Race: Why's Everyone Running

Conclusions

2010-05-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

Below is a concluding presentation that I have put together to finalize my arguments on the use of Running Cultures in Western Competitions. Please follow the links I have placed throughout the slides as they will clarify details behind discussions I have included in previous posts and external sources that may aid in a better understanding. Thanks for reading!

Inequality in Running

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Change in Western Competitive Running

2010-04-17T08:16:00.000-07:00

In light of all the discussions we have had throughout the semester with regards to current day slavery, the exploitation of people in other countries and the privatization of commodities like water I would like to offer a bridge to my topic. Although the exploitation of running cultures in our highly competitive and sponsor orientated society may not be considered a high priority to some, it is still a topic worth discussing.
People from all different kinds of backgrounds, religions and lifestyles share a common practice through all of their cultures. They run. It is not intended to detract from anyones motives for why they run, but do those who run to survive deserve to be used in a competition that puts the benefits for themselves last? Do athletic sponsors and coaches have the right to use talented runners from poverty situations just so they can have their name and logo run across the finish line first?
It can't be ignored that less fortunate runners are given some great opportunities because of our competitive society, but for whose benefit? My main concern is that people are not free to choose how their own talents are used, such as running. There may not be a whole lot of change that we can promote in this field except for on an individual level. So the change I expect for myself and for others is this; The next time your in a race ask yourself, Why is everyone running? If humans are natural born runners and social creatures, get to know your fellow athletes and make an effort to find out who has worked the hardest to be there and appreciate it. Be curious to what motivates people to push themselves further than others and beyond what may be considered possible. With that kind of individual mindset, who knows what the overall result will be?

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Resources on Running Cultures

2010-04-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Turner Wright has put together a great blog that bridges between Christopher McDougall's book and other running cultures throughout the world. This blog has been a constant reference for me in looking into other cultures that implement running as a dynamic part of their culture and are not necessarily known about in western competitive cultures.

The Spirit of the Running People- Turner Wright
http://www.vagabondish.com/running-cultures/

Indigenous Native American Running: Support Navajo Runners is a website for the non-profit organization that supports Navajo Runners in the competitive while encouraging the Navajo language, cultural values and traditions. I was completely unaware of running practices in the Navajo culture until I looked into this website.

Indigenous Native American Running
http://www.zimbio.com/Native+Americans+in+the+United+States/articles/26/Indigenous+Native+American+Running+Support

This website works as a great bridge between our class discussions on privatization of water/water shortages and my topic of running cultures. Hopi Indian tribes held a run that went from Northern Arizona to Mexico City in attempts to raise awareness of water rights abuse at the Forth International Water Forum.

H2Opi Run Celebrates Sacred Water
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/columns/1441

Running in the Hopi Culture is not a recent development. From this website, it gives a background overview on running in this culture. To the Hopi, running is the purest form of athletic expression.

A Running Tradition
http://www.nativepeoples.com/article/articles/182/1/A-Running-Tradition/Page1.html

Persistence Hunting has come to my attention recently because of all this research on running cultures. This method of hunting appears to have been practiced by many cultures all across the globe and throughout all different kinds of topography. This article explains the practice of Persistence Hunting and the reasons why humans were able to do it. This shows how not any one race is better than others in running. The more you run, the better you are at it.

Persistence Hunting by Modern Hunter-Gathers
http://www.mattmetzgar.com/matt_metzgar/files/persistence_hunting.pdf

Another resource on Persistence Hunting- This time you can actually see it.
David Attenborough- African Kalahari Persistence Hunt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUpo_mA5RP8

Another running culture that I've written earlier about is the Marathon Monks. This website (as sketchy as it may seem) gives a good overview of what incredible feats of running that these people push themselves to.

Tendai Marathon Monks- The Run of a Lifetime
http://www.howtobefit.com/tendai-marathon-monks.htm

Here is a link of a documentary on the Marathon Monks that puts the above article into a really good context. I suggest watching the whole thing if you don't mind taking the 20 minutes.

