Nike, Boston Marathon, and Media Literacy

Nike, Media Literacy and Boston Marathon

We’ve lost the ability to recognize when something isn’t meant for us, and instead of moving on, we demand it changed while refusing to change ourselves.

Ahead of the Boston Marathon, which is being run today as I write, Nike put out the now infamous sign. The billboard read, “Runners Welcomed, Walkers Tolerated.”, and the running community went crazy.

When I first saw the sign the only thought I really had was, “Folks are gonna lose it over this.” That’s it, nothing else. Upon seeing the inevitable explosion of commentary on it, I really started thinking.

I understood what most creators were saying. That the ad wasn’t inclusive to the 99% of whom do walk during marathons, let alone trail ultras. Which is true but that’s not who Nike was targeting.

Before starting my ultrarunning journey, I ran a road marathon. While finishing, I looked over at my daughter and said, “I’m never fucking doing this again.” I damn sure meant it too. Then

I discovered the world of trail & ultrarunning. Before I knew it, I was completing 50K’s, 50 milers, 100K and 100 miles.

During the course of all those events, there A LOT of walking ! At times I probably did more walking than running, to be honest. Even in my training I do a lot of walking, sometimes I need to, sometimes I’m just lazy. But I’m also not trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon, which leads me to the point of all this.

The Boston Marathon is arguably the most famous footrace in the world, and in the marathon world it is the pinnacle. Some runners spend their whole lives training and working to get a BQ (Boston Qualifier Time). Iust looking at the BQ times you would see, runners are not achieving those times by walking.

Should Nike of used a different message? Maybe. Did Nike do this to create a buzz, because Adidas is the title sponsor of the Boston Marathon? Certainly possible. Or was it just a sign to motivate and congratulate those who earned the opportunity to take the turn down Boylston Street? I believe a bit of it all.

Was Nike trying to insult back of the packers and normal people? Not at all. More of us regular folks buy Nike running shoes than non-walkers ever will, and it ain’t even close. So, there’s no motivation to alienate 99% of their business. So, why is everyone so upset?

In my opinion we have lost the ability to say, “This is not for me.” Instead of asking ourselves, “Why doesn’t this include me?” How about we ask, “Who is this for?” This simple shift in thinking could save all of us a lot of time and a lot of outrage.

To me, this is no different than people who complain or feel aggrieved by Taylor Swift. Whether it’s about her music, her tours, or her private life, some folks have a need to tell everyone they don’t like it. Rather than just saying, “I’m not her target audience.” Sometimes even making it into a whole personality trait.

I don’t know about you, if a song comes on that I don’t like, I skip it. That’s the beauty of today, for us older folks. Back in my day we were stuck listening on the radio till the next song comes on. There is a ton of great art out in the world and we have a lot more opportunity to consume it. But not all of it is for every single person, and that’s what makes it beautiful and special.

So why do we act like this? My guess is, somewhere along the line we started feeling everything is personal.  We all have unfettered access to the world, but we are challenged by not being at the center of it. Our interpretation of everything becomes, if it is not about me, then something is wrong. When, in fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

The truth is you are fine just the way you are. Understanding that not all content is aiming for you, can give a huge piece of mind. You begin realizing you’re not being rejected, the message was never for you.

I didn’t write my book for everyone, anyone can read it, but they might not enjoy it. I didn’t write this essay for everyone; I wrote it, mostly, for me. My podcast isn’t for everyone either, we welcome anyone to listen, but you aren’t going to agree with everything said.

This freedom allows us to have clarity and intention, rather than mass appeal. That’s the beauty of it all. But, something more beautiful than all of that is, simply saying, that’s dumb and moving on.