This conversation just shows how subjective even a term like "fat" is. (And I'm certainly uncomfortable using it.) More to the point is that people don't allow a term like that to prevent them from trying out running.

It could also be that the heavier ones at that time stand out more and therefore seem more represented than they really are.

Alcohol magically turns whatever I'm wearing into the equivalent of a nasty old bathrobe. (But seriously, why haven't I been wearing bathrobes/pajamas to bars all this time?)

This is what I look like after a few hours at a bar/party, when I am still convinced that I'm super-hot.

Perfect! Now I know what I can do with the bag of scrunchies my mother-in-law has been collecting for me over the past 10 years! (Seriously, she gets them at second-hand stores and just gave the whole bunch to me last week. The perils of long hair.)

I found that a lot of people there had no problem with mixing religions in day-to-day earnest practice either. So you might go to a Christian church now and again and visit Bhuddist temples and get married in a Shinto shrine, all in earnest. And now I miss Christmas cake!

I don't know if they're still in business, but when I lived in Japan there were Bhudda-themed bars and the same company ran the Christon Cafe which was basically just what you describe. It had a great wine list! As someone raised but no longer Catholic, I loved it. But I wouldn' t touch the Ganesh bedspread with a…

That's not what I've observed. My sister is around the 3:30 mark and she's often surrounded by a pretty wide variety of body types. (Anecdata from watching her in 3 races/year, so do with that what you will.)

Yay! We often say Russian when we mean Belorusian too!

My husband's relatives in Belarus have even less than this, but you're right- they make it work (mostly because there is no other option). There's a lesson there for us...

I often wonder to what depth will working conditions have to descend for this to happen. Like, will we have to have people dying in factory fires when they're locked in for 14-hour days? Cause we're almost there.

One difference: most Russian women own very few clothes compared to Westerners, so that dress gets worn day after day but maintained meticulously.

That's the best part of watching a marathon! You can see just about any body type you can imagine and body type is no predictor of time! I always walk away totally inspired.

She fully missed the concept about education having a great deal to do what you as an individual put into it. Glad you made it work!

The face!!!

I teared up when I saw that picture. Such love.

This reflects so much on the viewers and their hangups. If you are so offended, you can just look away, but you claim to need these images to be removed so you can't look at them.

I wonder if the age of all involved exacerbated the situation. In my experience, 14 is probably the worst age for lack of self-awareness/perspective combined with hormones really flowing and little impulse control. The kids around me (and often me too, sadly) were so terrible to each other and to our teachers then. So…

I like your point about thinking that a problem like that can be solved so we can move on to other things. It's frightening to confront an issue generation after generation.

This is it. Most people think that court decisions like this "ended" racism. Do you really think a generation or two is enough to change such entrenched attitudes? Gotta keep fighting the good fight.