I love Ritz but.....

Ritz is a cracker.

Ritz split 63:02/66:43 today. Why do you think 61:50 was not ridiculous for him?

he was sying it was rediculous even for the leaders to tey that.

what the wrote:

Ritz split 63:02/66:43 today. Why do you think 61:50 was not ridiculous for him?

What?

1962, Baby! wrote:

....why why WHY did he think 61:50 was going to be ridiculous?

Hindsight is always 20/20.

Imagine if in a track 10k the pacers were told to go through the first 5k in 13:10. Or a 7:34 3k split in a 5k. Or a 1:50 800m split in a 1500m, etc, etc, etc

It's ridiculous because most of the time a WR split at halfway is going to mean suicide for everyone, except on that rare occasion where 1 or 2 lucky people were feeling good on the day.

I for one love these marathons where either the bold ones are rewarded for taking a risk, or they blow up and the more conservative racers are rewarded for their patience. You never know what's gonna happen in the marathon. I love it.

1962, Baby! wrote:

....why why WHY did he think 61:50 was going to be ridiculous? Chicago is fast, the stars were there, and 2:03 is the new 2:06. What planet is Ritz living on? I swear I'm not saying this just because of the results today. Ritz brain has not caught up with marathon reality in 2013. Well, maybe it has now.....

As other's pointed out. It was too fast for him as he couldn't handle his own slower pace.

It was too fast for most people as well. Do you think Moses Mosop is a 2:11 guy?

OP, are you a runner? If so, what's your PR. Let's say it's 4:10 in the mile. Why don't you go out in your next college race in 1:55 at the half and see what hapens? I mean Kiprop does it all the time. Just go for it.

Ritz is deluded and wants to believe he is in the same league as these guys.

Therefore, he chirps condescendingly about "talking some sense into these guys" when they ask for a 61:45-62:00.

Then, a guy goes 61:52/61:53 to win and another guy goes 61:52/62:00 for second.

Opening pace for the leaders was spot-on.

Meanwhile, Ritz blew up off of a 63 opening half. Back to the drawing board for AS.

Hey Rojo, this is from YOUR VERY OWN front page on Friday. (Please read it carefully.)Ritz On The PaceAs far as what he’d like to see from the pacing, Ritz, who went out in 63:25 last year and was on 2:06:53 pace as late as 35k until losing a minute on the way home, reiterated that he’d like to see the leaders go out in 62:45 to 63:00 for the first half. That is ideal in Ritz’s mind as the leaders went out that slow last year and still go the course record, and if they do it again this year, it’s a pace Ritz thinks he can handle as he thinks he can run 1-2 minutes faster than last year if everything goes perfectly.He didn’t shy away from the fact that he thinks that talk of a first half in 61:45 is crazy. He admitted on the one hand it might benefit him if the leaders go out that fast because he doesn’t think any of them are going to hold it and he’ll be able to pick more people off that way. Ritz told Kelvin Selby last week he wouldn’t be a kamikaze and go out that fast.In an ideal world for Ritz, the leaders would go out at a pace where he could keep contact and be racing the second half. He thinks a conservative first half is the smart way to run at Chicago and even said he would “try to talk some sense” into the African runners when they discussed what pace the rabbits would be tasked to run.He feels that a 61:45 “doesn’t make sense” but that for some of the Africans going out hard like that “is all they know” and they also have agents “talking in their ears over and over” about a World Record. Ritz also thinks a conservative first half makes for a more exciting race where people “make moves” and race each other instead of everyone going out at a suicidal pace and seeing who holds on the longest which he feels is almost always “anti-climatic”.

rojo wrote:

1962, Baby! wrote:

....why why WHY did he think 61:50 was going to be ridiculous? Chicago is fast, the stars were there, and 2:03 is the new 2:06. What planet is Ritz living on? I swear I'm not saying this just because of the results today. Ritz brain has not caught up with marathon reality in 2013. Well, maybe it has now.....

As other's pointed out. It was too fast for him as he couldn't handle his own slower pace.

It was too fast for most people as well. Do you think Moses Mosop is a 2:11 guy?

OP, are you a runner? If so, what's your PR. Let's say it's 4:10 in the mile. Why don't you go out in your next college race in 1:55 at the half and see what hapens? I mean Kiprop does it all the time. Just go for it.

