Marathon madness

Yesterday, the streets of Chicago were clogged with nearly 35,000 runners for the Marathon. I avoided it like the plague.

Marathoning is like a cult. People training can't find anything else to talk about, the virtues of challenging yourself, and running for a higher cause. I think it's crap. Why would any sane person voluntarily run 26 miles, and pay $90 for the privilege of doing so in misty 40 degree weather, crowded along with thousands of others? I just don't get it. The only reason the marathon was run in the first place was because Ancient Greece was not so up on the combustion engine. And we all remember what happened to that guy, don't we?

But one of the big controversies of the marathon is the idea of "banditing". Banditing: running in any or all of the marathon without paying the entrance fee. Is it fair for people to run? Is it safe? I guess people use the Chicago marathon to "train" for other events. And some people run the last leg along with a friend to support them as they debate the merits of giving in to the bodily desire to die in the streets of Chicago. Some pro-marathoners get very upset at the idea of these people using valuable Gatorade they didn't pay $90 for. That's some damn pricey Gatorade. Others argue it is unsafe. Those of a more subversive bent recommend deliberately banditing to protest the exorbitant fee.

The guy, a Kenyan, basically slid into the finish line. Skidded on a discarded number tag., but since he skidded forward, he won. Conked his head really good. They blamed his disorientation on the head injury. I blame it on the madness involved in marathon running. I mean, how do you run 26 miles in 2 hours and 7 minutes?