Nevertheless, Chan was employing the same tactics Chris Chavez: Summoning the mob to pile on someone for refusing to actively be on the train, in this case after the RD had gone to some lengths to establish that he had no specific animus against BLM.(There are many substantive differences between the genesis of the two eruptions, which I’ll get into in a subscriber post later this week, but for now suffice it to say that I empathize far more with Chan’s actions, whom I don’t see as any sort of villain here, than with Chavez’s.) In his defense, some Blue Lives Matter pictures had evidently survived the deletion process Lake, despite his itchy and vigilant trigger-finger, says he didn’t see those. But Chan took to Instagram, declaring the issue to be one rooted in white privilege. I can certainly understand Chan’s eagerness to post his result along with the accompanying picture and commentary, but when Lake told Chan “I am 1000% in agreement, but this is not a political site,” that really should have ended it. But the subtitle, “The infamous race director Lazarus Lake and runner Ben Chan disagree on whether the running community is a place for serious debate,” requires some radical leaps that the content fails to support. The piece, written by Mirhashem’s de facto male mouthpiece for these kinds of “bad man” stories, Martin Fritz Huber, carries the headline “Why Did a Virtual Ultra Ban ‘Black Lives Matter’?” it’s a fair question, although “Why Did a Virtual Ultra Ban Political Messages?” seems more accurate. Actually, the story and its framing were only part of the smear job the way its editor, Molly Mirhashem, promoted it on social media was the clincher. It was a textbook example of beginning with a conclusion and fighting off every logical exit-ramp to ensure getting to the holy grail of highlighting a far-flung and consequential injustice permeating all of running. On September 11, Outside Online ran a hit piece under the guise of asking its object, someone the article called the “noted” race director of a virtual ultramarathon, why he had banned entrants from using the term Black Lives Matter as a team name in the event, an act that inspired swift social-media reprisals against the RD, Gary Cantrell, whose nom de plume is Lazarus Lake. (Come to think of it, that would be a poor way to run even an openly discriminatory business mean people still like to get paid.) In the end, someone ostensibly on your side will notice and report on the mismatch between your mission statement and your behaviors, and suggest that you don’t prod others in the direction of more humanistic value systems while exposing the active corrosion in your own. And for some people, just to get back to camp alive is all they want in the world.The short version of this story is that any person or entity wanting to to be at the forefront of equality in sport or anywhere else would do well to avoid deception, bully tactics, and the exploitation of free labor to get there. And for some of them to finish one loop is the achievement of a lifetime. “For some people, to finish the Fun Run is the accomplishment of a lifetime. No matter who you are, or how physically skilled you are, you’re going to want to quit at some point.” Nor is it just about being physically skilled. “You’re not going to finish the race with mental resilience alone. They’re better for what they’ve asked of themselves” “I think that people who go through this are better for it. You only get so much life it’s how much living you can pack into it that counts.” I want them to look at me and say, ‘My God, everything is worn out’. “A lot of people live their life as if they want to turn in their equipment in mint condition. You can’t accomplish anything without the possibility of failure.” “If you’re going to face a real challenge it has to be a real challenge. “In France, I’m a star, in America, I’m thought of more as a homeless person.” “You’ve got 24 seconds to do the right thing and go home.” Should the unfortunate mental condition which led to your application for the 2016 Barkley Marathons improve, you might still escape by simply writing me and asking that your slot be passed along to some other unfortunate fool.” “Update your will, visit with friends and relatives, and otherwise tie up any and all loose ends. (In a letter to Barkley Marathon contestants): “ amount to nothing more than an extended period of unspeakable suffering, at the end of which you will ultimately find only failure and humiliation.” There’s either plenty or there’s nothing.” Most people of who have lived have been hungry most of the time. “You don’t have to eat to run, that’s an old wives tale. Ashley Paulson demolishes own course record at Badwater 135 as she takes overall victory
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