"Where have all the runners gone?"
In the October edition of Competitor NorCal magazine, I read this interesting set of stats, compiled by Craig Snapp:
It's been interesting to watch how the number of sub-three-hour marathons has declined over the years. Take the Boston Marathon, for instance. As you can see from the statistics below, over half of the finishers in the 1979 race came in under three hours. In comparison, only about three percent were under that time in the years 2003 to 2006 (on average).
1979: 50.8% (3,031)
1981: 51.8% (2,899)
1983: 49.1% (2,647)
1987: 30.2% (1,625)
1991: 18.6% (1,423)
1995: 12.4% (1,031)
1999: 6.7% (756)
2003-2006: 3.3% (654) average
On a somewhat related note, I recently came across Peal Izumi's new advertising campaign,
We Are Not Joggers, which appeals the carnal, animal instinct in me. As you may recall, a few months ago I wrote a critical review of
Reebok's ridiculous "Run Easy" campaign, which is reposted below. I can't help but wonder if Pearl Izumi is responding directly to Reebok with this new marketing effort.
Don't "Jog With It"...
Run With It!
Originally posted on May 4, 2007 by J.R. Atwood
Reebok has recently launched a new and somewhat provocative ad campaign. Called “Run Easy,” the idea is to appeal to the vast majority of people who hated P.E. class in high school, who never ran a sub-5:00 minute mile, who have no ambition of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, who have never shaved their legs in the pursuit of sport, who don’t know what a fartlek is, who usually run only when chased, who would rather “work out” rather than “train”, or who like to have conversations with their friends while running. In short, Reebok wants to appeal to joggers.
This is a great idea, in concept, since the “Just Do It!” attitude of the Nike-dominated running scene can be intimidating for a casual or recreational athlete. Heck, it can be intimidating even for seasoned and elite age-group athletes!
At some high-end speciality running stores (with shoes reaching prices of $165 and a running top costing another $45) and in the health and fitness expos of marquee races and events, some people try to make others–who know less about a product or who haven’t logged as many miles–feel inferior by posing and posturing. Being a member in the niche market of hardcore athletes can sometimes feel like those first few minutes at a high school homecoming dance… You’re either with the “in” crowd and want to party all night, or you’re on the outside looking at the well-dressed “cool kids” wondering why you didn’t stay home.
Unfortunately, Reebok’s “Run Easy” campaign feels like the self-loathing kids who made fun of anyone and everyone who even wanted to go to the dance. It’s a mish-mosh of bitterness and confusion.
While trying to appeal to the masses, “Run Easy” makes fun of the very qualities of character–passion, determination, drive, stick-to-itiveness–that inspires us regular mortals and sometimes-couch-potatoes to dream about, and often to achieve, our athletic and professional ambitions. (See the posters from the “Run Easy” campaign above.) Then, it invites outsiders of the “Just Do It!” lifestyle to become “Run Easy” insiders and help contribute content to one of the most difficult-to-navigate and poorly designed websites I have ever seen, www.goruneasy.com.
Reebok is a company that, to me, feels like it has a chip on its shoulder. It wants to play with the big boys–Nike, Asics, New Balance, and Mizuno in the running industry–but the high-end and specialty retailers won’t carry their shoes. Maybe it’s because the shoes are simply no good. Maybe it’s because their marketing is simply no good.
As for the “Run Easy” campaign, it stinks. What are they advertising? There is no mention of a new product line or pictures of Reebok’s shoes or apparel. So instead of being able to play with the big boys, Reebok decides to mock them: Next to a picture with an elite runner puking mid-run, Reebok asks, “What are you just doing? Run easy.” Nevermind that this makes no sense. A company is in a poor-position when it feels it has to identify itself as the anti-Company-From-Beaverton-Oregon-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named rather than create its own unique identity and brand.
I think it is a great idea to encourage people–of all shapes, sizes, abilities, and ambitions–to lace-up and go for a walk, a jog, a run… Whatever so long as one gets moving… Slow or fast. “Run easy” or “just do it!” hard.
Oh, and the co-founder of that company from Beaverton, Oregon–Nike–is the famed Bill Bowerman who, along with coaching track at the University of Oregon for 24 years and training 31 Olympic athletes, is often credited for starting the running boom during the late 1960s-early 80s in the United States. In 1967 Bowerman published a wildly successful book, appropriately called Jogging, that introduced and popularized the philosophy of light, easy running at a slow to comfortable pace.
So if you really want to “Run Easy,” forget Reebok’s website or immature posters. Rather, lace-up a pair of shoes (any shoes–even, or especially, Nike shoes) and just do it.
Run With It!
J.R. Atwood
Be sure to give yourself 20 minutes to read "No Finish Line" by Alexander Wolff, a recent Sports Illustrated profile of former marathon world-record holder Alberto Salazar. It's a fascinating story about a great athlete who, after suffering a heart attack, is forced to come to grips with the fact that "life is the only long run that really matters."