To be clear, I'm not talking about Ritz doing that pace. I'm talking about Ritz opinions on ANYONE doing that pace, as the front page piece CLEARLY laid out.

xenomorph wrote:

...

I for one love these marathons where either the bold ones are rewarded for taking a risk, or they blow up and the more conservative racers are rewarded for their patience. You never know what's gonna happen in the marathon. I love it.

I generally agree with this view. I would add that there are enough talented East African runners willing to take risks in major marathons, that there are always a few on any given day in which everything clicks for them and they end up with the top finishes. Conservative runners will almost surely end up no higher than 4th or 5th place.

As an individual, elite runner, what would you do? Would you run conservatively every time, be satisfy with a 4th place and be praised for be consistent? Or, would you rather take the risk, blowing up 50% of the time, decent finish 25% of the time and winning the race 25% of the time. Tough decision when one races only twice a year.

Well, you know, a lot of guys did crash from the other pace, which is why Ritz ended up 5th instead of 12th. As far as thinking he's in the same league as the top guys, he hasn't claimed to be.

Ritz is gutsy, I respect that, but I am getting tired of the pre-race hype followed by him under performing, followed by the excuses. I sure he got a nice payday!

He was yesterday.

rojo wrote:

1962, Baby! wrote:

....why why WHY did he think 61:50 was going to be ridiculous? Chicago is fast, the stars were there, and 2:03 is the new 2:06. What planet is Ritz living on? I swear I'm not saying this just because of the results today. Ritz brain has not caught up with marathon reality in 2013. Well, maybe it has now.....

As other's pointed out. It was too fast for him as he couldn't handle his own slower pace.

It was too fast for most people as well. Do you think Moses Mosop is a 2:11 guy?

OP, are you a runner? If so, what's your PR. Let's say it's 4:10 in the mile. Why don't you go out in your next college race in 1:55 at the half and see what hapens? I mean Kiprop does it all the time. Just go for it.

s other's pointed out. It was too fast for him as he couldn't handle his own slower pace.

It was too fast for most people as well. Do you think Moses Mosop is a 2:11 guy?

OP, are you a runner? If so, what's your PR. Let's say it's 4:10 in the mile. Why don't you go out in your next college race in 1:55 at the half and see what hapens? I mean Kiprop does it all the time. Just go for it.

Thanks for the post rojo. When will some of these guys learn that discussing a race doesn't have to include harsh criticism.

I'd give anything to be a 2:07-2:09 marathoner. I admire these everyone one of these guys who can run even in the low 2:teens.

I was hoping Ritz would pull off a 2:03-04 but it wasn't in the cards.

I DO wish he'd run more 1/2 marathons.

I think that's a great distance for him and I think that could make running more popular because the stars could run more of them in a year.

A World 1/2 Marathon series, I think, could draw more interest because top runners could run more than 2 a year (5-7?) and the series could have more meaning.

IMO, Ritz' race-day approach & attitude were good. He wanted to be as aggressive as possible, w/o creating "race suicide". Sounds great to me.

What Ritz said and what he believed aren't necessarily the same. He may have believed that somebody could actually finish well after a 61:45 - 62:00 first half, but can you blame him for trying to convince everyone that his preferred pace was better for all those hoping to win?

He just needs more time in the cryosauna and everything will be fine.

What Ritz said and what he believed aren't necessarily the same. He may have believed that somebody could actually finish well after a 61:45 - 62:00 first half, but can you blame him for trying to convince everyone that his preferred pace was better for all those hoping to win?[/quote]

yeah that's lame. and OP, i love him too. looks like we have a love triangle on our hands. watch your back

What is a missing here for me, is that of all events the marathon should be one where the individual has control over the race plan.

If I was Ritz and wanted to go out in 63, then I suspect he'd find company to help him. These races are timed to the step.

If I saw guys going out a minute faster, I'd be expecting

1. They are on a suicide mission, and its important that I keep my cool.

2. I am about to be part of the greatest performance of all time, and I should maintain my cool.

This isn't like cycling. There is less draft, than there is company. One minute over an hour is a simple range to manage. Run your own race for goodness sakes.

And Ritz, if you want to make a living with a number on your back, reset your ambitions.