Why is Letsrun surprised by Ritz's American record ?

Because letsrun is full of jealous, ignorant c***s.

Because usually there is a transition period where the athlete runs faster and faster and gets relatively close to the record before it happens. He ran 27:22 and nobody would have been surprised by a 10k AR after that, but this was without precedent to drop 38 seconds from his previous season best and 20 seconds from his old pr at the distance. Surprise is legitimate.

Because ever since letsrun has been in existence we have been so hyped up about this guy and then that guy breaking 13:00. Over and over again we are disappointed. We are so used to being disappointed that when it finally happens we can hardly believe it.

When you're coming off a marathon, season's bests are bullshit.

Agreed. Ritz ran 13:16 in 2006 at a relatively young age. Nobody would have been shocked then if they were told he could cut 20 seconds off that time in 3 years when he was in his running prime. Why are they shocked now? For some reason people are hung up that he took a detour and focused on the Marathon for a couple years.

Anyway, Ritz's performance is not that stunning when you consider that he draws on his Marathon training to get into a zone and maintaining one sustained pace for a long time. That helps for getting great times but not for winning big races which can be a very different thing. There is no way he could have finished 3rd in Berlin, the pace would have been slower, then a good 5-10 guys would have lowered the hammer on him in the final laps. Even after this race I don't think he is anything better than the 3rd best 5K runner in the U.S.

on the runs wrote:

Because letsrun is full of jealous, ignorant c***s.

Yep, yeah, as a former elite, I'll pretty much go with this.

This board has more inane, immature, classless turds...than any other on the planet.

The Ethiopian dude said it best...

For all of you opinionated, profane, slanderous angry assholes...what goes on in the Real World, is an indicator of what talentless frickin losers you are.

Oh, and the saddest examples of "fans" of sport ever.

But, it is good that this site exists, so that the rest of the web world can see the absolutely bottom.

In an echo of Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman," "f*** all of you all's."

Carry on, dipshits - you KNOW who you are.

One of the saddest things about the drug-era of the last 30 years is that it's hardwired into many running fans a reflexive suspicion of breakthrough performances, inspiring feats, amazing stories of personal triumph. Our heroes have disappointed us many times. Marion Jones, Justin Gatlin, Floyd Landis (cycling is a part of all this for running fans).....Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa.

The sneers and questioning and slander you're hearing here is mostly frustrated idealism. People still want heroes. But nobody wants to be a fool.

Imagine for the sake of argument that Ritz's AR performance took place in a world where PEDs didn't exist; where there was no history of subsequent disillusionment of the sort I invoked in my first paragraph.

In that world, wouldn't Ritz's performance be just about the most exciting, inspiring thing that has happened to American distance running in several decades--something that, along with Ryan Hall's several fantastic races, confirms that we have entered a new era in which we can begin--BEGIN--to dare to dream of even greater things?

In such an alternate universe, you'd come to a website like Letsrun and find nothing but dazzled fans and peers; nothing but people blessed by an inspiring performance from a supremely talented runner who, after more than his share of setbacks and naysayers, finally rose to exceed even the high (and disappointed) expectations with which he's been saddled for the past five years.

But we live in our universe, not that alternate universe.

And so when I think about the role that Letsrun plays, and I think about the commentary that has accrued to Ritz here, all I remember is the naysayers--with an occasional exception. I believe Flagpole was an exception. If I'm not wrong, Flagpole often found himself circled by baying hounds here when he defended Ritz against the charge of underperforming and kept insisting that one day we'd see truly great things from him.

Ritz was mocked mercilessly here for underperforming.

Now he has overperformed--he's outdone himself, a thing that deserves high praise from all sides--and the same posters who were mocking him for underperforming are slandering him for drugging.

Why doesn't he just shoot himself right now?

It's too bad that sport has come to this. It's too bad that so many of our heroes on the track have turned out to be cheaters. It's too bad that one acceptable response to athletic greatness these days is the cry "Drugs!"

It would be better if we lived in a world, an alternative universe, where we could all just be inspired by Ritz's sort of once-a-decade performance.

Instead, we live in a universe where, I think, the wisest among us are willing to be what I'll call "conditionally inspired." A part of us is wildly inspired; another part hedges its bets, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Only a true fool, though, sees every exceptional performance and thinks "Drugs!" That's a sad, unoriginal response. It's the response of a small child who has been disappointed repeatedly by his parents and thinks, as a result, that the rest of his life must be filled with inwardly raging melancholia.

There's a lot of that melancholia here at Letrun; it expresses itself as threads that begin "Is Ritz Drugging??!!"

That's like writing "Is Santa Claus Dead??!!"

A realist knows that some inspiring performances are, in fact, inspiring performances, not shadow-plays stoked by PEDs.

I'm a realist. I think we're living in a great day and will see greater.

Why are people surprised? Because they have been brainwashed into thinking that white boys are genetically inferior in distance running.

I'm not surprised, It was only a matter of time before Ritz did something like this. Roll on sub 27.

Are you confusing surprise with doubt?

Having the ability to do it and approaching it in a methodical way is one thing. Some doubted he had the ability. Some thought the ability was there.

Everyone was surprised when it really did happen because there was no indication that it was coming.

No surprise if Lagat did it. He has raced in that range. People saw Teg doing it because his times approached it and he raced well. People could see Rupp going there because of the work on his speed to go with his endurance.

Normally you race yourself into shape on the track.

The WC 10,000 was a bit of an indicater but this is still surprising.

It is a pleasant surprise.

screw you preachy

Wisdom wrote:

This board has more inane, immature, classless turds...than any other on the planet.

The Ethiopian dude said it best...

For all of you opinionated, profane, slanderous angry assholes...what goes on in the Real World, is an indicator of what talentless frickin losers you are.

Oh, and the saddest examples of "fans" of sport ever.

But, it is good that this site exists, so that the rest of the web world can see the absolutely bottom.

In an echo of Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman," "f*** all of you all's."

Carry on, dipshits - you KNOW who you are.

Yup.

i missed your post like this in response to Bolt's records...or does none of the above apply in his case?