by David Torrence

September 27, 2013

LetsRun.com’s note: In recent weeks, publicity has been given to the fact that non-professional runners seem to be getting slower. Toni Reavis wrote about this phenomenon on his blog tonireavis.com (DUMBING DOWN, SLOWING DOWN) as did Kevin Helliker in the Wall Street Journal (The Slowest Generation). The sub-elite, 2:20-2:50 hour men or 2:45 to 3:15 women, are virtually non-existent when with rising participation numbers you’d think they’d be rising.

Reavis’ blog post included a quote from agent Brendan Reilley that referenced Runners World writer John Bingham who is famous for inspiring the masses and the quote, “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” Reilley said the following about Bingham:



“I think we’ve had too many years of the John Bingham (Waddle On, Penguins) philosophy. John is a nice guy, a very entertaining and eloquent speaker, but there seems to be little in the sport these days to carry the runners that John has gotten off the couch to the next level of aiming to run faster and treat our events like RACES. And without that mentality, it is no wonder so few participants really care or even understand that somebody just ran 4:45 or 5:20 pace to win their race.”

Well Bingham saw the quote and responded with the following in the comments section of Reavis’ article:

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“I would suggest, however, that this is a bit like saying that the reason the Chicago Symphony isn’t what it once was is because of so many people playing in community orchestras.

I stood at the finish line of the RnR Philly race yesterday until everyone had finished. Everyone’s effort was celebrated. I invite ANY winner of ANY race to join me instead of rushing back to their hotel after the awards ceremony. I guarantee that the first “elite” to show even a LITTLE interest in the rest of the pack will become a hero overnight.

Well guess what?

An elite A pro who has shown way more than a “LITTLE interest” in the back of the pack saw Bingham’s post and has written in to LetsRun. Bingham’s belief that an elite has never shown interest in the rest of the pack was misguided.

3:52 miler David Torrence, who has also run 3:33 for 1500, 7:40 for 3k and 13:16 for 5k, has done an awful lot to support the back of the pack and he’s far from a well-known hero. Torrence emailed us a well thought out response to Bingham’s comment and we loved it and share it with you in its entirety below. Torrence starts by responding to Bingham and then brainstorms ways to make the sport of running more popular:

Dear Letsrun,

My name is David Torrence. I am a Professional Track Athlete and Road Racer. I’ve run in front of packed sold-out stadiums, and in front of empty bleachers. I’ve run in Road races with 10k participants, and some with 10 total.

Upon reading the recent discussion on Competitor/RnR events, the value of elites, popularity of the sport, etc…something has struck a chord with me. Specifically with what John Bingham said in the comments section of Toni Reavis’ blog “Dumbing Down, Slowing Down”

Bingham wrote, “I invite ANY winner of ANY race to join me (cheering on finishers) instead of rushing back to their hotel after the awards ceremony. I guarantee that the first ‘elite’ to show even a LITTLE interest in the rest of the pack will become a hero overnight.” (bold my emphasis)

Well John, that comment… how can I put this politely… really frustrated me.

Show even a little interest in the rest of the pack? Guarantee overnight fame?

I have signed autographs in Zagreb, Croatia, t-shirts/hats/shoes in Eagle Rock, CA. In Falmouth, the day after racing the track mile, I voluntarily chose to jog the road 12km with the “rest of the pack” to interact and chat and cheer people on. I have driven myself at 4am to Fresno and sat for hours giving out and signing hundreds of autograph cards with personal messages to HS runners at the CA XC state meet. I have co-created my OWN track club to reach out to the community with greater numbers and unity. I have put on my OWN race (BAXC) where we paired up the average casual runners with the elites and had a scored meet. I recently went to Compton to kick off a weekly run event that the Mayor created for her community that lacks a strong running culture, and jogged 2miles with the youth of the city. I signed autographs and interacted with fans so quickly after my race in Stockholm, for so long, and standing so still (due to the stairs) that my body was unable to clear the lactic acid like it normally does, and I vomited during my cool down for the first time in my entire running career.

Am I an international phenomenon? Am I a national hero? Do people even recognize me on the trails in my own CITY where I train and live 6months out of the year? No, no, and no.

The blaming of the elites HAS to stop.

Are there some who don’t give back and selfishly head back to the hotel room? Yes. But in my experience, they are far and few between.

The vast majority are NOT jerks. They are people just like you. And are honestly some of the nicest/humblest people I’ve ever met. I feel honored to be a part of the professional running community.

But what more do you want us to do? What more CAN we do? Why aren’t NBA, NFL, MLB, Tennis, NASCAR, professionals held to this same standard of fan interaction?

Who are the ones that are creating this disconnect between the Elites and the casual runners?

I’ll tell you what is to blame: Television.

TV has done the absolute WORST job of promoting our sport and our elite athletes, and to put it simply: make us look cool. Every race is scripted to the point that the announcers only really know the top 5 seeds (2-3 in track), and if a lesser known athlete is leading and/or wins…he/she is often ignored completely, or mistaken to be one of the athletes that is on their sheet of paper. Track and Road Races are broadcasted the EXACT same way they have been broadcasted for DECADES. There has been very little innovation, very little creativity, very little drive to try and make it more entertaining on the screen.

And for those who say “well, running just doesn’t lend itself to entertainment on the big screen”. That is just a lazy response. Running is amazingly exciting, IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON. If you are educated enough to know the splits, the moves, the surges, the falls, etc. Every NASCAR race has almost half the screen filled with stats of speed, position, name, etc. Without it, it’s just cars going in circles. Which is exactly how running is broadcast.

EDUCATE the public. Create BETTER TV broadcasts, and don’t just SETTLE for how things have always been done. As great as it is that Running gets on TV, I honestly believe that every time a meet/race is aired, we LOSE fans who tune in and think “gosh, this is the most boring thing ever.”

Take some CHANCES for crying out loud.

Secondly, (this is for track specifically) create a better in person meet experience. All the dead time, the lack of focus, the lack of ANY attempt to entertain fans between races and events, has created meets that lose any energy that it gains from amazing performances. If you go to any NBA or NFL game, every timeout, quarter break, or play review is CONSTANTLY filled with some sort of fan interaction. Be it cheerleaders, t-shirt bazookas, fan contests, cameras that pan to the fans. Just silly games to keep people engaged.

For road races, create a Fan-Zone like Brendan Reilly mentioned where people can interact with the elites. Or organize cooldowns with the elites and the fans that wish to join.

I sincerely wish that USATF would hire somebody that manages the in-house experience of NBA games, and have them bring their recommendations, expertise, and know-how to the USATF championships, and make a meet that for ONCE is entertaining for the casual fan that knows nothing about track.

If we can accomplish these feats, then we will have made serious headway. But what is holding us back? Who else is holding us back? Is it money? Is it meet management?

I don’t know those answers, but I can tell you who are not the problem: elites.

– David Torrence

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