. Nor are you. Some of the points you make are absolutely right - x-country isn't track and the variability of the trail is at the essence of the sport. And I make a big point at the end that the spirit of x-country is the balance of individual talent and team-work. It isn't about having the fastest time ever. It is about being the fastest team.<br /><br />I think the Nike thing is designed to erase the individual factor completely while making for a good photo opp. That just isn't the sport I recognize. It feels a little like the lowest common denominator. Like in soccer - the way that a crappy pitch is a great leveler but it makes for an ugly match. Sure that happens - but why MAKE it happen?<br /><br />I should say, by "winning athletes" I meant the teams interviewed by Nike media immediately after the race. Not the individual winners who were rightly joyous. And the teams were happy. But most of the post-race comments were about the mud. It was striking. A couple of the guys teams in particular. They were, in fact, really funny on this point.<br /><br /><br /><br />Jennifer Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05004554513454749517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-78271716670905458442012-12-04T20:16:15.797-08:002012-12-04T20:16:15.797-08:00Your picture of someone in misery happens to be my...Your picture of someone in misery happens to be my daughter right after she took a fall and was getting up on the course. It was definitely a hard course and I know she would tell you she loved it and had a lot of fun (her team took second). While it is fun to do this race in the mud I think it would be cool to see how these teams really stack up against each other in a real race under normal running circumstances. Amanda Archerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02394385364695986929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-87802423330082827852012-12-04T19:29:13.982-08:002012-12-04T19:29:13.982-08:00I disagree with this article for a few major reaso...I disagree with this article for a few major reasons. Before I get into them I will start by saying that I am a college cross country runner who competed a NXN in highschool. Despite running in sunny California we prepared for every condition possible (we had workouts where our coaches would soak us with hoses to emulate rain) and the definition of a cross country runner includes being able to run under any condition. Because every runner at NXN endured the same conditions, the only teams that had advantages were ones that had trained in that area. This however, doesn't make the race unfair by any means. It is similar to how a soccer team that practices set pieces more than any other team isn't considered to have an advantage just because there happens to be many set pieces during a game.<br /><br />With regards to the part where you state " And this is the expression I saw on much of the pack. A lot of runners looked upset - angry, frustrated, confused. " I do not know if you have ever watched any other high school or collegiate cross country races, but every athlete that is trying their best looks like they are in pain. That is because that is literally what a cross country race is. A test of who can handle the most pain. The mud and conditions only add to change how they feel the pain, but at it's core the competition is still the same as any other race. Albeit this race determined who were the National Champions.<br /><br />Your statement "I got the distinct sense that even the winning athletes were disappointed." also seems inaccurate to me. Look at any of the top athletes interviews and try to say they weren't ecstatic about their performances.<br /><br />I also disagree with your statement "Some ended their high school career with the worst time they'd posted all season, in a race that felt pointless." The way cross country runners look at their results is not purely based on times. It is scrutinized by comparing your time to those of the other 200 runners in your race. The girl who ran the slowest time she had all season by 50 seconds but placed in the top 20 will still be exuberant about her success. A slow time due to a challenging course does not equate to feelings of a pointless race. This race featured the best high school teams in the nation, which being said by itself will cause a serious athlete to respect the importance of such a race. <br /><br />Finally, there are historically famous courses known for producing great performances, however, what ultimately determines who cross the line first or which team's top 5 does the best is how much heart the athletes have. It is a mix of pain tolerance and pure desire. The ones who desire success the most and practice the hardest to put make their bodies as fast as possible won't allow bad conditions to be the deciding factor. They will meet any course head on and push until theirs nothing left, whether there's mud, snow, hay bales, or hills in their path.d.rieger.xchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01679072275259626208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-33955027417457259832012-12-04T16:39:56.747-08:002012-12-04T16:39:56.747-08:00Question I would ask of x-country folks: what woul...Question I would ask of x-country folks: what would be the ideal course? For a x-country race testing the best athletes in the country? Might be cool if the people organizing these races asked coaches across the country what they would most like to see. Jennifer Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05004554513454749517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6165780438929797577.post-80048901407501283582012-12-04T16:20:59.233-08:002012-12-04T16:20:59.233-08:00One of my twitter friends remarked that Ohio's...One of my twitter friends remarked that Ohio's HS championship used to be staged at a horse race track. He said he hated it because it was too flat - also true of Portland Meadows. There are no hills. Jennifer Doylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05004554513454749517noreply@blogger.com