Yeah I figured this thread could also help pull people from Ben's OTQ thread so it doesn't fill up with a bunch of random thoughts.
I think if Sage runs LA he very well might just miss it again. LA marathon is not far away at all and I don't know if Sage will be able to recover (physically and mentally) from Houston as well as be able to shave another minute from his best marathon time in a long while. I do hope he does succeed! Just watching his progress has been really slow and Houston was borderline "ideal" conditions for a marathon. Sage needs to regain some of his speed back and focus on the roads this year if he truly wants OTQ maybe do a spring HM and target a fall marathon and go with OTQ or bust. Sage isn't gonna get much faster in his lifetime and has had to work his tail off for months just to get to OTQ shape in near perfect weather conditions on a fast course. I do see Sage getting an OTQ this year, but he's gonna have to decide what means more to him ultras or an OTQ. His whole marketing thing about Sandi being his coach is only to promote his website, we all know he's self coaching through Daniel's Running Formula and Sandi is just a motivator.(sorry Sage if you're reading just being honest)
Ben has been very cool to watch. Seeing him put up that 66:55 was stellar, amplified by the fact it was his first. I think he'll do well in 2018. However, experience can pay dividends in a marathon. There's a lot more concerns in a marathon to that of a HM such as nutrition, time on feet, and mental fatigue. Ben definitely has the mind set to ensure that he will not just train and hope, but he will train in a way that he'll likely cover every facet at least twice that he think of as he approaches his marathon target. I think it can do him well to get out and do a low key marathon. This will help not only give a notion on how much the marathon will test you but also give him insight on how he can better develop to work towards his goal time. I see Ben hitting sub 2:18 in the fall for his OTQ.