It is said that birds of a feather flock together, and so it was in podcast episode 8. Oiselle runners Lauren Fleshman and Kate Grace are joined by the company’s founder and CEO Sally Bergesen in a wide ranging interview that covers Fleshman’s best races, Grace’s taking flight on the track and roads, and Bergesen’s attempt to turn the running industry on its head. Elsewhere in the episode Brenn does an inventory of shoe contracts and reads viewer feedback from the mailbox, while Gregg takes Bill Rogers’ “Marathon Man” off the shelf of the library and climbs on the soapbox to rant about new baggage policies at races.
Categories: Kate Grace, Lauren Fleshman, Oiselle, Podcast
I thought I’d comment on the stopping issue. I don’t want to extrapolate from my own experience, but I’ve stopped in a number of races. Probably too many, since it can be a sign of mental weakness. That said, though, I’ve never thought it a sign of moral weakness. Nor do I consider DNFing evil per se.
I stopped in the 1983 NYC Marathon on Central Park South, with under 1 mile to go. Not for long, but I had been hurting. I started again and finished well.
I stopped thrice in my only other completed marathon, NYC 2006. I used the moments to re-group. The final time, at 24.75 or so, I told myself I would get going and finish. And I did.
Other than an 8.1 mile uphill leg in a road relay (4 stops but in which I still had one of the best times of the day) and those marathons, my best races have had no stops. I’m not advocating for them. I think they should be avoided. They can, however, be part of racing. (See, Pizzolato, Orlando.) Yeah, I DNFed in 1984.
http://youtu.be/msgGZCWvCIM
I agree on the baggage thing and think you put it quite well. I don’t think it’ll make any difference to NYRR.