The Tale of Two Americans
Running a business during a global pandemic in an industry that is all but getting bumped from existence really makes you think. I can’t *not* think about running, races, what is broken, and what can be fixed. For me, the world’s pause has helped a lot of these thoughts find the time and head space to be developed and penned to paper (can I say that for a blog?). Ever since I watched the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials coverage back in March, I have been thinking about what I saw and heard, and have wanted to create a discussion on why and how we can do better. Finding the words for this entry has been difficult because there is so much beneath the surface to discuss. It’s complicated. I wanted to be sure to share what I feel can lead to change, so here goes.
Let’s start back in 2009 when Meb Keflezighi won the New York City Marathon. I was in the stands at the finish line with a few friends. I remember the music: Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z (man, who didn’t love that song?). I remember watching the jumbotron as Meb entered the park for the final 400 meters and being so freaking excited as he finally came into view and crossed the line. Meb, the first American man to win the NYC Marathon since 1982. What a day! I called back this memory because I recently read Mario Fraioli’s the Morning Shakeout Newsletter where he reminded his readers about two articles that came out about Meb’s 2009 victory. For those that don’t know, Meb was born in the African country of Eritrea, moved to the U.S. in 1987, and became a U.S. citizen in 1998.
In the first article, the writer remarked, “He is an American citizen thanks to taking a test and living in our country … The positive sign was that some American-born runners did extremely well in yesterday's men's race.” The next day, he came back with this second article, doubling down with, “All I was saying was that we should celebrate an American marathon champion who has completely been brought up through the American system.” I definitely encourage you to both pieces fully.
Both articles were and still are appalling. After all, Meb had already represented the United States twice as an Olympian and was a medalist for crying out loud. What is this “American” argument? Meb is American. Period. To this day, I am confused and disheartened that not everyone saw him for the unyielding representative of our country that he was, but rather as a non-U.S. born athlete who was stripped of his identification and achievement.
As we know, Meb Keflezighi went on to win the Boston Marathon in 2014. By that time, he was much more widely accepted as an “American”. He (thankfully) seemed to have shed the non-U.S. born identity. He had represented our country again at the Olympics and narrowly missed another medal. He was on a roll. I recently listened to an episode of the Bibrave Podcast with Hawi Keflezighi (Meb’s brother) and all of this ran through my mind. Hawi described what it was like to have a front row seat at the 2014 race. I got choked up as I listened. The way Hawi describes how he, Meb’s wife, and Meb’s coach all processed the last few minutes of the race really brought me to that moment. As a runner out on the course that day, I remember ALL the feels. Having run in 2013 (the year of the bombing), 2014 was a big deal for those who returned. It was an emotional day, a powerful experience, and a stand in our own way against terrorists. Meb winning was unmistakably a huge part of that.
When Meb won Boston that year, he was (rightfully) heralded as America’s hero. He led the charge for us on taking back our freedom as runners and as Americans. But what a change from 2009 when some only looked at him as a non-U.S. born American. As I tried to explain to my husband the two articles I read (above) and the podcast I had listened to, I unexpectedly started sobbing. How unfair! As a country we treated Meb like a second class citizen for not being born in this country, but when we wanted to celebrate his win as a victory for America, we joined him unwavering in that victory and honored him as one of our own. What a hellacious double standard. Meb, of course, has handled every bit of his time as a professional athlete with grace, zeal, and determination and has done nothing but shine from the moment he donned a USA jersey.
Keep this in mind as I pivot now to this year’s U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. It has been widely noted that the race coverage was poor, especially for the women’s race. As a reminder, Aliphine Tuliamuk was born in Kenya, came to the U.S. in 2009, and became a U.S. citizen in 2016. During the final miles of the race, Aliphine and Molly Seidel dueled for first place. The commentators essentially talked on and on about Molly and had very little to say about Aliphine who went on to win (even Molly agrees the coverage was egregious). Let’s unpackage this a bit more.
What is the commentator’s job during a broadcast? In the simplest of terms, it should be to call the race. However, in the sport of running, and the marathon in particular, we only have three opportunities (Boston/Chicago/NYC) to showcase our athletes to a national audience (with two more opportunities in an Olympic year). It is my opinion that because of this, these commentators are responsible for a little bit more, certainly including and not limited to exposing people to our sport.
