Running, horse racing and culture

Two different articles about sports caught my eye recently for their connection to culture.

The first story was about the rise of women runners from Ethiopia.  It focused in part on Tirunesh Dibaba, the current world record holder in the 5,000 meters, and on the astonishing number of champion runners that hail from her region of Ethiopia.

The paved road south from Addis Ababa ends after 100 miles near the village of Asela, the hometown of Haile Gebrselassie, widely considered the greatest distance runner. From there, four-wheel-drive vehicles are needed to navigate the next 30 gravel, potholed miles to Bekoji, situated on a plateau at approximately 10,000 feet, surrounded by wheat fields.

Internet and cellphone service are not yet available in Bekoji, Tirunesh Dibaba said, but the town is as fertile for growing runners as it is for producing grain. … The climate is temperate and the altitude enhances oxygen-carrying capacity. Running is the transportation of everyday existence for many youngsters — for hauling water, for gathering firewood, for traveling to market, for going to and from school.

The second piece I noticed was about Barbaro, the great racing horse who was euthanized recently after never fully recovering from injuries suffered last spring.  The article used the Barbaro story to compare horse racing in the United States and Europe, and it included this nugget of information:

American racing has followed American culture, with an emphasis on short, exciting bursts of speed. In Europe, where organized racing began, tradition takes precedence, with a focus on longer races over rolling turf courses. In the United States, racing has evolved into a statistician’s paradise, dense with timed workouts, speed ratings and dosage figures. On the gallops in France or England, I have yet to see a stopwatch.

I’ve always been aware of the discrepancy between the U.S. and some other cultures in track and field, where Americans often produce great sprinters but few champion distance runners.  Great marathoners, in fact, are revered in parts of Africa and Asia in ways that Americans could never fathom.  However, it hadn’t occurred to me that there were differences in horse racing, as well, and that perhaps this is due, at least in part, to cultural preferences.

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