This was in response to an article that was posted in the NY Times: "Plodders Have a Place, but Is It in a Marathon?" and also inspired by Jeff Galloway's response in his blog.

-----------------

How you could possibly differentiate between those who are serious marathoners and those who just do it for the accomplishment.

Case in point: myself
-I was a high school and collegiate runner, with respectable PR's of 4:09 for 1500m, 9:06 for 3k, and 15:30 for 5k
-My first marathon was a sub 3:10 effort as a 20-year-old male, during my collegiate career. (As a 15:30 5k runner, a 'serious' effort would've been around 2:40.)
-I had averaged only about 25 miles per week for the six months prior. Not nearly a 'serious' training regime.
-I walked about a minute of each mile from 20-25 miles, and about half of the final mile. Not very serious.
-I was carrying a disposable camera for my first marathon (RNR in SD) and stopping to take pictures with people along the way. I also ran to the side to give hugs to my supporters twice along the route. Not very serious.
-My fondest memory of the race was a picture with my back to the balloon-arch "Wall" that was set up at mile 20; as runners went by, I was simply standing there posing for a picture.

Does my time merely make me a serious runner because I was a little more gifted to be able to run sub 3:10 without any real training and without running the entire time? Or how about my second and third marathons, where I probably ran a total of 50 miles in the three months leading up to them, and made it to about 13-15 miles of continuous running, then ran/walked the remainder... my finishing times of around 4:00-4:30 are still very respectable, but not nearly 'serious' by any stretch of the imagination. Yet most who finish that fast could still be considered 'serious.' The first marathon distance known to be timed was completed in about 3:45 (Feb. 1896, G. Grigorou), and was barely longer than 24 miles. That's not too serious of a time, but it was the world record!

Preaching to the choir a little here, but I believe a 'serious' marathoner is ANYBODY who undertakes the task of trying to accomplish the 26.2 miles. And I can tell you that my first comments to anybody considering a marathon are all about the sense of accomplishment I felt from FINISHING the great distance.

Probably the most important fact in all of this is the historical significance of the event. A man who was worn and tired from messenging and battle rose up to carry a message of extreme national importance, to the point of utter exhaustion and ultimately death. But the message got through. So, too, does everybody who now shakes off the exhaustion of life and embarks on the 26.2 mile journey.

From the 12 willing participants in the first organized marathon in 1896, to the now over 400,000 who finish in the US alone... each one deserves the recognition that they finished. Phidippides accopmlishment was remembered by the saving of a country; the rest of us get a t-shirt and a medal. To each his own.