"Is That a Radio Station?"

Yesterday I wore a shirt with huge numbers which read, "26.2" and the word "Portland" by it. I was in a local Starbucks ordering my Venti Iced Coffee with two Splenda, when the young woman at the register said, "What kind of music do they play?" "Excuse me?" I asked. "Is that a radio station in Portland?" I explained it was referring to a marathon. She still looked confused, but a co-worker told her the number meant miles in a race. Stunned, she said, "You mean you actually RAN 26.2 miles?"

I not only told her I did, but I have run a few of them. Her co-worker chimed in that he came from a running family and used to run, and he did marathons. I asked him which was his favorite one, and he told me about a 10K he ran a few years back. A 10K? He called it a a 10K marathon. So much for coming from a running family.

Let's review:

5K - 3.1 miles
10K - 6.2 miles
Half Marathon - 13.1 miles
Marathon - 26.2 miles
Ultra Marathon - Anything beyond 26.2 miles

Only one of those is called a marathon, and it ain't the 10K. I have heard this all before. In my running career, I have heard marathon attached to just about any distance. Yes, I know, I know, to that person it may seem like a marathon to them, but I am picky about this. I have run these things, and it was nothing like a 5K.

Then there is the term Mini Marathon. In Indiana, people use that term a lot to describe a half marathon, mostly thanks to the annual 500 Mini Marathon in May in Indianapolis. So I usually hear people talk about this mini or that mini.

Just to confuse people further, the good folks at the Rock n Roll group have created a Mini Marathon in conjunction with their half marathon in Chicago. This distance is 3 miles. Wouldn't that make it a mini mini mini marathon? And really...why not just add the .1 and make it a 5K. Come on!

Am I sounding grumpy about this? Yes. I just like correct terminology. I suppose that's where my mother comes out in me.

Charlie