Strides Speak Louder Than Words

One of the most powerful stories shared in Malcolm Gladwell's book Blink, is the story of the Getty Museum Kouros. A Kouros is a statue from Ancient Greece of a nude male youth. Very few complete Kouros's exist. The ones that do are priceless. An art dealer approached the Getty Museum about purchasing the complete Kouros they now own in 1983 and the Getty commissioned two scientific studies to make sure it wasn't a forgery. Both confirmed the Kouros was genuine. But almost as soon as the Getty bought the Kouros, expert art historians protested its authenticity. Little things struck these experts as off. The fingernails did not look right. It had a fresh appearance that did not match with a two thousand year old artifact. These experts also made this determination in a blink of an eye. Science had determined the statue was genuine and experts came to a completely different conclusion. 

That story kept on going through my head as I watched Galen Rupp and 25 of the best American distance runners circle the Hayward Field track last night 25 times in 91 degree heat. The conditions were brutal and the field suffered. Even though a dozen runners stayed together late in the race, there was growing carnage at the back of the field. 

With two laps to go, Nike Oregon Project runner Galen Rupp, still looking fresh, broke the pack up with at 57 second lap. He followed that up with a concluding lap of under 60 and a last 1/2 mile well under 2 minutes. He won in brutal conditions so easily over the best in America that despite his and his coaches protests, one had to blink and say "is what we just saw real." 

I am in Eugene through the weekend taking part in what should be an annual celebration of American track and field as we choose our best to represent us at the World Champs. I have loved this sport since the first moment I realized how beautiful and graceful powerful running can be. But the issue that we are all wondering today is who is real and who is a forgery. 

The authenticity of the Getty Kouros is still debated today. over 30 years later. Track and field is the mother of all sports. If the authenticity of its best performances are going to be debated for the next 30 years, all sport and our culture is in trouble. 

So Yes Nike Running -- strides do speak louder than words.