Why Does Finishing A Marathon Garnish More Praise Than A Lifelong Commitment To Fitness?

Posted on Jun 20, 2009 by Andrew in General Health & Fitness, Health and Fitness Myths .

Nothing is more rewarding than setting a difficult goal and accomplishing it. It is that underlying premise that has inspired pretty much every race on the planet, whether it’s a footrace down the block, a marathon, or an Indy 500. But when an endeavor such as a marathon is meant to showcase one’s fitness, is praise for accomplishing this feat warranted or is it simply another sign that we as a society tend to reward mediocrity? Let’s first look to the numbers:

Between the years 2000 and 2005, there have been 1,996,000 people who have finished a marathon in the United States alone… and 26% of those who finished a marathon in 2005 did so in a time greater than 7 hours (Marathon Guide).
There are over 230 recorded members of the 100 marathon club, whose membership requires that you have finished over 100 marathons in your life (100 Marathon Club).
The world record for completing a marathon is held by Haile Gebrselassie at a time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 59 seconds. Of those who completed a marathon in 2005, 71.2% of them finished in a time that was twice as long as Haile’s best time (Marathon Guide).
Over 300 individuals have completed a marathon in each of the 50 United States, some have even done it eight times (Wiki).
A 400 pound man has completed a marathon, a 64 year old man completed 105 in a single calendar year, and a 98 year old man has also completed a marathon.

An argument that I hear from those who consider a marathon to be a huge accomplishment revolves around the total percent of people who have run a marathon compared to those who have not. After all, it’s got a nice ring to it when someone brags that, “Only .1% of people have run a marathon”. However, we at Go Healthy Go Fit know that statistics can be misleading. So, sticking with the example of those who completed a marathon in the US in 2005, let’s try and get a better picture of what the competition looked like.

The U.S. population was 288.4 million in 2005 (Census).
Of that, “In 2005, among the total U.S. adult population surveyed, 60.5% were overweight, 23.9% were obese, and 3.0% were extremely obese.” (CDC).
While it is true that many have completed a marathon in spite of a disability, it is reported that, “An estimated 7,602,000 people, or 2.8% of the population 5 and over, have difficulty performing self-care activities, also known as Activities of Daily Living, such as dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home…” in the year 2005 (CPAS).

So, in essence, completing a marathon is something of an accomplishment. But why then, in conversation, does bringing up the fact that a person has completed a marathon have a better ring to it then describing a life long commitment to health and fitness? In fact, some would even go so far as to pigeon-toe the latter into an “obsessive” group of people who are commonly known as “gym rats”, “fitness freaks”, or what have you.

In my opinion, a dedication to health, fitness, and eating right serves as a much more selfless act than that of completing a marathon. While that’s not to say that you can’t do both, some find that level of dedication to be too time consuming and therefore strive for the one time glory of running a marathon. I’m here to say that if it comes down to a choice between the two, just take a look at the numbers and realize that you are REALLY not alone if you decide to run the marathon.

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3 Responses to “Why Does Finishing A Marathon Garnish More Praise Than A Lifelong Commitment To Fitness?”

Dave - The Intelligent Workout

Jun 22, 2009

3:40 pm

Thanks for this article Andrew. The marathon is a great example of how society is stuck on endurance exercise as the end-all-be-all for health and fitness.

My dad has been running marathons for about five years now and the sad truth is he has actually gotten fatter because of his poor diet and lack of weight training combined with these extreme distances. He’s also stressing his joints to the bone with his poor form and excess weight.

I think the appeal of the marathon is that it is tangible and requires a great amount of self discipline. It’s just a bummer like you said that all these people are focusing their energy on conquering a certain distance instead of eating healthy and creating a habitual workout habit for the long term.

Reply to this comment
- Andrew
  
  Jun 22, 2009
  
  7:43 pm
  
  Hey Dave,
  
  Joint stress… I forgot to touch on that in the article. Good point. It’s true, this type of training can really take it’s toll on a person. P.S. I’ve never run a marathon before… don’t tell anyone.
  
  All the Best,
  
  Andrew
  
  Reply to this comment
Studio Element Personal Training

Aug 20, 2009

11:15 am

Not at all. Making the long term commitment is not only better for a long life, but is a much harder task. While the marathon is quite an accomplishment, it should be just a speck in the grand scheme of your overall life fitness plan.

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