Man-Up, Mo Farah!

Um Mo is getting 600k for his dropping out mid way last year and finishing this year... so if its about the money you have to ask how important is a 600k 2 year commitment to his annual 16 million a year?

and also, Mo may be realistic or at least conservative. Let's see what he does and what happens. Words mean nothing. Actions matter. Mo could say he's going to go out in 62:15 like you said, but maybe he goes out in 61:33 and negative splits with a 61:25 2nd half to break 2:03. No way of knowing. Words mean nothing before the fact. Let the actions speak.

I will agree that we won't really know Mo's plans until the race happens, but it seems to me that all the indications he is putting out there are pointing to over-cautiousness and non-competitiveness. The marathon is a beast, there is no denying, so apprehensiveness is appropriate, but to what degree?

NotAustin18 wrote:

Um Mo is getting 600k for his dropping out mid way last year and finishing this year... so if its about the money you have to ask how important is a 600k 2 year commitment to his annual 16 million a year?

Does he really make $16mil? Since when and where'd you hear that?

There are 13.1 miles left. Being 30 seconds behind the lead pack means he could still win the thing easily. It will also not put too much stress on him too early in his first marathon. If Farah has anything left with 2 or 3 miles to go, he can easily make it up then.

dx5 wrote:

NotAustin18 wrote:

Um Mo is getting 600k for his dropping out mid way last year and finishing this year... so if its about the money you have to ask how important is a 600k 2 year commitment to his annual 16 million a year?

Does he really make $16mil? Since when and where'd you hear that?

I believe it, he was basically the UK's equivalent to Michael Phelps (of 2008) over the last Olympics

Because going out in course record pace in the prestigious London Marathon isn't man enough.

It's just gamesmanship. He'll go out in 1:00.30 and hang on for the win like a baller. Then you can accuse him of using PEDs.

More often than not, when a runner "mans up" in the manner that this board likes to define it, things go very wrong. It's very easy for people to type at a computer screen and demand that professionals "man up". However, I highly doubt that anyone on this board, if they had Mo's credentials and running ability, would even dare try some of the stuff that they suggest.

To try and debut with a world record and a victory in the MOST elite marathon field in the world is just a catastrophe waiting to happen. There's bold an then there's stupid. Rudisha leading from start to finish in an Olympic Championship was bold. He did something that had really never been done at that level, but he had the credentials (WR holder and World Champion) to make it realistic.

Mo trying to go for the world record and a London win in his FIRST marathon would be stupidity. We all saw what happened at London last year, and those were some of the most experienced marathoners in the world imploding because they got too ambitious. For a guy who has never even RUN a competitive marathon to try and succeed where they failed is laughable.

Fortunately, Mo doesn't seem to be as disillusioned as some of the runners on this board, so hopefully, he won't meet the same fate.

If anything, he should've been more like Bekele, who made the smart move. He chose a Marathon that he could basically control, had little competition, and had an enjoyable experience for his debut. The bottom line is, he didn't want to compete at all. He just wanted what was essentially a confidence-booster.

What makes the least sense though, is the statement above. Mo is with group 2. He is most definitely competing. The difference is, that as mentioned above, he's competing intelligently.

He did NOT get 2 Olympic Golds along with a haul of WC Medals by running with the mindset that you suggest. He ran smart, put himself in good positions, and played the fields to his advantages EVERY time.

Why would he even consider adopting a different competitive philosophy and mindset from the one that's earned him so many successes up until this point?

London bridges wrote:

It's just gamesmanship. He'll go out in 1:00.30 and hang on for the win like a baller. Then you can accuse him of using PEDs.

I already accuse him of using PEDs.

Let's go through Mo's thought process really has 2 options

1. set a national record (in the footsteps of Basil Heatley, Ron Hill and Steve Jones) ..... in his home town ..... in front of 2 million adoring fans ..... and a huge domestic TV audience ..... earning a $ million in the process

or

2. take the family to his Dad's house ..... make a nice cup of tea ..... break out the Milk Chocolate Digestives ..... watch the race on the BBC

What would you choose?

I'm miss Digestives.

