Success is Not Always Determined by Where You Finish

I recall an era a long time ago when track and field was a high profile sport in the U.S. I became involved in running and racing because of what I saw and read about the sport when I was young.  Unfortunately, running is no longer a high profile sport. Track and Field gets minimal coverage these days. The  public's interest has now shifted to pro sports like basketball, baseball and football.
What follows is an attempt to describe an often forgotten aspect of sports and athletic competition plus reaffirm the fact that winning, unlike what everyone seems to believe, is not the be all, end all of competition.
I've observed, and come to the conclusion, that U.S. fans no longer possess any kind of aptitude into what middle and long distance racing are all about. I believe they once understood that it is not the nature of competitive running for someone to win everytime out, and more importantly, that even the greatest of runners will lose on occasion. Now, in sports like football, hockey, baseball and basketball there is always a clear winner, someone comes in first, someone loses. I remember when Alberto Salazar was the world's best marathoner and won most of the races he entered. Then one time he came in 5th at a marathon overseas against the world's best distance runners. The overall response to this finish by the general public, press, and even some U.S. running magazines, was that he had failed. I believe I picked up a similar reaction when Frank Shorter came in second at the 1976 Olympic marathon. Again,the, 'if you don't come in first you're a loser' mentality doesn't apply to distance running or many other athletic contests either.
Consequently,it is not surprising that in recent years people have now become so outcome oriented in their view of  personal competition that they lose sight of something very important about competition. It is not all about winning or the personal records that you may set, but as Kenny Moore wrote, it's"in knowing that you learned how to be brave and to do something better than you first thought you could."
I would add to that--knowing that you committed,disciplined and focused yourself in a way you probably never thought you could--and---- irregardless  of how you finished --- you derived great pleasure and satisfaction from the whole process.
Don't lose sight of that truth.
Tough work day---stretched before and after.
What did you do?