The commentators who joined the NBC broadcast were not new, and they are not new to this sport. Leigh Diffey is Australian and an auto racing commentator who has provided commentary on races before. Tim Hutchings was a British track Olympian from the 1980’s and is a regular running commentator. Craig Masback was a middle distance runner from the mid 70’s to the mid 80’s and currently serves as the VP of Sports Marketing at Nike. This strikes me as an odd choice of commentators for a few reasons. The Olympic Marathon Trials are a uniquely American way of selecting the Olympic team. Most countries use a time-based system for selecting their athletes. Our system allows the athletes to race each other head-to-head for that honor. For many who follow road racing in the U.S., the Olympic Trials are a celebration of those efforts—not just for those who make the team but also for the hundreds of elite runners that do not. None of the commentators were marathoners, there were no women represented, and two of them aren’t Americans. Seemingly, we could’ve found a trio that was better suited to cover this once-every-quadrennial event.
Did all three commentators do the research on key athletes to be prepared for race day? Do they follow these women (and men) religiously like so many of us who love the sport? How much do they study and how much of the information is gathered organically? It seems like some knowledge should be a prerequisite. With over 450 women competing, they couldn’t possibly be prepared to speak about all of them, but the lack of coverage on Aliphine was more than an oversight. She was a top 10 seed in terms of her qualifying time as well as a 9-time national champion. Surely, one of them should have had some information to fill time speaking about the woman who was leading the race (and not even that much time given the insanely out of whack commercial to race footage ratio).
It was very strange that as Aliphine and Molly covered those final miles, the commentators just kept going back to Molly. Molly could be likened to an “America’s sweetheart” character which certainly makes her easy to cover. After all, Molly was a high school national champion, a national champion for Notre Dame, had never run a marathon, and was on the verge of either another championship or a trip to the Olympics. But this is not the story the commentators told. They hardly mentioned any of her athletic achievements. By also omitting Aliphine’s running achievements as a woman and an American, the commentators missed a great opportunity to highlight what our sport looks like in the modern era. Gone are the old school days of runners like Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Joan Benoit Samuelson topping the results as the best in our country. There is much more diversity within the sport today, not only in reference to the athletes themselves, but in their training as well. It is disappointing that Aliphine, a black woman and naturalized citizen, wasn’t given the amount of representation and visibility she deserved. Deliberate or not, it perpetuates prejudice.
This brings us to human interest stories. Ugh! Imagine for a moment that you are an active adult, you stay fit at the gym, but you are not a runner. Or maybe you do some light jogging, but your friend is a “real” runner and he/she told you once about a marathon they ran. You are scrolling through the tv channels on a Saturday morning and you stumble onto the Olympic Marathon Trials. There are two women who seem to be slightly ahead of the pack in a tight race clearly pushing hard, trying to break each other. You tune in to what the commentators are saying and you hear that one crochets hats and drives an Uber and the other is a barista in her spare time. Is that the engagement you need to keep from changing the channel?
Now go back to you as the runner and the big fan of the sport that you are (yes, I am assuming if you are reading this you love running). Ask yourself, is this the best way to introduce our sport to new fans? Let’s look at the NFL for a moment. Have you ever watched an NFL game and heard them talk about what Tom Brady likes to do in his spare time? No, because they talk about the game of football. They fill the space with tactical talk, strategy, and outcome. Why then, are running broadcasts dumbed down with human interest stories? They never talk about the actual sport. There is no discussion about mileage, no dive into some of the workouts these runners did as they tuned up for the race, the sacrifices they make to train, the vacations they never get to take because they can’t miss a day of running, or the 20 miler they have to plan into the vacation that they do decide to take to have time with their family. They compare the runners at the front to ordinary people … maybe you yourself are an Uber driver or a barista, and wow, they are just like me! Except they aren’t at all. Aliphine Tuliamuk and Molly Seidel are professional athletes at the top of their sport. They are going to the Olympics and they are nothing short of exceptional. Why aren’t we leading these broadcasts with athletic achievement?
In a sense, it is ironic that television coverage of our sport (a source of constant frustration to true fans) caused me to think more critically about the role of race in distance running. If Aliphine’s athletic achievement had been discussed at face value, would the color of her skin or where she was born ever have been a factor? Would I have felt the need to write this blog entry? I believe that creating meaningful change requires reaching a crossroads in which we have to choose between continuing with the status quo, or altering course. We have now arrived at that crossroads both as a society and within our sport.
If we go back and compare Meb and Aliphine’s stories side by side, it is upsetting that we have not moved past these prejudices in the last 10 years. We keep doing the same things over and over again, perpetuating a broken system. 2020 has presented many challenges, but also a great deal of much needed change. Every day, we continue to expose the lack of acceptance many in our country are willing to allow. As a running community, we need to continue down this road exposing things we will no longer tolerate. We need to demand equality and inclusion for all, and we need to be good allies. We need to find the best ways to showcase our sport and the athletes who represent it. We need to give Aliphine the opportunity she deserves to be our American hero. And we need to keep moving forward.
We can do better. We must.