Marathon Monks- Japan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S06oMxdt40A

Here is another video on someone with extraordinary running abilities. He's the youngest marathon runner who is from a very poor part of India, his name is Budhia. This boy doesn't know how far his coach trains him to run because he hasn't learned to count yet. This boy was bought from his mother for about US$20 and now lives with his coach and is expected to run 30km (about 19 miles) before Noon. Besides the obvious ethical issues, this boy aspires to be a marathoner and make his country proud. What we (United States) do for recreation and fun, this boy hopes to make his living at and escape the world he is in now.

Mini Marathon Man- India
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frQDNf5EqeY&feature=channel

To give a different perspective on the Marathon and how much of a challenge our culture views it to be, take a look at this video. All of the athletes in this video attest that the marathon is the longest, most grueling thing a human can do. What isn't mentioned in this clip is that the distances that these racers run is considered a "short, fun run" for others that train for ultra marathons (50 miles and up). There is also a runner in this video from Africa who is a professional marathoner. Keep in mind that he makes his living the way in which the boy (Budhia) wants to.

The Spirit of the Marathon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8XSit8XyeM

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Marathon Monks from Mount Hiei, Japan

2010-04-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

Tendai Buddist that live on the sacred Mt. Hiei in Japan are a group of people with an extra ordinary ability. I have heard of individuals doing superhuman things with religion being their motivation, but this goes well beyond anything I have ever heard of.

With all our talk in class about slavery, forced labor and the abusing of people around the world, I thought I would offer something that is on the other side of the spectrum.
These Monks are not forced by others to do their work, nor are they looked down upon by the other people that live around them. They are national icons and considered hero's; and for good reason. During a ritual that takes place over a 7 year period, these monks attempt to achieve the near impossible. A 100 day stretch of this ritual is devoted to running. How far you ask? Oh, nothing much...Just 53 miles PER DAY!
Seriously! They will run 80km per day for 100 days straight with only getting 2 hours of sleep per night. They only eat a daily bowl of rice and a bowl of noodles and run the entire distance in handmade straw sandals. The track that they run is mountainous, jagged and dangerous every step of the way. Once you look at all the factors, the distance seems to be the least daunting. Also, if they are unable to finish the course they are required to commit suicide by either hanging or disembowelment.
This running part is just a portion of the ritual which includes a long list of other life threatening activities. One of the major motivating factors for this is to put themselves as close to death as possible so they can better understand life. They are able to push themselves far beyond what an average person is willing to do and they are able to do so under their own power. If you can't call that motivated and free, I don't know what is!

I found a video on Youtube called The Spirit of the Marathon that follows 5 Marathon runners in the US and the stories they have. All 5 of the runners have different reasons for why they run and the one that I want to call attention to is a Professional Marathoner. He says right up front, that he runs to make money. He treats running like a job, and lucky for him, he loves his job! With our recent discussions on slavery in the modern world it made me think about the differences in between this Professional Marathoner and the Marathon Monks. Both are able to accomplish superhuman achievements but their motivation is completely different. I encourage you to watch this video (start at about 2:20 to skip the intro) and notice the difference why people run. Is it because they Have to? Or because they Want to. It sparked some interesting thoughts for me, I'm sure it will do the same for you.

The Spirit of the Marathon

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Tarahumara: The Running People

