Radio Jocks Say Runners Aren't Cool

A couple of days ago, I heard a couple of radio talk jocks rambling on, on a local sports program (WRUF/850), about how neither of them liked to run and how it just wasn't "cool".  Both seemed to deem it "cool", though, to relate the degree to which they didn't like running.  One of them had a wife who, seven months after giving birth, had run a marathon.  He was so graciously able to excuse her behavior, but railed against others he would see running around the neighborhood while belittling people who sought any kind of personal fulfillment in running long distance races.  Being a runner myself by inclination and determination, I felt that these two were either basically a couple of jerks or they were cynically trying to stir up some interest...any interest...in their show, which was most likely failing in the ratings. In their mutually agreeable rant against runners, I kept hearing the word "cool" being bandied around, and I began to wonder whether these two had truly grown up after all...or whether they were permanently trapped in an adolescent mindset...more of a prison to themselves than to anyone on the outside that they may choose to deride from their imagined (and greatly deluded) "high" position...

Running is a great activity, even if you can't bring yourself to call it a sport.  Although not everyone can run, it is certainly more accessible to the general population than the "glamour" sports of football, baseball, and basketball.  Running for me is not a matter of looking "cool" or outcompeting others (although during races my competitive nature comes out) but rather having a special time when I can challenge myself to grow both mentally and physically while facing square-on the limitations that both the world and my own body place on me.  For me, I think that's pretty cool, but I would never expect the two children I heard on the radio to ever understand that...