Ryan Hall made the right decision to DNS

Yup

people on this board think ignoring injury and pushing through to finish in a time much slower than you're capable of shows "heart"

I'm not attacking Meb, just the stupid message board posters who think that what he did is somehow heroic and Hall deciding to withdraw is somehow a character flaw

The Waterboy wrote:

You can't fake your way through a marathon. You can get through an 800, 1500, or *maybe* a 5K being out of shape or injured, but not a marathon.

What are you talking about? You can't fake your way in an 800, 1500, or 5K either.

someone had to do it wrote:

Yup

people on this board think ignoring injury and pushing through to finish in a time much slower than you're capable of shows "heart"

I'm not attacking Meb, just the stupid message board posters who think that what he did is somehow heroic and Hall deciding to withdraw is somehow a character flaw

There are all sorts of things in racing and practice that people think show "heart" and "toughness" that are antithetical to running well. Good for Ryan to make the best decision for himself and ignoring the collectivists.

have to ask wrote:

The Waterboy wrote:

You can't fake your way through a marathon. You can get through an 800, 1500, or *maybe* a 5K being out of shape or injured, but not a marathon.

What are you talking about? You can't fake your way in an 800, 1500, or 5K either.

You can be a tad out of shape or have a slight pain and still only run 2 seconds slower in an 800m, which for the top 1:42 guys, running a 1:44 or 1:45 isn't that bad. For a marathon, being out of shape or having an injury can result in 10 minutes or more of your normal time, (which for a 2:06 guy, 2:16 is pretty bad) and could destroy your body more than running an 800 would.

*Maybe* you're right & Hall shouldn't have entered.

But "good for him"????

Hall IS DONE. He will never run fast again.

I hope I'm wrong.

SnakeOil wrote:

On another note, if he IS injured, one has to wonder if it's his Asics shoes....I tried on a pair of Cumulus the other day and immediately though, "These would give me PF as well...."

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. Thanks for trying though.

holy runner man wrote:

Hall IS DONE. He will never run fast again.

I hope I'm wrong.

I second all three of these statements.

Why couldn't he just jog an easy 2:50 and have fun with it? I doubt he has an injury that completely prevents him from running. He just can't run fast. What a poonsh.

H.R. wrote:

Hall IS DONE. He will never run fast again.

The funny thing is that Meb's marathon season consists of a 2:22 marathon...

...and with that he has outperformed Hall 2013.

Faster half marathon, too.

SnakeOil wrote:

but his recent history would indicate something other than a physical injury.

Why.....?

someone had to do it wrote:

Yup

people on this board think ignoring injury and pushing through to finish in a time much slower than you're capable of shows "heart"

I'm not attacking Meb, just the stupid message board posters who think that what he did is somehow heroic and Hall deciding to withdraw is somehow a character flaw

I like Meb and all, but that made me think his start was appearance money related. Why start AND hang with the lead / big dogs if your "fitness isn't there" ??

The Waterboy wrote:

You can be a tad out of shape or have a slight pain and still only run 2 seconds slower in an 800m, which for the top 1:42 guys, running a 1:44 or 1:45 isn't that bad. For a marathon, being out of shape or having an injury can result in 10 minutes or more of your normal time, (which for a 2:06 guy, 2:16 is pretty bad) and could destroy your body more than running an 800 would.

That's dumb, what are you talking about? 10 minutes slower is nowhere near the equivalent of 2 seconds slower in the 800m. It'd be more like a 1:42 guy running 1:53.

Leave it to a Gordon guy to defend Hall!

If anything, by pushing through this injury could potentially be the end of Mebs elite days in running.

Hall has the weight of American Long distance running on his shoulders. It's frustrating for all that he has been unable to run the past few years, but it's even more frustrating for him. He is a competitor and if he could go - he would. This is his career and if he is hurt, he needs to get healthy. Perhaps he has to look at his training and figure out what he needs to do to get back to the starting line healthy. But it seems whatever he does, he can't win. I think if he can get himself healthy, he still has something special left in him. Personally, I just hope he has the chance to run healthy again and compete.

Meb's elite days are done, but you can't fault him for showing up and finishing for the sake of his foundations and all the people he inspired to get involved in the race.

A Duck wrote:

I like Meb and all, but that made me think his start was appearance money related. Why start AND hang with the lead / big dogs if your "fitness isn't there" ??

Seriously??

You're criticizing Meb for not conceding ASAP & pacing evenly to say 2:16-19?? I'll take a risk, instead of a concession to a bad performance.

Maybe Meb felt fine early, before the wheels fell off. Is he supposed to race expecting that?? Or maybe the leaders going out very slow, made him stick in case he caught a 2nd wind, or his body was to have a great day.

Geb faked his way through a 10k to win Gold - multiple times. It'd be easier to fake your way through a shorter non hurdle/sprint race.