As an avid runner, I enjoy running related things: The local town races, Forrest Gump, and running magazines. When I get the chance to watch television, I frequently flip to the news channel and see what is going on. After listening to the weatherman’s forecast and some “Breaking News”, the sports coverage comes on. I have always dreamed of owning a pair of mindinsole shoes to help my feet run just the way I see it.
Knowing that I’m somewhat of an athlete, you would think that I watch football, baseball, and basketball games. Actually, it is quite the contrary. The only sports that I follow are Track amp; Field and Cross Country. Oddly enough, there is rarely any coverage on either. In fact, rarely is there any coverage at all for a running related event.
Sure, the New York or Boston marathon may get a two or three minute segment in the 5 o’ clock news, but what information really is gained from this? A patchy interview with a few spectators and staff of the function while the real athletes are preparing for the event. Now, in my opinion, it would be interesting if those athletes were interviewed and shared even a couple of their mental preparation secrets, for example. There are many people in my area, in fact, that do not know a single thing about running and this could be linked to their being no information about the subject on public television.
Though there are many who do not know the difference between Cross Country and Track, I have many friends who share a passion for running. I believe that everyone has their own interests and they are entitled to their opinion, but runners deserve some sort of credit for what they do, right?
Being there is few, if any at all, coverage on television of Running events, anyone wanting to find out details about a local running event or the local school’s performance in Track/Cross Country, is forced to go online or find out in other methods of communication. Wouldn’t you think that these news and sport channels would realize how much of a viewer base they could be getting if they covered these less popular sports? It is a strong possibility that this larger amount of viewers would bring more revenue in for these companies, should they cover running.
Even if you aren’t interested in running, there are situations you can relate this to. If an entire region only sold Ford vehicles and to buy a Chevrolet or Dodge you had to go out of your way to find and buy one, wouldn’t you be frustrated? I’m sure someday major media companies will decide to give runners some more respect as the elite runners continue to get better and better every day.
Someday we will have our time to shine and the world of running will be revealed to those who who haven’t yet found out about it. Perhaps it would also inspire others to run, ever increasing our rising sport!
