Boston Marathon registration closed

[Kory Wheatley]

Thanks for the reminder to backup my blog to .csv. I'd hate to lose all that data if Sasha shuts down the site.

Paul - Great reminder I haven't backed up my blog for a while. It's also good to do in case of a disk/hardware failure.  But I would think Sasha is replicating Mysql on another system.

[Paul Petersen]

Oh, I'm sure it's being replicated. My concern it more about Sasha getting sick of dealing with ungrateful people who disagree with him, and plain shutting the site down. Or if I ever get banned for life from the FRB for running Boston and spending too much money, at least I'll have a backup my log.

[Sasha Pachev]

Clyde -  I'll be happy to refund you your donation if you think that it gives you the right to complain. Let me know if I should. Same for everybody else. As a side note, those who complain for the most part are not those who have donated, so I am not going to lose a whole lot of money if all the complainers ask for their money back.

Paul - I have considered shutting down the site over the last year. Not because of spending too much money on Boston, but because of the negative aspects of the popular culture taking over the site with the spirit of excellence eroding .  I do not want Fast Running Blog to be another Facebook or Twitter with some running mixed in, I want it to be where people overcome their limits, reach for the stars, and in the process get closer to God.  I felt it was being turned into a somewhat LDS-flavored but spiritually empty Facebook with running mixed in, and it started to feel lame.  I did not want to have anything to do with a site like this and considered shutting it down seriously enough to take the matter to the Lord in prayer.

However, when I prayed I felt that in spite of that the site is still worth running for the sake of others who are different, even if it is becoming a silent minority. I have since felt tempted to pray again, and ask the same question, but I always remember the experience of Martin Harris, so I decided against it. In short, I do not plan on closing the site.

But backing up your data is a good idea regardless.

[Jon Allen]

If you did think of shutting it down, would you consider selling/transferring it to someone else instead?

[jtshad]

Wow, that close to shutting down and/or that close to driving people to other running sites?   

Sasha, how exactly does someone qualifying for and deciding to pay for a trip to actually run the Boston Marathon contribute to  "the negative aspects of the popular culture taking over the site with the spirit of excellence eroding"?   Running Boston is about overcoming limitations and it is run on Monday so it doesn't lead people to run on Sunday...

[Superfly]

No Sasha I don't want our donations back. I love the site and have used it a million times over the last 4 years. I love the friendship I've developed with you and all the other running buddies. I just like to stir the pot once in a while. I don't really think of it as complaining. You have to have a little sense of humor with everything I post. However I do think you could be a little more open minded... not really for me but others who join and may not know you like some of us do.
Anyways Thanks Sasha for the site and the fun times I've enjoyed because of it... "Where's Google"? Hopefully we can all get fully healthy again sometime down the road and have one more fun relay or big marathon with lots of PR's.

[Paul Petersen]

Paul is: waxing nostalgic for the old-school FastRunningBlog.
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[Jon Allen]

Paul is: waxing nostalgic for the old-school FastRunningBlog.

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[Sasha Pachev]

Jon - I am not shutting it down no matter how frustrated I get. Read Doctrine and Covenants sections  5 and 10. If the Lord said something once, I am not going to ask him again hoping to get a different answer.

Jeff - as I said earlier, it is not because people spend money on going to Boston. It is because the "going" appeared to me to stand above accomplishing or serving. When "going" is mixed with accomplishing, you cannot tell which one the people value more. But, when for the sake of a mental experiment I suggested two things to test the importance of "going", it showed that "going" was a decisive winner. It won against accomplishing in the test "will you be happy to run a local marathon instead if it offered benefits to those who have achieved the BQ standard?", and against serving in "will you be happy to run a local marathon instead and donate the money you saved or at least a portion to a worthy cause?"  Maybe in the heat of the debate my suggestions were not properly understood.

Going back to the original subject. I talked to Hyrum (race director of the Utah Valley Marathon) and he said he would give a $5 entree fee discount and a special shirt for those who have a current Boston qualifier. He will also have a special shirt for those who reach BQ for the first time in his race even if they start the race as non-BQ. So those who did not get in to Boston can run Utah Valley and get a special experience that confirms to them they've accomplished something without having to travel so far. Even for somebody, let's say, in Texas, I would imagine a trip to Provo would cost a whole lot less than to Boston. Even if a blogger cannot accommodate them, hotel fees here are much lower.

Another Boston idea. Save the money for the trip. Then put it into a Kiva account and lend it to help people in developing countries start a business. Spread it out among several borrowers to reduce the risk. Then once the money has been repaid, take it out and use it to go to Boston. It takes about a year, at least that is what I got on my loan. The repayment rate is something like 99.9%, and while you get no interest, it is not much worse than your money market or CD right now anyway. So you do not lose a whole lot, but for the small price of a little bit of discipline and being willing to delay the gratification you can help around 10 people get out of poverty.

