| Hshsjzjziz |
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Levins is the most exciting mid distance/distance runner that Canada has seen since Sully(?)... What will happen to him after June 2012? What are his options? He has a winning formula now. Should he mess with it? Should he join Li's group? I don't think so. They are too quality oriented and volume seems to be Levins' thing. Should he join the Salazar group? Salazar is very specific in his thinking. The group is pretty much there to support Rupp. I mean it worked for Mo, but that could be just a fluke. Maybe what Levins is doing is close to that. I don't know... Levins is pretty much where Rupp was at graduation in terms of times in the mile and 5,000m... Only Levins knows whether the philosophy is compatible with what he was doing. My guess is not, but... Should he join Bairu? Again, I'm not sure that they do the same volume. What if he stayed in Southern Utah? The 5,800 feet altitude, the weather... Seems to work for him. Now what if Athletics Canada actually built something around him (and the location). Let's call it project 2016. The Canadian mid distance/distance crew seems to be getting stronger of late with guys like Gillis, Wykes, Coolsaet, Watson, Matinson, Hughes, Genest and other NCAA guys who will graduate shortly (Ahmed, Rae...). What if Athletics Canada created a semi permanent (say 9 months a year, excluding summer) base in Southern Utah. The weather, altitude.. Seems very conducive. Put in a coach and a physio to oversee the athletes training and to take care of the admin issues. Top Canadian runners could enjoy subsidized housing (different levels of subsidy depending on the athlete's level and different types of priority depending on athlete's level) in an altitude environment. I don't know, this is another thought. Can/should programs/projects be created around a particular athlete (in Canada)? Perhaps, since the number of top athletes are so few... We got lucky with Bairu. He was talented, went to Wisco (with a good coach) and was able to follow him in a professional setting after graduation (giving him the consistency in training that is usually required, see Rupp, Bekele...). This led to Bairu breaking the Canadian 10,000m record. Maybe Athletics Canada can make their luck with Levins. Who knows, it could also bring about/increase a resurgence with many Canadian athletes. |
| plo |
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I would love to see him go with Salazar. Lower the mileage slightly & increase the quality. Or maybe he's already knocking out 20 mile runs at 5:10 pace. |
| BB90 |
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I think he is hanging around SUU for another year or two for Grad assistant job. Your plan for AC to simply build a facilities in Utah is laughable. AC does have the money to do that, nor would it shell out that kind of dough to centre it around one athlete. Personally, I could see him succeeding with Speed River. |
| Hshsjzjziz |
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Look at what Ken Read did for the Canadian ski federation in terms of funding... The ski federation does much more expensive stuff. The amounts that we are talking about is very small. It is obviously possible.. |
| saeedfdfdf |
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lowering the mileage is a terrible idea. It is the mega mileage which allows Levins to succeed. |
| Billy Costigan |
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It would be exciting to see him join Salazar or Schumacher and I bet he'll have great options, but he has to consider sticking with his school coach. He's all alone, but his trajectory is ridiculous right now; might not wanna touch that. Another interesting idea is Vancouver. They seem to have a lot of high level athletes and I think he's from around them. With Wykes and (rumor has it Watson maybe moving out there), he'd have a good group of high mileage elites to train with, but could still maintain a certain degree of independence that he seems to thrive on (and wouldn't have with Salazar or Schumacher). |
| Hshsjzjziz |
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Yes, he has a lot more options now than 12 months ago and even more now than 12 days ago... |
| Azaleas |
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I can't imagine he'll leave his coach before the London Olympics (assuming he qualifies, which he will). |
| Legit. |
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If I were him I'd go after every Canadian record from 2000m and up: 5:01.57 7:41.61 13:13.96 27:23.63 The 5000m record could be his in the right race over in Europe. I don't know what financial incentives Athletics Canada provides to their athletes for breaking records though. |
| J.R. |
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Levins is in a great environment. I think he should stay where he is |
| Medalsforlife |
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Usually its a high five! |
| Hshsjzjziz |
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...and even more options now (10 days later)... |