2010-03-12T00:09:00.000-08:00

In the my last few posts I have been mainly exploring the ways in which African running cultures have been exploited in 'formal' or western running competitions. Everyone is familiar of the association between running ability and people from Kenya.
In this post I would like to take a break from the highly credited African cultures and focus on a one that is closer to home. The Tarahumara are an isolated culture in the northwest area of Mexico in the Chihuahua highlands. The story that interested originally got me interested in running and gave me inspiration for this blog comes from a book written by Christopher McDougall. The title of the books is Born to Run. I've referenced this book in an earlier post and I almost feel like a salesman because of my obsession over this book, but it was that inspiring to me that I can't help share my excitement for it. If you find this subject in any way interesting, then you would love this book.
I'm going to do my best to retell McDougall's story, but I am no way comparable to how he writes this story. In chapter 10 of in his book he explains about an individual named Rick Fisher who was looking to put together a team of super running athletes from this running culture of the Tarahumara. Fisher drummed up quite the hype around this super running team that he had recruited at great expense to him. His idea was to bring these unique people to light while breaking world records and getting his claim to fame. Fisher had more than one attempt at making a super running team. He was able to persuade some random Tarahumara people to come up to Colorado with him, put on running shoes (which they had never seen before) and run the 100 mile foot race in Leadville. This did not go over so well. These people could not simply put on a pair of Nike sponsor shoes and run for a reason they didn't understand on a fundamental level. The way Fisher got this first group of people to come run this race was to bribe them with food for their entire village. You can see where this scenario is going. This first team of runners were asked to run in a completely different world and they had no way of winning these races when they didn't even know what running shoes were. This similar situation had happened at Olympic competitions. Tarahumara teams were used in the 1928 Amsterdam and the 1968 Mexico City Olympic games with no success at all.
This didn't stop Rick Fisher from trying to recruit better Tarahumara runners into his next Leadville 100 mile race. This second team, he handled much differently. Instead of trying to put these runners in running shoes he let them use their own sandals and showed them what they needed to know for the race. Once this team felt comfortable during the race they were able to relax and run how they usual did at home. This time Fisher's idea worked and the Tarahumara finished nearly an hour before everyone else!
I hope this makes things clear on what the importance that is in this situation. Just because some cultures can push the limits of human boundaries, that does not account for why they are doing it or how they feel about the running itself. My point is that we should all be critical of ourselves and not do something like Rick Fisher. Other cultures often feel fundamentally different about competition, if they even believe in it at all. Other viewpoints and worldviews have to be respected and opportunities for taking advantage of a persons ability needs to be given up in order to maintain that respect.

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The History of Running

2010-03-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

The History of Running has a very interesting story when it comes to cultures in Africa. The books I have been reading have whole chapters dedicated entirely to the history of runners from African countries.

These books are: The African Running Revolution edited by Dave Prokop, and The Cybernetics of Kenyan Running by Randall E. Mayes.

Much of these chapters discuss the specifics of who won what race and when. I read those parts and was NOT entertained so I will spare you the grief of reading the collection of race rosters. Instead I would like to focus on the reason WHY African cultures tend to be such successful runners.
Anyone would agree that the more you work out, the better physically fit you become. Its what motivates us to go to the gym, its really no mystery. Now, if you went to the gym every day and worked out since the day you could walk you would be very fit and your body would adapt to that lifestyle.
The books I am reading are claiming the same thing for why people from Africa tend to be such good runners; and that's because they run almost every day!
Geoff Fenwick explains in The African Running Revolution that "it is possible to encounter pastoralists prodding their gaunt cattle along in the dawn light and, on one's return journey, to pass these same people in the late evening 30 to 40 miles farther on. (page 13)"
If any of us were on our feet for 30 to 40 miles per day I'm sure that some of us would turn out as great runners too. From my perspective as a privileged person from the States, I would consider this an amazing feat of human capability but I'm sure if you ask those cattle herders if they consider what they do as superhuman they would probably tell you that its just another day of surviving.
Both books also discuss how cattle have played a part in these cultures and has contributed to running ability. They explain that since these cultures are based around cattle and maintaining their herds, it has required them to invest a lot of time and energy into caring for them. This is where the endurance and running aspect develops. When someone is on their feet all day chasing cattle then it only makes sense that some of them would also have great potential to be champion runners. The only hitch to this is that someone from the competitive running world has to them of the importance of running around a track (for no apparent reason) to a person who runs all day just to stay alive!
A frustrating aspect in The Cybernetics of Kenyan Running was that some of the anthropologists cited used the tone that cattle herding in Africa was competitive and had essentially created a natural selection in where the individuals who stole the most cattle was the best runner. My qualm is not with the competitive nature of survival by cattle herding, its with the lack of acknowledgement to those who take advantage of those cattle herders. It seems to me that the process of natural selection takes place over thousands of years, not a few generations of cattle herders that 'evolve' into world class runners. The individuals that were scouted for their running ability relied more on random chance than on their overall potential. There could be the worlds best competitive runner out there, but unless someone can find them AND convince them to run in races for their own motivation, the world will never know who they are.

