Happy March, Y’all

We at Citius Mag are constantly looking both ways at the intersection of SPORTS and CULTURE. At the heart of that intersection, at least during the awful month of March, is basketball. For a brief moment each year, passersby are united by whichever arbitrary team they’ve chosen to go all the way. Even if you’re not a fan of NCAA basketball, rest assured that during March, you could get in line at the grocery store, shake your head and say “what a game, huh?” and anyone–from frat boy to housewife, cat to dog–will meet your gaze and say “sure was nuts!”

But we can’t let basketball have all the fun. It’s peak madness season and that means we can use this time to answer some of life’s most pressing questions by running them through the gauntlet of a bracket. Today’s most pressing question: What is the greatest race ever run?

In order to judge the winners of this bracket the Citius Staff has employed the following factors across four distinct “regions” of running history. For your chance to win a prize, you should take these things to heart when filling out your own bracket:

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Did the outcome of this race directly influence an election? Was the loser immediately dragged from the stadium and executed? Did the underdog win? Did the blue collar runner take some scalps? Was the person who won exacting revenge of some sort?

DID THEY LOOK GOOD?

It’s happened countless times in racing history: someone with, like, 300 meters to go rips out everyone’s still beating hearts, pitches them into the black of space and never looks back. But let’s not put ourselves in a box with this one; there are many different ways to look good, win or lose. For example, back in 1999 my high school cross country coach placed 3rd in the Minnesota State High School League two mile. Despite being soundly beaten, he crossed the finish line with both arms above his head, his NUMBER ONES extended to the heavens.

WAS IT FAST?

This one is pretty straight forward. Was it a world record? Was at an national record? Was it a meet record? Was it a fast time by someone who hadn’t ran a fast time before? Was it a fast time by someone who hadn’t ran a fast time in a long time? Was it a fast time run by someone who was already very fast? I guess these questions don’t really matter. Maybe the true metric is whether or not you, at one point said “woof, that’s fast.”

So now, without further ado, we present your Citius Mag Footrace Fever Greatest Race Ever Run bracket. It’s the result of many sleepless nights, bloodshot mornings and consuming enough coffee to soften our gums for life. So you better appreciate it.

TWEET US YOUR BRACKET WITH #FootraceFever to submit your bracket. Share it with your friends! Pass it along to your teammates and coaches. Rock the vote.

FULL BRACKET DOWNLOAD HERE.

Classic race region (VOTE HERE)

• 1936 Berlin Olympics – Jesse Owens 100m vs. 1990 Commonwealth Games – Andrew Lloyd 5000m

• 1979 Boston Marathon – Bill Rodgers AR vs 1980 Moscow Olympics – Yifter the Shifter

• 1980 Moscow Olympics – Seb Coe 1500m vs 1970 Munich Olympics – Frank Shorter Marathon

• 1948 London Olympics – Zatopek 10k vs 1984 LA Olympics – Women’s 400mH

• 1972 Dave Wottle W/Hat vs. 1984 Zurich – Men’s 800m

• Steve Cram & Said Aouita sub 3:30 vs 1983 World Champs Womens 1500m

• 1964 Tokyo Olmpics – Billy Mills 10k vs 1980 Boston Marathon – Rosie Ruiz

• Hicham El Guerroj Mile WR vs. 1967 Boston Marathon – Katherine Switzer

Pop culture race region (VOTE HERE)

• Jerry Seinfield vs. Duncan Meyer vs. Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest

• Samuel L Jackson and Bruce Willis vs Simon VS The Office Michael Scott Fun Run

• Forrest Gump Runs Across America vs. Indiana Jones & The Boulder

• OJ Simpson on the Lam vs The Armageddon Asteroid

• Shaq and Tyson Gay Race vs John Connor & the Terminator

• Homer Simpson & the Marathon vs. Point Break Keanu & Patrick Swayze

• Kevin Hart & Jada Martin vs. Ferris Bueller & his Parents

• Marty McFly & a bolt of lightning VS Clarice Starling Obstacle course

Olympic race region (VOTE HERE)

• 2016 Rio Olympics – Wayde Van Niekerk vs 1984 LA Olympics Men’s 400mH

• 2016 Rio Olympics – Centro 1500m vs 1988 Seoul Olympics 5000m

• 2008 Beijing Olympics – Bekele 5000m vs 2016 Rio Olympics Jager 3000SC

• 2000 Sydney Olympics – Paul Tergat/Haile vs 1992 Barcelona Olympics Derek Redmond 400m

• 1996 Atlanta Olympics – Michael Johnson 200m vs 2004 Athens Olympics – Men’s Marathon

• 2012 London Olympics – David Rudisha WR vs 1984 LA Olympics Joan Benoit wins

• 1992 Barcelona Olympics – Women’s 1500m vs 2016 Rio Olympics Almaz Ayana WR

• 2008 Beijing Olympics – Usain Bolt vs 2012 London Olympics – 400m Sanya Richards-Ross gold

Domestic race region (VOTE HERE)

• 2010 Payton Jordan – Solinsky 10k vs 2016 World Indoor Championships – Ryan Hill

• 2014 Boston Marathon – Meb! vs 2011 Ryan Hall 2:04

• 1996 Atlanta Olympics – Women’s 100m vs 2009 Pre Classic Women’s 1500m

• Jim Ryun 3:58 vs 1984 Olympic Trials 800

• 2007 Pre Classic Daniel Komen vs 2008 Olympic Trials 800m

• 2001 Pre Classic Alan Webb HS Mile vs 2001 US Champs 5K

• 1996 Atlanta Olympics 1500m vs 2012 Olympic Trials Women’s 100m DEAD HEAT

• 2007 Reebok Grand Prix 100m vs 2013 US Champs 5K Final (LOL)

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We definitely know for a fact that we may have overlooked some races and we’re planning on putting together a post on some of the major races that we may have missed. Sorry, Pre. Sorry, Gerry Lindgren. Sorry, Allyson Felix. If you have any major race that you think was snubbed. Shoot us an email at citiusmag@gmail.com or tweet us.