FabSwingers.com forum: Marathon question ???

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Currently handing out buns and cheese sandwiches around the 20mile mark (d*unk all our champsnge already)

With the exception of the elite runners the make up is roughly

95% white

4.9% - Asian

0.1% - black - I've rounded up

Running and Collecting for charity

Never noticed this before, any ideas why this is the racial make up Is vastly different from the elite (all black) and charity runners ?

It's just an observation of fact we noticed today, black chap in our party noticed it 1st

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

That's an interesting one - it is a ballot entry so it is possible that it just turned out that way? But I doubt it.

I guess we have more Caribbean descendant black people in the UK than African - in my experience anyway. And there aren't many Jamaican marathon runners - so genetics maybe meaning that applications are lower?

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By *olgateMan
over a year ago

on the road to nowhere in particular

Genetics has nothing to do with it. Kenyans are only good at marathons because they train at altitude.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Genetics might not be but altitude isn't the answer either. Mexico, the Andes and large parts of Central Asia have similar altitudes yet not the same history for distance running.

Your thoughts on the %s given?

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Interesting observations. I love sociological matters like this.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Looking at the matrix of people who attend our athletics club, and in general (apologies before hand, but using ethnicity diversity)

Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British

Those that identify as Caribbean are most often seen in sprinting and shorter distance events;

Those that identify as African as middle distance / long distance events

I've no idea as to why or the wherefore, but it's something that holds as a general truism

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Seems it's same in the US

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/jul/03/why-dont-black-people-run-marathons

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Currently handing out buns and cheese sandwiches around the 20mile mark (d*unk all our champsnge already)

With the exception of the elite runners the make up is roughly

95% white

4.9% - Asian

0.1% - black - I've rounded up

Running and Collecting for charity

Never noticed this before, any ideas why this is the racial make up Is vastly different from the elite (all black) and charity runners ?

It's just an observation of fact we noticed today, black chap in our party noticed it 1st "

Seems to roughly reflect most races I run which are predominantly in london and Hertfordshire. There is usually a wide range of nationalities but most of those nationalities seem to be Caucasian and predominantly European.

I think it is cultural, cycling also has a similar lack of diversity.

Equally you'll rarely find a french man playing cricket or an American playing rugby.

I realise I am using sone sweeping generalisations there

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

It's also worth noting that other than those competition at elite level or chasing that dream you'll rarely find a Kenya runner

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By *illwill69uMan
over a year ago

moston

"Genetics has nothing to do with it. Kenyans are only good at marathons because they train at altitude. "

Actually not quite true...

Negroes (the race) have shorter thicker Achilles tendons than the other races, resulting in making them better runners because the tendon releases its stored energy in a faster more explosive way than any of the other races thus making them more efficient runners. That's why since black athletes have had access to the same diets as white athletes they have become dominant in track events.

Similarly Caucasian (the race) have longer thinner Achilles tendons than the other races resulting in the release of stored energy in a much slower and less explosive way. Resulting in Caucasians being much more efficient swimmers and dominating swimming events.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

I thought I saw a slightly less 'white field' than that, but it is surprising in a diversity way. I really think it's just luck, unsure of how hey calculate the places from the ballot. A lot of international runners from outside England too, though most of those were white.

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By *acavityMan
over a year ago

Redditch

Whites / Caucasians are a relatively small off shoot of the human race descended from those Africans who migrated to Europe millenia ago. It's a genetic bottleneck.

Humans who remained in Africa are far more diverse, ranging from pygmies to the masai.

I don't know which branch of the family tree Kenyans are on, but presumably their particular ancestors found long distance running to be a benefit for survival and thus made the successful ones more likely to have children.

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By *lik and PaulCouple
over a year ago

cahoots

"Currently handing out buns and cheese sandwiches around the 20mile mark (d*unk all our champsnge already)

With the exception of the elite runners the make up is roughly

95% white

4.9% - Asian

0.1% - black - I've rounded up

Running and Collecting for charity

Looking at the latest UK demographics we are 87% white, 3% black (African and carribean) and 4% Asian so your observations seem to tally with national statistics except on the black front on this occasion.

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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

"Currently handing out buns and cheese sandwiches around the 20mile mark (d*unk all our champsnge already)

With the exception of the elite runners the make up is roughly

95% white

4.9% - Asian

0.1% - black - I've rounded up

Running and Collecting for charity

Interesting, my area has only a 50% population of white, perhaps that's why it was so noticeable

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Currently handing out buns and cheese sandwiches around the 20mile mark (d*unk all our champsnge already)

With the exception of the elite runners the make up is roughly

95% white

4.9% - Asian

0.1% - black - I've rounded up

Running and Collecting for charity

Never noticed this before, any ideas why this is the racial make up Is vastly different from the elite (all black) and charity runners ?

It's just an observation of fact we noticed today, black chap in our party noticed it 1st "

If only I'd known there were some fabbers handing out goodies at mile 20 I might have paused there for a while. Though I didn't factor cheese sandwiches into my pre-marathon training routine.

There was a good article in mens running mag last year that discussed the issue of participation in organised running by the black community in the UK. Research shows it is very low. The arrival of Parkrun hasn't improved things either, with low participation there from lower socio-economic groups and ethnic minorities. However, more people from ethnic minority groups are running in some form (ie: just going for a jog) and the figure has improved a lot in the last 10-15 years.

So your head count may well be not too far off the mark.

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