How does it feel to be a fake National Champ at New Balance?

Thank you for taking the time to provide this data. Seriously.

It's valid to ask and think about these meets, but I don't think it's right to call the athletes "fakes" at NBN at all. In any case, it's not their fault there are two major national meets happening at the same time. The real issue seems the fact the meets are not better coordinating to happen on different weekends, but I know that's far easier said than done, too.

NB has been this weekend for a long time. I think it was stupid for Brooks to divide talent and compete against NB. I support NB.

A Florida Coach wrote:

Thank you for taking the time to provide this data. Seriously.

It's valid to ask and think about these meets, but I don't think it's right to call the athletes "fakes" at NBN at all. In any case, it's not their fault there are two major national meets happening at the same time. The real issue seems the fact the meets are not better coordinating to happen on different weekends, but I know that's far easier said than done, too.

I don't think it's pretty evident that the sprint events were competitive at New Balance. However, the distance events (particularly the boys) were horrible. The mile was won in an even split 4:11 (all but one in the brooks pr field had better times). The 2 mile was won in 9:17! It had splits of 4:49, 4:28. Compare this to brooks pr which had splits of 4:27, 4:18 for a final time of 8:45. The field at brooks had 10 people under 9 minutes. As hard as the distance athletes work who ran at New Balance, they just weren't on the same level as those at brooks and don't really deserve to call themselves all Americans.

number ln e wrote:

A Florida Coach wrote:

Thank you for taking the time to provide this data. Seriously.

It's valid to ask and think about these meets, but I don't think it's right to call the athletes "fakes" at NBN at all. In any case, it's not their fault there are two major national meets happening at the same time. The real issue seems the fact the meets are not better coordinating to happen on different weekends, but I know that's far easier said than done, too.

I don't think it's pretty evident that the sprint events were competitive at New Balance.

*I do think

I agree I was not impressed in general with distance performance at NBN this year. I also saw—and I was on the infield right by the track—some pretty poor hand-offs on the relays. But that said, I feel when you attend a national-level event that offers "all-American" status and promotes itself as national-level, as an athlete—as student athletes—we cannot blame these kids at all for anything. We can only salute their fine efforts. At 14-18, it's a very very very big deal to these kids. I want nothing to detract from that.

As adults involved, yes, we should be advocating Brooks et al get it in gear to not have their meets on the same weekends.

Fake National Champs wrote:

Idontreallyknow wrote:

Majority of the best talent is at New Balance, at least 800 down. The best ones are the sprinters and they are there

Must be why Oregon's head coach (not their distance coach) was at Brooks...

Johnson has been at every annual outdoor Brooks meet, 2014 to date.

You failed to mention the strong headwinds in every sprint & hurdles race at Brooks. Do you think that might make a difference in the times?

Who would actually be on here arguing like a child which meet is better? A Brooks employee? An immature parent? It doesn't matter.

You start talking about head winds and time analysis. When you talk about a national championship times are pretty irrelevant on events that are over 400m. Championships are about place. Get over it.

I was a talented high school distance runner and we distance runners call Brooks PR and the dream mile our national championship, unless we are in a relay, the steeple, or 5k. We know it is not the real national championship. We would be kidding ourselves if we did. However, we go because it still offers some of the deepest races we can find and we call ourselves national champs and all-americans because we showed up and performed better than our peers in these deep fields. That being said, this year sucked, especially on the guys side. I mean, really, the 2 mile? They run 72s for the first 1.5 miles and NO ONE covers the one move made? How are they that tired at the national meet where they walked the first 3/4 of the race? In the mile, the Emerging Elite champ ran one second slower than the winner of the championship mile. "All-American" was 4:16... For real? There was a major talent drop off this year. Don't let the top heavy nature of this years graduating class fool you. New Balance should be strictly Emerging Elite and Brooks should grab all of the "championship events" from New Balance and invite the best. Including weird stuff like the SMR, Race Walk, Steeple, 5k, Shuttle Hurdles, etc.

Fake National Champs wrote:

How does it feel to be a fake National Champ at New Balance?

How does it feel to be a guy who needs to shit on high school kids to bolster his own ego?

I bet it feels pretty good!

Congrats to those kids on their accomplishments.

Fake National Champs wrote:

...but I wouldn't feel good calling myself a National Champ if I didn't race the best talent...

and let's be clear about one thing . . . you didn't.

Who was on bleacher report? A girl from new balance or someone at brooks?

I think there should be one high school championship pitting only the children of shoe company/apparel company employees against one another. Brooks vs adidas vs New Balance vs Nike vs Foot Locker, etc. Call it the Shoe Games.

The meet would be held in different venues around the country, all at the same time. It would be virtual competition, sort of, since the company execs, now and forever, would be incapable of ever agreeing on one venue. The clock and the measuring tape would become law (though there would always be claims of tampering). A 4:06 mile in dry, windless 65 degree sea level conditions at one location would defeat a 4:06.01 held somewhere else in 105 degrees, at 1500 feet altitude, and with a gale from an approaching t-storm wreaking havoc with times.

University of Oregon coaches would be shown "live" on all scoreboards, though these coaches would only be present at the meet nearest their campus.

Winners would be awarded a solid gold shoe, and their mommies and daddies would get to think that THEY, not their offspring, were Number One. These same adults would also trash talk the mommies and daddies from other companies whose kids were defeated (nothing out of the ordinary there, since the adults at these companies obviously hate one another already).

Losers would be decimated on LetsRun by anonymous posters, though the losers' mommies and daddies would lap up the free publicity showered upon their companies. (Bad publicity is better than no publicity.) Hey, that would make the children's results a lose-win situation, sort of.

The high schoolers, of course, would be the sensible ones -- thrilled to participate and, in most instances, to give their all. Grateful for the chances to compete. All before being totally corrupted by the twisted ways of the adult world.

Herron smoked Cooper this weekend.

He's no where near coopers age. Cooper is a year behind in school.

Brooks is the national championships for the individuals.

NBN is the national championships for relays. Relays are more fun to win in high school. It's not every race where you and your best friends can become All American in the DMR, 4x8, or 4xMile.