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Is it racist to point out that large swaths of Africa are typically warm, dry places? And is it racist to posit that people who come from those places are not accustomed to cold, wet weather? And is it further racist to suggest that the conditions that might be particularly adverse for a large number of African runners might explain why they didn't perform as well as they otherwise might have?
So is it their ETHNICITY or the weather they are ACCLIMATED to? If you took the African runners and they trained for years in crappy cold weather, what would the outcome be? Not quite so clear cut, is it?
The weather conditions weren't ideal for ANYONE. But the usual winners who grow up in places like Kenya were particularly affected by extremely cold and wet conditions.
Anyway, it was particularly nice to see so many American women and men in the top ten spots and a Canadian woman won eighth place. I was happy to see that a Japanese national won the mens race.
IMO it's not racist to notice that African nationals dominate the sport of marathon races. It's not racist to be happy when Americans are the top finishers, after all, the event took place in America.
And there's nothing wrong with being a proud American.
Do you actually have proof of your claim? Like a story you can link to or something? That says that people from the African continent were affected by the cold so they didn’t win.
Or is this more of a hypothesis that you’ve come up with?
So is it their ETHNICITY or the weather they are ACCLIMATED to? If you took the African runners and they trained for years in crappy cold weather, what would the outcome be? Not quite so clear cut, is it?
Elite Men:
3. Shadrack Biwott (USA) 2:18.35
Kenyan-born and now trains with the Hanson's-Brooks group and rotates workout locations between the California mountains and Michigan and its brutal winters. Good day for Hanson's yesterday- they also had women's winner Linden, who has said she did some training blocks in Michigan's Upper Peninsula recently as well as, I think, the men's over 40 best time.
So is it their ETHNICITY or the weather they are ACCLIMATED to? If you took the African runners and they trained for years in crappy cold weather, what would the outcome be? Not quite so clear cut, is it?
I'm sure you're aware that "African" is a location-specifier as well as a racial description.
The weather was brutal for a marathon. It doesn't matter how great you are, how much or where you trained - that cold, soaking, biting headwind the marathoners endured in this years Boston Marathon was the equivalent of a 20 pound sack on your back for an entire marathon in good weather. That was a Boston Marathon for the ages, one that tested EVERY runners upper limits.
So is it their ETHNICITY or the weather they are ACCLIMATED to? If you took the African runners and they trained for years in crappy cold weather, what would the outcome be? Not quite so clear cut, is it?
In that poster's defense, they clarified that they were referring to nationality and not ethnicity, with the implied understanding that most African countries are hot.
That being said, some parts of Ethiopia are cool, including the capital Addis Ababa which stands at an altitude higher than Denver.
But yes, I agree that ethnicity is irrelevant; everyone is capable of acclimating to either cold or heat. The only racial adaptation to weather that human beings have is evidenced in the Inuit and related peoples, who evolved facial features that are adapted to cold, dry weather. Otherwise, the average Caucasian, Asian and African are genetically similar in their heat tolerance and cold tolerance.
Part of it comes down to money. Yuri is a freak in the best sense of the word; for the rest of the elites, there is an assumption that you can get two good marathons in a year if you stay healthy. And that the further you get in the race, the more recovery time you'll need afterwards.
10th place prize money this year was $4200. If an athlete senses early on it's not going to be their day and does not have the nostalgia factor the North Americans do for the race (and the Americans are more likely to have sponsorship deals that put a higher value on a Boston or NYC finish), then it's perfectly logical to bail around mile 10-13 before they trash their legs for a couple weeks. Their agent has a Plan B for them- the athlete has a history of being able to hold a taper for an extra 2-3 weeks beyond original race day, and there's a half marathon in Barcelona or Tulsa or Lima in 13 days willing to cover travel expenses and a small appearance fee and the prize money break down there is $25K if you win, and $10K for a third place...
The top ten on the women's side? Once you get past Desi, very few of the 'citizen runners' had a Plan B. They were burning vacation days from work for their trip to Boston and couldn't get away for any next races. Sarah Sellers probably is supposed to be back at her Arizona hospital on Thursday. And since there is only a Plan A, they ran through the Nor'easter instead of taking the DNF because Boston was just it for them.
My brother ran the marathon. It was a miserable experience. He ended up having to go to the medical tent after finishing to get treated for hypothermia. Today he's still sore and ragged, has some skin rash because of the wet clothing rubbing his skin and has decided this is his last marathon, even though he's already classified for next year.
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