Sometimes common sense prevails... but there are times where a whole load of mass social media hysteria explodes upon us and we just have to run for cover.
I've been following the Spen 20 chaos since it began. A lady was upset that she was unable to race. Whilst waiting for facts to emerge I saw a situation get crazier and crazier by the minute through facebook Chinese whispers and incessant tweeting. With each regurgitation the story got bigger and wilder. On the generally quite tame 'Running The World' fb group a full on war was breaking out between different fractions. It became an issue of fast v's slow, club runners against none club runners, it even became a gender issue. Admin had to delete threads and fight of abuse from those who didn't want to be silenced. It was full on anarchy. The internet went crazy whilst I sat waiting for facts. I stopped suggesting that others wait for facts too because the insults were getting pretty colourful.
The next day, we still didn't know any more but then the media decided to get involved. It's quite amusing really to see news articles based on nothing but social media hype creating more social media hype. The same information going around and around in circles with no attempts to ascertain the details behind the original story. Opinions of people ten times removed for the actual event were reported as fact and it went global.
I'm not going to get into who said and did what. As far as i can tell it was an unfortunate situation for both parties involved and quite an ordinary situation that got turned into an extraordinary crazy mess. I'm not judging either party (although I do think it might be wise to make sure people know that the opinions of crazy committee members don't represent your club).
The response to what happened is more worrying to me than the actual situation itself. Running is like anything else, if you start segregating yourself into "I'm a slow runner" "I'm a fast runner" "I'm a female runner" "I'm a hopping runner" (I created that one) then it's the same as creating barriers. Why can't we all just be runners (and all races publish a cut off time). I do think that purhaps there is an undercurrent of segregation amongst runners that was brought to light by the issues of the weekend. That maybe people's own insecurities were projected on to the situation? I've seen similar eruptions when arguments about whether only the fastest runners or the people above the race cut off should get a race medal. My view is forget everyone else and just focus on yourself. If you're happy with how, why, when you run then it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. We don't need to be splitting ourselves into different groups, we just need to run and enjoy doing it.
That's my opinion anyway for what it's worth. Also, if you want to do something positive don't make it a negative like purposely running a race slow. Go and encourage the back runners instead. Offer to be a race sweeper, marshall for a race or go and be tail runner for your local parkrun. There's so much more that unites us so why focus on the things that don't.
Want to know what it's like to be a tail runner? http://sarahbw80.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/tail-running.html
Interesting that you say the spen20 saga has brought some issues to light. Personally I think there is more than an 'undercurrent of segregation'. I would go as far as to say that there are almost two sports which I define as 'mass participation running' and 'competitive club running'.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find frustrating is each of these groups has so much to learn from the other. The former are in my view (happy to be) ripped off by ever increasing entry fees for sponsored/charity events such as the Great Run series. They could enter races organisaed by local clubs at about one third or quarter of the entry fee. They could gain a lot from coaching or just learning from running with more experienced and better runners.
On the other hand clubs are going through something of a membership issue in many cases. There aren't many clubs who aren't having problems attracting and retaining younger adult members in particular. As a result some clubs are primarily under 20s and over 40s. In many cases on their doorsteps are legions of 'runners' who for whatever reason never join clubs despite taking part in what a club member may call 'commercial races'.
Such a shame. Clubs need to be a bit better at reaching out. The mass participation runner sometimes need to come out of their comfort zone and enter a race that doesn't cost £30...then you get Spen20 which doesn't really help change either mind set.
You are right about focussing on yourself. I do mas particpation rates and finish in top 10% of finishers. In club races I can finish in the bottom 20%...both are enjoyable or character building at least.
Good blog!
Thanks for your comment Rob. Interestingly both my first and second claim club are growing quite quickly at the moment. Our average age is dropping all the time and our gender split is remaining consistent (we had our AGM last week so just seen all the stats). I don't understand the segregation because I think it only exists if you create it as a barrier. I do both mass participation events and club races and I feel comfortable at both. Given the amount of club vests at larger races I think many people feel the same. I think with most races you get what you pay for. Last year I did from one extreme to the other, from £4 club races up to whatever the GNR cost (£50 I think) and had an even mix of club/commercial. There wasn't any that I thought wasn't worth the price (would have gladly paid more for chip timing and more water at club races).
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