Seyta: You make a lot of clever points, but the facts, as presented to us, are that Mo is entering the competition with the intention of being an "also ran." Running a British record is still slow enough to make him irrelevant in the world of marathoner.

To me, "manning-up" means giving himself a chance. I don't see Mo as having done this. It seems to me that a sub-2:05 is a likelihood, and Mo is planning on going out at a pace that will leave him behind. I am not saying that he needs to run a WR, or win a marathon the first time out. But it seems that even the best marathoners have to sacrifice a marathon race before they can fulfill their potential. Mo doesn't seem willing to do this. London isn't the place to time trial, it is the place to compete.

NOP-E wrote: the facts, as presented to us, are that Mo is entering the competition with the intention of being an "also ran."

To me, "manning-up" means giving himself a chance. I don't see Mo as having done this. It seems to me that a sub-2:05 is a likelihood, and Mo is planning on going out at a pace that will leave him behind.

It's not the most fair comparison, since he had run many marathons before, but Ryan Hall showed a million times more guts when he put himself out there, win or lose, in Boston.

NOP-E, I think you're arguing two different things here, but you think they're the same. The first thing is "competing." To me, that means adopting the strategy that gives you the best chance to win or place highly in the race. It seems to you that it means hanging with the lead group at all costs.

The second thing is "manning up" or "showing guts." Why does it show more guts to go out hard and die than it does to go out slightly less hard and finish higher? If sub-2:05 is likely, his stated goal for the first half still allows him to slow down slightly in the second half and beat that time.

Maybe Mo and Salazar are confident enough that they don't care what the rest of the field does, they're just going to run their race and bet that it takes care of itself. To me, that's no more or less gutsy than running someone else's race and betting you don't explode.

I'm sorry, but it seems like nonsense to think that one can compete with a group of people that you have no contact with. Also, picking up people who are falling off the pace isn't competing.

2:05 won't win this marathon, that is my point. Yet he is planning on running 2:05 or slower (does anyone think he will negative split?). So if he knows he isn't going to win the marathon, why not go out there and duke-it-out until he falls apart? That's what most top marathoners have had to do. But for Mo, getting chewed up and spit out would be bad for his image.

There is also the issue that keeps coming up: Salazar doesn't like his athletes being roughed-up by the competition. Obviously, he is trying to maintain their self-esteem, or some other nonsense. Man up, Mo, don't be afraid to be squashed in the beast that is the marathon.

NOP-E wrote:

I'm sorry, but it seems like nonsense to think that one can compete with a group of people that you have no contact with. Also, picking up people who are falling off the pace isn't competing.

So according to you either Kebede didn't win last year, or he did so without competing.

The winner's check cashes the same either way.

NOP-E wrote:

Running a British record is still slow enough to make him irrelevant in the world of marathoner.

and...?

Nobody thought 2:05 was able to win it last year either.

Buffalo Orange wrote:

NOP-E wrote:

I'm sorry, but it seems like nonsense to think that one can compete with a group of people that you have no contact with. Also, picking up people who are falling off the pace isn't competing.

So according to you either Kebede didn't win last year, or he did so without competing.

The winner's check cashes the same either way.

i'm with you. i think 62:15 is smarter all around.

first, nobody plans on positive splitting. if somebody goes out in 62, it's cuz they want to run 2:04.

also, i don't think mo or anyone else running london cares about bekele's 2:05. they arent racing bekele

If Mo knows he can't run 2:03:xx, he has nothing to benefit from going out in 61:30 except TV time, but he'll get plenty of that even if he goes out in 70:00.

Buffalo Orange wrote:

The second thing is "manning up" or "showing guts." Why does it show more guts to go out hard and die than it does to go out slightly less hard and finish higher? If sub-2:05 is likely, his stated goal for the first half still allows him to slow down slightly in the second half and beat that time.

Do you not know what "guts" means? It means being confident and fearless. It means taking chances. Not going out and mixing it up with the leaders is the exact opposite of that.

That is a bad way to look at it. If you were only capable of a 5 flat mile would you go out in 2:15 to mix it up? No unless you're an inexperienced runner. He is being smart. Not stupid