Vorstellung » roach in to the 15th and was unable to save par fr

When I ran the Portland Marathon earlier this month, I expected a few things: a hard workout, a medal and a burger and a beer sometime shortly after crossing the finish line.I didnt expect more talk about what makes a real runner and whose times really matter.My best marathon time is 4:18:30, a bit faster than the typical female American marathon finisher. Im proud of this. I havent been graced with a lithe body or the leg muscle fiber composition that could fling me fast through 26.2 miles. And it takes a lot of long, lonely miles out on the road -- and hill repeats and track workouts and eating right and sleeping enough -- to get me there.Still, I have friends who can bang out a sub-four-hour marathon without seriously training, and Ive interviewed pros who can run a marathon in close to half my time. I know fast people, but I do the best with what Ive got -- and thats OK by me.On Oct. 9, I ran the Portland Marathon, my seventh full, and I did it as a training run for the New York City Marathon. But I was in a group of participants that most likely ended up running an extra half mile.Event director Les Smith said he still isnt sure what happened and that theyre still investigating. But so far he thinks that some runners were sent the wrong way after there was a longer-than-usual time gap between group starts in order to allow for a train to pass. He thinks that a volunteer may have thought all the runners had gone by and left his or her post.At first I didnt notice the extra half mile (I didnt race with a GPS watch), and then shrugged when I found out. Hey -- things happen. But then, according to an interview with Oregon Live, Smith said, We think that the people who were involved with that are not normally Boston qualifiers. The only thing that would happen is it would impact their personal best.Then he added, Its not a big deal.But any four-hour-plus marathon runner would agree that it is a big deal, and Smith wholeheartedly agreed when I called him Monday to talk about what happened. He says he was misquoted there and by local TV station KPTV and feels sick about the fall out, both that runners were sent the wrong way, and that runners -- and me -- would think he didnt care about our achievements.Ive run over 50 marathons, he said. The reason I became the race director is because Im back of the pack. Ive always been.As the sport of running has expanded and grown, letting in runners who may not have even attempted a 5K before, marathon times have slowed. In 1980, when U.S. marathons had 143,000 finishers, the median marathon finish time was 4:03:39 for women and 3:32:17 for men, according to Running USA. In 2015, those numbers shifted to 509,000 finishers with median times of 4:45:30 for women and 4:20:13 for men.Much of that participation growth has come from women. In 1980, only 10 percent of U.S. marathon finishers were women. In 2015, women made up 44 percent.This is great and a welcome change -- the more people who can find and thrive in the sport, the better. But there are still holdouts (mostly older and faster runners) who wring their hands at this inclusion. They think were ruining the sport. Were called weekend warriors, hobby joggers, a waste of race resources -- that we take spots of real runners who train hard enough to care.But we care. This isnt a hobby for us. I dedicate a significant amount of time and energy into being the best possible runner I can be with the body God gave me. Even though I finished Portland a half hour over my fastest marathon time, it was a still a victory because I was able to fly across the country, run a race in a new-to-me city -- in the rain, by myself -- and still run well.Just because the result is not within spitting range of a Boston Marathon qualifying time doesnt mean that my effort or anyone elses is any less important -- nor should it be any less important to people who put on races.Thats why Smith is so apoplectic that people think he feels otherwise. Thats ridiculous, he said when I asked him if he really believes our times didnt matter, pointing out that a reason the half and full marathons have a walking option is because he wants everyone to feel invited.Thats good. Im relieved. Im used to bearing the slings and arrows about my times from less charitable runners, but the idea that someone who puts on a marathon would feel this way too stung. The sport has come so far since the 1980s, when the field was rail thin and mostly male. I dont want to be pushed back.Jen A. Miller is author of Running: A Love Story. Ryan Kalil Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Greg Little Youth Jersey . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.thepanthersofficialstore.com/authentic-greg-little-panthers-jersey/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Greg Little Panthers Jersey . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Christian McCaffrey Jersey . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals.Rory McIlroy believes his game is heading in the right direction after making an encouraging start to his Northern Trust Open debut. The four-time major champion kicked off his first of five tournaments in a six-week stretch with a four-under 67 at Riviera Country Club, keeping him within one stroke of the clubhouse leaders Chez Reavie, Bubba Watson and Luke List.McIlroys gym-heavy training regime was brought in to question ahead of the West Coast Swing finale, with concerns raised about the risk of injury, but the world No 3 was encouraged by his start to the week as he chases a first win of the year. Its a great golf course and Im glad I got off to a good start, McIlroy said. I put myself out of position a couple of times, but with the way the golf course was playing it didnt punish you much. McIlroy mixed five birdies with a bogey during his opening round I felt like my pace on the greens was good and I lag-putted well. All of the things that you need to do around this golf course, I did pretty well today.Beginning on the back nine, McIlroy followed a seven-foot birdie at the 10th by finding the green in two at the monster 589-yard par-five next and two-putting from distance. McIlroys only blemish of the day came when he found the rough with his approach in to the 15th and was unable to save par from 12 feet, but the Northern Irishman bounced back with a gain at the 17th.ddddddddddddAlthough a tap-in birdie at the first lifted McIlroy within two of early pacesetter Reavie, the world No 3 struggled to find his rhythm and was unable to convert a number of chances along the closing stretch.After carding a string of pars and missing a 10-footer at the sixth, McIlroy pitched to three feet at the par-four next to post a fifth and final birdie of the day. The world No 3 opened with back-to-back birdies at Riviera Country Club I really like it (Riviera), McIlroy added. Id heard a lot of good things about the golf course. Ive watched it on TV a lot of times and having now seen it and played it, it has lived up to every expectation.It wouldve been nice to play the golf course a little firmer than it was this morning, but hopefully it will as the week goes on and presents a challenge.I feel really comfortable with my game at the moment. I feel like my game is in good shape and I can get in to contention.Watch the Northern Trust Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Or watch from £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Also See: Rory plays down gym concerns Masters on McIlroys mind WATCH: Rivieras rich history Golf live on Sky Sports 4 ' ' '