It's interesting how you pinpont such unique spiritul fulfillment and creative brilliance in the marathon's surrounding events, yet find the main race itself so off-putting and corporate; it's a fascinating distinction to draw.
I think you've (understandably) conflated the corporate nature of the major marathons with being off-putting. I have different reasons, personally.
But the creativity, yes. I've seen increasing sentiment and understanding that marathons aren't the be all and end all of running. I've been writing about exactly that for the past three years.
For me, races are just 1% of running. The act of running itself is only 10% of running! The other 90% is everything else that running gives us: creativity, health, friendship, a greater understanding of the world around us. And that 90% is what I love to focus upon.
I ran the famed Peachtree Road Race for the first time this year, and while there are many things about that race that don't inspire creativity, the vintage tee game is aces: The number of wizened older runners sporting their vintage Peachtree RR shirts (the 80s designs! the colors! the absence of logos!) was SO COOL. Many of them also add a label declaring how many they've run and that is really awe-inspiring.
It's interesting how you pinpont such unique spiritul fulfillment and creative brilliance in the marathon's surrounding events, yet find the main race itself so off-putting and corporate; it's a fascinating distinction to draw.
I think you've (understandably) conflated the corporate nature of the major marathons with being off-putting. I have different reasons, personally.
But the creativity, yes. I've seen increasing sentiment and understanding that marathons aren't the be all and end all of running. I've been writing about exactly that for the past three years.
For me, races are just 1% of running. The act of running itself is only 10% of running! The other 90% is everything else that running gives us: creativity, health, friendship, a greater understanding of the world around us. And that 90% is what I love to focus upon.
I ran the famed Peachtree Road Race for the first time this year, and while there are many things about that race that don't inspire creativity, the vintage tee game is aces: The number of wizened older runners sporting their vintage Peachtree RR shirts (the 80s designs! the colors! the absence of logos!) was SO COOL. Many of them also add a label declaring how many they've run and that is really awe-inspiring.