Check out this article by Cameron Stracher in the WSJ about how America hasn’t fielded many competitive runners lately.

Stracher argues that one of the reasons we’re not a running superpower is that we have dumbed down running to be recreation for the masses, rather than an elite sport.

I agree with the notion that running is highly technical and requires a good training program. It’s a simple fact that a coached runner will run faster and with less effort and injury.

However, I don’t like the author’s contempt for recreational runners. If an American puts on shoes and plods around the lakes, that’s one more person who is NOT disappearing between the sofa cushions while eating Ben & Jerry’s and nachos. How can that be a bad thing?

If we’re diluting the pool of elite runners, so what! That’s the least of our worries.