Although I am not a dedicated follower of long-distance running I have always been impressed by the turnouts at the Boston and New York marathons. I do know that is has been many years since an American has won a marathon and I was elated to learn that Meb Keflezighi, became the first American man to win the New York City marathon in nearly 30 years. Unfortunately, I also learned that racism and nativism are still with us as numerous people on online forums question his 'Americanness.' He was born in Ethiopia and emigrated to the United States when he was 12. It was here in the United States where he received all this long-distance training, but there are still those who dispute his 'Americanness.' It seems we still have much work to do to eradicate racism and nativism. How sad.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/sports/03runner.html?_r=1
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