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Running Cultures and Global Competitions

2010-02-16T00:06:00.000-08:00

There's a story to all of this. Running. Races and Globalization.

My introduction to the running world was an interesting one. On a hike out in central Idaho I met a guy wearing the oddest set of footwear I'd ever seen. They were Vibram Five Fingers and I was hooked when I first saw them. After returning home I started snooping around and found Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run and a never ending blog world about running and the cultures that are known for it. (Like Turner Wright's Blog)

In this book, McDougall writes about the Tarahumara culture in Northern Mexico that have the astonishing ability to run for what seems like an eternity. Really? A human can run over a hundred miles without imploding?! I was completely blown away.

More on Human running ability? Check out Kalahari Persistence Hunting

After finishing the book I was inspired. I started running barefoot and haven't looked back. I virtually had no experience with running but I've surprised myself. I haven't ran in a pair of regular shoes in almost 6 months and just a couple weeks ago I ran the fastest mile of my life in the rain and fog while freezing my butt off (maybe the conditions had something to do with it).

So with my new-found interest I started asking myself; If cultures like the Tarahumara can run with only the clothes on their back and Americans have all our fancy running gear, why do we see such a gap in running ability? With another little shove from Born to Run I looked into other cultures that are known for their running achievements.

What I've found is that there are quite a few populations of people (and some are close to home: Leadville Colorado 100 mile Footrace) all over the world that can run amazing distances and are almost mystical to us. Through this idolizing or objectifying it made me start thinking; Why do we think of people from Kenya and Kalahari as super-humans when it comes to running?

Through the attempts of answering this question I also started to ask myself why these non-competitive cultures are running in all these Formal Races. With a quick trip to the library I found an assortment of books on the finer details of Kenyan's running competitively. Geoff Fenwick had an awesome point in his essay in The African Running Revolution (published by; Runner's World Magazine, Runner's Booklet series no. 47, copyright 1975).

"It is difficult to explain to such a [African] tribesman the purpose of running around an oval track, continually returning to one's starting point. (Fenwick, 23)"

After reading that, it made me think. Why would someone run for money when it has no value to them. They would rather have something they could use, like food for their community or an easier mode of transportation besides running.

So after all this rambling, here is the purpose of my studying and the influence to this blog. I want to research the ways in which Running Cultures have been used in the Globalized Race World. Because of their way of living they run to survive and this running ability has been used in championship races as a model of comparison for how capable everyone else is.

Hopefully this has shed some light on my motivation on the subject and will prompt some thinking on your part. Please, don't hesitate to leave your thoughts. If I can write my opinion then so should you!

Thanks for reading!

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Testing, Testing...1, 2, 3

2010-01-25T23:14:00.000-08:00

This is only my initial run down to test the waters on this blog. I will be adding researched postings to this blog as required assignments come up for my Comparative Ethnic Studies course; Race and Global Inequality.
As for topic ideas for approval I would like to head somewhere in the direction of a recently developing blogging boom; Running and running cultures.

Some Ideas For Approval:
1. After a brief discovery last semester, I found quite a few books on the history of the Tarahumara culture who are located in the Copper Canyon in Mexico. I would like to look into this history and explore the ways in which globalized contact has impacted this group.
2. I would like to research the running cultures worldwide in order to compare cultural similarities and differences.
3. The last idea that I had was to look into ways in which cultures have been exploited in sports like running. For example; explore the ways in which Kenyan and Kalahari peoples have been used to compete for competitions because of their cultural running practices.

Thanks for reading,
Steve