Leaving aside all the physical dangers inherent in the sport, rugby is often seen by many as an ideal  sport as it caters for people of all shapes and sizes; tall and small, heavy and light, fast and steady, all  types are needed and valued. In a similar and perhaps even better way, athletics is a wonderful sport  as everyone can find an event that suits them, whether it is running, jumping or throwing. Not only  are there many different events, even within those events there are many differences which again  cater for different attributes and builds; in running there are the standard twelve running races in a  traditional athletics meeting (from 100 metres through to the marathon, including those with  jumping elements) to the fun ones at junior schools (egg and spoon race, sack race, obstacle race,  three-legged race) to the bizarre ones in society (mud race, husband-carrying-wife race, pushing  cheese race being only some). Folk who are suited to some events are not suited to others.  

There are lots of different races and all of them are exciting in their own way; all have real interest,  merit, and intrigue, and each requires a particular skill or mindset but we cannot say that one race is  better than another. We might think that the 100 metres is more exciting than the 5000 metres but  many will disagree (not least the competitors in those events) while each one requires people to  perform in different ways. We may consider that Usain Bolt was the greatest sprinter in the world  but no-one can say he was the best athlete; Mo Farah was an extraordinary performer in the 5,000  meters and 10,000 metres but no-one can say he was the greatest athlete. Usain Bolt would not do  well in the 10,000 metres while Mo Farah would not do well in the 100 metres. Each had their own  race and excelled in what they did in it; they were great athletes. Some need speed, others need  stamina; some require skill, others tactics. The race is not important; the manner in which they run it  is. Each runner is proud of his own race and would no doubt love his race more than any other but  he will not think it is the best race.  

Of course, the relay races are often even more exciting as these involve not simply one person but  several; the runners are dependent on others, and not just one but several. All have to work  together if they are to do well. One runner will undoubtedly be faster than others in the team but he  still depends on the other runners. The race requires all to contribute and compete.  

There are obvious lessons that we can learn from these comments, most notably with regard to life  lessons and education lessons. We can liken the runners to schools and note that there are different  schools, each of which can cater for different children with their unique and individual abilities,  attitudes and skills. No school is better or more important than another school. Secondly, we can  liken the runners to individual children and point out that each one is different but none are more  important, none are better. Each have their own special abilities and each is important.  

However, there is yet another lesson from these comments that is equally important. Just as in  athletics, when we say that no one race is better than another, so in society we can conclude that no  one race or ethnic group is better than another. Society has categorised people into different races  and many have tried to argue that some races are more important, valued or superior to others but  as in athletics this is entirely untrue, irresponsible and unhelpful. The statements we noted with  regard to races in athletics equally apply to races in society. We said that “There are lots of different  races and all of them are exciting in their own way; all have real interest, merit, and intrigue”; we  said that “Each had their own race and excelled in what they did in it”; we said that “Each runner is  proud of their own race and would no doubt love their race more than any other but they will not  think it is the best race”. We said that “The race requires all to contribute and compete”. We noted  that “The race was not important; the manner in which they ran it was”.  

And the bottom line, in fact, is that as we use the word ‘athletics’ in place of lots of different races,  so when we talk of races in society we talk about the human race, not different races. Many people  have pointed out that “there is only one race, the human race” and the sooner we have children (of  

all shapes and sizes, all races and classes) understanding that, the better chance we will have of  them achieving what is more important than simply winning – and that is running the human race.