steepler said:
And another thing.
Please don't use foul language on this forum!
Shouldn't we leave Dan to do the moderating?
I've not read the letter (yet, will have a look at home tonight) so I can't comment. I do agree that at the top end there is less quality, I'm in my 20's so haven't run for ages but I do remember going to races in the 80's/early 90's where my dad was running. He was a decent level club runner but rarely got into the top 50 in races. Today similar times would see him in the top 10 in a lot of local races (big races he'd be further down though).
However, why is this a cult of mediocrity???? There's failure to recognise talent at the top level and nurture it, so yes some people are falling into mediocrity. However, there are many of us who have probably never had the ability to get to the high level, yet we can still compete at our own level because it is now accepted that not everyone is going to have this talent.
Running has had one big success in more recent times, the welcoming of us slower runners to compete (albeit at our own level). But a big failure by the inability of coach's/administration to encourage acheivement at the highest level or find the talent in depth.
Is this failure the fault of us slower runners though?
I'm wondering what the strength in depth is like in other countries? Or whether it has tailed off at the same level as it seems to have in the UK?