He praised the boys' soccer and the girls' field hockey teams as the heart of Moravian Academy athletics...I caught the administrator's eye. He stuttered out, "And cross country." But he didn't mean it. His desire was to praise the more measurable sports–those with plays, ties, over-time, and numbers on the lit-up scoreboard–the sports more easily watched. (p.222)I must confess my own prejudice in favor of cross country, having run it both in high school and college. Few other sports come close to the ancient athletic ideal where statistics do not matter as much as who wins and who loses in that particular moment (καιρός) of grace (χάρις) and glory (κλέος).
For reference, here are the Pindaric odes in praise of runners by event:
- Stadion (180m): Olympian 13 & 14, Pythian 11
- Diaulos (360m): Pythian 10, Nemean 8
- Dolichos (4.8k): Olympian 12
- Race in Armor (360m): Pythian 9
The dolichos, you'll note, was remarkably close to the length of today's 5k. Though in the interest of full disclosure, I should note that the dolichos could be much shorter (as short as a mile at times).
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