Why were people running the NYC Marathon with pineapples on their heads?
November 4, 2019 10:24 AM Subscribe
I watched about an hour of the NYC Marathon yesterday to cheer on some friends as they ran through my neighborhood. I noticed that there were many runners who ran with stuffed pineapples strapped to the top of their heads or their foreheads. They were not running as a team. What's up with this?
I did notice that the majority (although not all) were Asian and had Japanese flags displayed somewhere on their outfits. Also, when I googled, I came across this guy, who has an ACTUAL pineapple balanced on his head. The people I saw all had stuffed versions, and they were not all the same (some had faces or arms or legs, others were basic stuffed pineapples), so it didn't seem to be a popular character, like the many Marios and Luigis I saw running.
So, anyone know what this is all about?
I did notice that the majority (although not all) were Asian and had Japanese flags displayed somewhere on their outfits. Also, when I googled, I came across this guy, who has an ACTUAL pineapple balanced on his head. The people I saw all had stuffed versions, and they were not all the same (some had faces or arms or legs, others were basic stuffed pineapples), so it didn't seem to be a popular character, like the many Marios and Luigis I saw running.
So, anyone know what this is all about?
So it appears that your guy with the real pineapple is Moshe Lederfein, and this isnt the first time hes run w a pineapple on his head.
I'm moderatly plugged into NYC runners and extremely interested in getting to the bottom of this.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:09 AM on November 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm moderatly plugged into NYC runners and extremely interested in getting to the bottom of this.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 11:09 AM on November 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Right, I saw that guy with the real pineapple on his head and wondered if people were somehow inspired by it, but googling his name and every possible iteration of "running with a pineapple on head" came up empty. I'm dying to know the answer myself, as this is clearly A Thing, but if there was some meme or organizing force behind it, they have zero trace online.
posted by Fuego at 11:12 AM on November 4, 2019
posted by Fuego at 11:12 AM on November 4, 2019
If it were in Washington, I would say it would be to raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I think that's just a local thing (it's organized by a mountain climber here) but maybe she's spread her pineappley awareness.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:35 AM on November 4, 2019
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:35 AM on November 4, 2019
Best answer: I Google translated pineapple and marathon to Japanese (パイナップル and マラソン)and there are tons of results including images. This page (translated) indicates some sort of running club but I don't have time to go through all the links.
posted by acidic at 11:43 AM on November 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by acidic at 11:43 AM on November 4, 2019 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Sounds like acidic has it. I saw a couple of people with the hat from the link and others with different variations on the pineapple, so I'm guessing it's probably chapters of the same club or related clubs? They definitely had a lot of representation, I saw at least a few dozen of them. So they do have an online presence, just not on pages originally in English. Good sleuthing!
posted by Fuego at 12:11 PM on November 4, 2019
posted by Fuego at 12:11 PM on November 4, 2019
The page linked by acidic mentions that the club was formed after running the Honolulu Marathon, so that would explain the pineapples. Thanks for the investigation - I was wondering who they were all during the Honolulu Marathon last year, but was too tired afterwards to remember to look into it!
posted by LadyOscar at 3:53 PM on November 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by LadyOscar at 3:53 PM on November 4, 2019 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I had a hunch my japanese -peaking cousin might be able to help. he wrote:
As for the pineapples, some sleuthing in Japanese has revealed that there is a club of Japanese runners in Hawaii called the ホノルル同走会 (Honolulu Dousoukai) which wears hats with stuffed pineapples on them for fun and has a small number of international members. There's an article with an interview with the founder here, they have a strava club, and they have a website which is super bare bones.
I'm not sure why there're so many of them in New York, but it seems like the Japanese sports agency they're affiliated with does international tours including one to the NYC Marathon . Dunno if the two are related tho.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 6:43 AM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
As for the pineapples, some sleuthing in Japanese has revealed that there is a club of Japanese runners in Hawaii called the ホノルル同走会 (Honolulu Dousoukai) which wears hats with stuffed pineapples on them for fun and has a small number of international members. There's an article with an interview with the founder here, they have a strava club, and they have a website which is super bare bones.
I'm not sure why there're so many of them in New York, but it seems like the Japanese sports agency they're affiliated with does international tours including one to the NYC Marathon . Dunno if the two are related tho.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 6:43 AM on November 5, 2019 [1 favorite]
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I am now intensely curious.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:54 AM on November 4, 2019 [1 favorite]