[jtshad]

Sasha, if "going" was not a part of the accomplishment, why establish the importance of accomplishing the goal in the first place.  Life is about experiences and I can tell you from first hand experience that running Utah Valley Marathon is not at all like running Boston (no offense to Hyrum).  I didn't run Boston twice to "get the shirt" and having UVM provide me a shirt would not make me change my mind to run Boston.   The "benefit" of running Boston is the whole experience of the race and the community/town/culture, not the shirt.  It is being part of something bigger and going to a place to take in the culture and history that Boston has to offer (Provo just doesn't compare by any means).  If  going to somewhere else to experience that location was not important in peoples lives, then why do people travel to any non-local race (e.g St. George for non-southern Utah residents) to run let alone just take vacations?  So, "going" to Boston is intergrally tied to "achieving" the BQ. 

As far as the service aspect, why can't I do both if I have the means?  I choose to travel to races and take vacations and still give back to others in my local community and farther afield.  Why make these linked and exclusionary, they really have nothing to do with one another and my choosing to experience Boston by no means stands above my desire to serve my Lord and my community.

[Sasha Pachev]

Jeff - I agree with you that traveling experiences are good. I am just saying that in the order of priorities they should not be as high as we put them.

The "exclusionary" aspect comes from the limitation of resources relative to need. We live during hard times. Even in the US many people are either unemployed or under-employed. Even those who have jobs are on a shaky footing. If we think life is hard here, in other countries it is even more challenging.

Thus the question arises on what to do with the little bit of extra money that ends up in our hands. It is a common trend to spend it immediately on something like a vacation. With the opportunities we have today, if you waited a year to go on that vacation you could help a few people in Peru, Cambodia, Nigeria, or some other country start a business that would break the cycle of poverty in their family. Plus, at the end of that year, if something happened to your job that extra money would still be there to help you out while you were looking for a new one.

I am not saying that is the only right way to manage the extra money. There are probably a whole lot of other ways we could use the blessing of solid cash flow we've been given to make the world a better place.  I am just saying that if you pause, think, and reevaluate, you might see a better way.

When somebody says about a trip or some other expense that it "was worth every penny", I cannot help but wonder about how much thought they've put into that statement. I must admit I have never participated in a financial transaction that was "worth every penny" for reasons of opportunity cost. Mostly likely I have missed a better opportunity. Granted, we cannot spend eternity wondering about the best opportunity, but it does help to stop, think, and pray if you believe in prayer, for at least a moment before you move on.

Perhaps the reason I am sensitive to this issue is because my own life was changed at a critical moment when somebody else who was blessed with money at the time paused for a second and decided to invest it into my education instead of other things. The amount he had to spend was about what it would cost to go on a vacation to Europe for a week - after that I was able to stand on my own. To this day I am grateful that he thought of me at that time before he thought of the vacation.

[jtshad]

When somebody says about a trip or some other expense that it "was worth every penny", I cannot help but wonder about how much thought they've put into that statement. I must admit I have never participated in a financial transaction that was "worth every penny" for reasons of opportunity cost.

Too bad, sounds like you need to plan your "financial transactions" better.

[Cal Stauffer]

It's really just an expression and probably isn't said or probably shouldn't be interpreted literally...   It could easily be replaced with "It was a fun trip" or "We had a fun time" or "I would do it again"  or any number of things along those lines.

Personally, I had a good time when I went to Boston.  I enjoyed the trip and the race and i'm happy that I went.  I probably won't go again any time soon because it was expensive and i have other priorities right now.  But its not like the money I spent was wasted or destroyed.  Every cent went into somebody's pocket.  We're part of a complex economy and the tourism industry is a valid part of that.  flight attendants, bus boys, hotel clerks, etc.  They are all making an honest living and benefitting from the spending that takes place on these trips.

[Cheryl Keith]

Cal--good point.  If everyone were to stop taking trips, what would that do to all the people who depend on tourism for a living?

[dave rockness]

I may have been "guilty" for saying every penny.  Perhaps I used it as an expression of speech.  At the same time, my family is on a very strict budget and we make certain sacrifices to prioritize a trip in our lives like Boston.  Could there have been a penny wasted?  Maybe.  However, I still do not regret a single expenditure- including the $8 spent on slurpees at the 7/11.  The clerk recognized my wife and I from graduate school days and gave all 6 of my children a treat "on the house".  

I can agree to disagree with Sasha with no hard feelings (or guilty ones).  btw- I really do appreciate the use of this blog.  Maybe a few minutes wasted in which I could be helping a friend or neighbor in need, yet nevertheless an enjoyable use of my time .