7 Lies the News Media Like to Tell You about Marathons

Maybe “7 Lies the News Media Like to Tell You about Marathons” is a harsh title.

First, only some reporters understand the complexity of completing a marathon. A great example would be marathoner and former TV news anchor Lisa Foronda, who is, by the way, not pictured to the left.

Second, only some news editors share that understanding.

But, generally speaking, the news media get it wrong in at least seven ways when they talk to you about a marathon.

Veteran marathoners recognize these lies, but newcomers to attempting a marathon — or any other endurance race, for that matter — ought to be warned.

Please consider this your warning — for your own happiness.

Lie #1 – It’s all about those who finish first, second, and third.

No, it isn’t. I’ve seen some elitist athletes (I don’t know whether “elite” also applies to them.) post comments at various newspaper sites — such as the one owned by The New York Times — about how slower marathoners are “ruining” marathons. Unfortunately, many in the news media are drawn to these elitist comments as well as to the celebrity nature of the top finishers, overlooking the fact that ANY marathon would NOT exist with only three competitors.

Lie #2 – It’s like one long party.

I don’t know what parties the news media attend, but “one long party” is not a good description for most marathons. After all, when is the last time that you saw medics at a party? Police? Perhaps after a party became too rowdy. Medics? No. Plus, even the best-attended marathons have stretches where there is nobody cheering for you, playing music for you (live or out of a tinny boombox sitting on a chair by the side of the road), or offering you a cool drink. YOU have the responsibility to provide your own festiveness in those lonely stretches.

Lie #3 – Anybody can do it.

There is a bit of cognitive dissonance between lie #3 and lie #1, but somehow the news media will tell you that anybody can complete a marathon. They are almost right: almost anybody can do it. But, this glosses over the need for lots of training, which many people are unwilling to endure and which leads me to the next lie the news media like to tell you about marathons…

Lie #4 – Completing a marathon is a life-changing event.

No, it isn’t. Training for a marathon is a life-changing process. Completing a marathon is the event that terminates that process. According to MJ DeMarco, the thought-provoking author of The Millionaire Fastlane, the reason that many of us are not wealthy is because we see wealth as an event instead of as a process. Similarly, many news reporters mistakenly see completing a marathon as an event instead of as just one part of a process. Paraphrasing what I heard Denis Calabrese, founder of USA FIT, the largest running/walking fitness program in the world, say to a large group of marathoners and half-marathoners at a pasta dinner right before their race weekend, the benefit that you get from training for a marathon or other endurance race (the process) is MUCH more important than actually completing the race (the event). This distinction between event and process is analogous to the distinction between pleasure and happiness, about which I am writing in one of my upcoming books.

Lie #5 – Everybody always hits the wall.

Actually, no. Everybody does not hit the imaginary “wall” at mile 18 or so, and some people hit the wall only some of the time. Whether you hit the wall in any given marathon depends on many factors, including your training, your physiology, and how well you take care of your hydration and your nutrition.

Lie #6 – The marathoners are “all smiles” as they finish.

No. That might be wincing from an injury during the marathon. Maybe it’s facial depiction of intestinal pain. But, please don’t use “all smiles” to describe us as we cross the finish line. It gives the impression that we are all ecstatic. No, some of us are simply relieved that it’s over. Plus, what matters more to us is the happiness, which is long-term, not the immediate emotion, which could be pleasure … or could be something not so pretty. (See my earlier remark on pleasure vs. happiness.)

Lie #7 – The marathoners have trained all year for this.

Not necessarily. There are at least three possible sub-lies in this one lie:

#7.1 – Unfortunately, some people try to complete a marathon with no training. (We’re back to that “event” thing again.)

#7.2 – Most marathon programs recommend five to six months of training, not a full year, and many of the people you see participating in a marathon are products of those programs.

#7.3 – This could be only one of a handful or MANY marathons for many of us. For example, I ran two marathons in the first fifteen days of January, 2012, here in Houston, Texas, and I volunteered at a third marathon on January 29th in neighboring Sugar Land (just fifteen minutes away).

What Lies Have You Heard?

I’m sure that I missed some. What lies have you heard the news media tell you about marathons? Please add to the list by posting a comment below. Thanks!

[Disclaimer: I don’t know whether the TV news reporter depicted in the photo here knows nothing, a lot, or somewhere in between about marathons … or even whether she really is a TV news reporter. I simply liked the photo.]