Mr. T vs. race walking

[Mike67]

We tolerate way too much B.S. in the name of being PC! I'm just calling RW for what it is...STUPID!

The only B.S. I see here is coming from you, disguised as opinion. Amazingly you are being tolerated and it has nothing to do with being PC.

What is B.S.? Racewalking should not be an olympic event. I would bet if we took a poll of "Normal" people, we would find that they agree.

[Daisy]

We tolerate way too much B.S. in the name of being PC! I'm just calling RW for what it is...STUPID!

The only B.S. I see here is coming from you, disguised as opinion. Amazingly you are being tolerated and it has nothing to do with being PC.

What is B.S.? Racewalking should not be an olympic event. I would bet if we took a poll of "Normal" people, we would find that they agree.

If you had a rationale other than "I think its stupid" then your comments would not be B.S.

A poll of normal people in the US would also regard the metric system as B.S. and the Olympics as B.S. for removing softball and baseball. Declarations vs a strong argument rarely win the day.

[Mike67]

We tolerate way too much B.S. in the name of being PC! I'm just calling RW for what it is...STUPID!

The only B.S. I see here is coming from you, disguised as opinion. Amazingly you are being tolerated and it has nothing to do with being PC.

What is B.S.? Racewalking should not be an olympic event. I would bet if we took a poll of "Normal" people, we would find that they agree.

If you had a rationale other than "I think its stupid" then your comments would not be B.S.

A poll of normal people in the US would also regard the metric system as B.S. and the Olympics as B.S. for removing softball and baseball. Declarations vs a strong argument rarely win the day.

O.K. I thought I was only stating the obvious! Come on, what rationale is needed beyond the fact that it is walking? How is this a display of sport? It's like having an event for standing up and sitting down! Which might be a good event for racewalkers to switch to! Ha, Ha!

[trackstar]

Dammit, I knew if I posted that it would devolve into people being pissy with one another. CUT IT OUT. It's an ad that has silly Mr. T shooting Snickers bars at a silly-looking walker person. You were supposed to laugh and then move on with your lives.

[polevaultpower]

I like racewalking and I have liked all of the racewalkers I have met.

[lonewolf]

I admire race walkers. It may look "funny" but is incredibly difficult and exhausting. My biggest concern to it as a competitive event is the difficulty in judging and enforcing the rules defining walking from running
.
An interesting (to me) personal observation. For several months prior to my knee replacement last November I was reduced from runner to jogger to walker. I tried "race walking" and found it difficult to concentrate, maintain pace and walk legally.
There is a reason for that hip twisting. The streets in my neighborhood are poured concrete with joints every 7 paces at a brisk walk. I discovered that by twisting my hips forward on every stride I covered the same distance in 6 strides with no additional effort..

[James Fields]

Clarity

Mike67 wrote, "I could care less if MJR walks or not!"
---------
Did he mean the opposite, "I couldn't care less ..." ? Without clarity, debate seems unproductive.

[imaginative]

I belong to the people who consider RW to not be a TnF event. It may
well be a worthy sport in its own right---just like swimming or
bicycling---, but it is simple not TnF in my opinion. A case could be
made if it was actually run (walked?) in the stadium, but as is, I see
no true connection. (Yes, I do have similar reservations about XC and
the marathon, although their case is much stronger through the
connection over the track events.)

If RW is counted as TnF, why not swimming? Orienteering? Mountain
Climbing?

I strongly suspect that if RW was invented today (joining other newer
sports like snow boarding) it would be handled by independent national
and international organisations.

[EPelle]

Race walking is contested completely inside of the stadiums for youth and young adults, as they only contest 1.500m and 3.000m.

There used to be an age-group team in the San Jose-Bay Area (Santa Clara) which had a long history of producing great middle distance runners, but they have long since dropped off the scene and no longer exist. Consequently, all of their best distance runners in cross country (one national xc champion), and middle distance runners on the track, were race walkers first. The national XC champion set a national race walk record in their age group, and two others won back-to-back national titles in the midget age-group; one was my sister.

Point? You were a race walker first, an 800m or 1.500m/3.000m specialist after.

[racewalker]

The commercial was funny. Insensitive, maybe, but still funny.

As to racewalking's inclusion in T&F: We ain't leaving anytime soon, so get over it - there's no point in having a heart attack about it.

[Helen S]

O.K. I thought I was only stating the obvious! Come on, what rationale is needed beyond the fact that it is walking? How is this a display of sport? It's like having an event for standing up and sitting down! Which might be a good event for racewalkers to switch to! Ha, Ha![/quote]

Mr. 67-
I certainly hope you have not given up so easily on this topic.
Could you please give us your definition of what constitutes "sport" in your world? I would also like to see your opinion on paired diving and water ballet, if that is what it is called these days. How about curling, or archery, or equestrian events?
Do us a favor, head to your local track and to the best of your ability legally walk a 100, 400, and 1600 as fast as you can. Then go to the T&FN website and see what some of the short race records are and give us your opinion. I woudl guess that if nothing welse, you will have set PR's.

[tandfman]

If RW is counted as TnF, why not swimming? Orienteering? Mountain Climbing?

Because they have never been conducted as part of track and field meets and championships. Race walks always have been.

[kuha]

If RW is counted as TnF, why not swimming? Orienteering? Mountain Climbing?

Because they have never been conducted as part of track and field meets and championships. Race walks always have been.

Well, maybe not "always," but certainly at the highest levels...

We are shooting the messenger--peryhaps deservedly--but his message isn't really wrong. The walks are a hold-over from the late 19th century, when other reasonably common events included the 2-handed shot put, the standing HJ, and the tug-of-war. The sport ditched the last 3 of these, and should have ditched the walks also. Why? Because, in large measure, the walks are utterly determined by subjective factors--the interpretation of "walking" legally. No other event relies on subjective judgment more than the walks. I would submit that it's not really all that clear what it means to "race walk"--despite the seemingly straighforward definition on the books. And if something that basic isn't genuinely clear, the whole enterprise should go. It is my view that, at the highest level, race walking is based on getting away with as much as you can, for as long as you can. Not a philosophy to really win our interest or admiration.

But, there are some--as we know--who vehemently disagree.

A very basic question: What percentage of us on this board honestly care what will happen in these events?

[Kevin Richardson]

Trackstar, I appreciated the ad, personally. As for Mike67's comments, it is not PC to exercise courtesy. It is part of being civil. While I am not a huge fan of RW, it is part of the sport. That is incontrovertible. Tone the vitriol down a notch or two and see what kind of truly enlightening conversation will follow. And the HA HA stuff, gets a bit old.

[sprintblox]

We are shooting the messenger--peryhaps deservedly--but his message isn't really wrong. The walks are a hold-over from the late 19th century, when other reasonably common events included the 2-handed shot put, the standing HJ, and the tug-of-war. The sport ditched the last 3 of these, and should have ditched the walks also. Why? Because, in large measure, the walks are utterly determined by subjective factors--the interpretation of "walking" legally. No other event relies on subjective judgment more than the walks. I would submit that it's not really all that clear what it means to "race walk"--despite the seemingly straighforward definition on the books. And if something that basic isn't genuinely clear, the whole enterprise should go. It is my view that, at the highest level, race walking is based on getting away with as much as you can, for as long as you can. Not a philosophy to really win our interest or admiration.

I agree ... it is miles away from the purity and objectivity that is integral to other events in T&F.