Boston has been around for 122 years, and it will always continue to be a great race, even if people occasionally don't like the weather
Boston has been around for 122 years, and it will always continue to be a great race, even if people occasionally don't like the weather
Weather was the same for everyone. Fastest runners finished first. Slower runners were behind. Quitters dropped out. Wimps DNS'd.
That's what they call racing.
SorryToSay wrote:
I say yes. Well done to Desi and Yuki, of course. Great athletes. But they have no business winning a major marathon. Both men’s and women’s top-10s were filled with C-level athletes. Most of the top Africans and even some Americans dropped out. Next year, do you think top athletes are going to be lining up to come to Boston? I do not. It’s already a low-preference choice for Africans, and it potentially became even more so today.
It will be funny watching Keitany and Dibaba run 25 minutes faster than Linden on Sunday.
2:39 wrote:
SorryToSay wrote:
I say yes. Well done to Desi and Yuki, of course. Great athletes. But they have no business winning a major marathon. Both men’s and women’s top-10s were filled with C-level athletes. Most of the top Africans and even some Americans dropped out. Next year, do you think top athletes are going to be lining up to come to Boston? I do not. It’s already a low-preference choice for Africans, and it potentially became even more so today.
It will be funny watching Keitany and Dibaba run 25 minutes faster than Linden on Sunday.
And why is that? Because Linden gas not run that fast before? Oh wait, she has! You almost had me fooled
On the telecast, they said skinnier runners fared worse. This was a story of hypothermia and fighting a 28 mph wind. Low body fat, no chance. The spectators that did show up should get a medal.
2:39 wrote:
SorryToSay wrote:
I say yes. Well done to Desi and Yuki, of course. Great athletes. But they have no business winning a major marathon. Both men’s and women’s top-10s were filled with C-level athletes. Most of the top Africans and even some Americans dropped out. Next year, do you think top athletes are going to be lining up to come to Boston? I do not. It’s already a low-preference choice for Africans, and it potentially became even more so today.
It will be funny watching Keitany and Dibaba run 25 minutes faster than Linden on Sunday.
It would have been funny seeing Keitany and Dibaba running in Boston and dropping out or finishing in a distressed state.
SorryToSay wrote:
I say yes. Well done to Desi and Yuki, of course. Great athletes. But they have no business winning a major marathon. Both men’s and women’s top-10s were filled with C-level athletes. Most of the top Africans and even some Americans dropped out. Next year, do you think top athletes are going to be lining up to come to Boston? I do not. It’s already a low-preference choice for Africans, and it potentially became even more so today.
Dumb. If they can beat world class athletes in any race they deserve all the recognition heading their way.
I have to say I loved the race, and all I did was read the live update thread on here. I was pulling for both Linden and Yuki. I put Linden as a very strong B+ or maybe A- elite, and Yuki as more of a novelty. Neither one of them have ever come within striking distance of the WR or even today's fastest elites. I have way more respect for both of them than I had coming into this race.
However, I do feel that the field was light compared to other majors. Regardless, both winners beat runners well beyond their pedigree and they are now major marathon champions. Fantastic race.
It was a race and they out ran and out toughed everyone else to the finish line.
Because people dropped out due to the weather doesn't diminish the race's prestige.
2:39 wrote:
SorryToSay wrote:
I say yes. Well done to Desi and Yuki, of course. Great athletes. But they have no business winning a major marathon. Both men’s and women’s top-10s were filled with C-level athletes. Most of the top Africans and even some Americans dropped out. Next year, do you think top athletes are going to be lining up to come to Boston? I do not. It’s already a low-preference choice for Africans, and it potentially became even more so today.
It will be funny watching Keitany and Dibaba run 25 minutes faster than Linden on Sunday.
There's nothing exciting or "funny" about watching interchangeable generic Italian-doped Africans run fraudulent times on pancake courses.
Boston was awesome this year, and the legit athletes prevailed over the chumps and fakers.
Monkeys typing wrote:
2018 can only raise Boston's stature. Marathons are not supposed to be easy.
The marathon can humble you. --- Bill Rodgers
Exactly. I don't think a slow year will scare off elites in the future. They'll eye the results and think, "Hey! I could have been on the podium!"
Harambe wrote:
Today was about pain tolerance.
Modern marathons do everything to make it as painless as possible. Flat courses. Good weather. pacers, etc.
The most blue-collar runners who are used to GRIT and PAIN every day won.
Not elite training camps, not fancy altitude chateaus, not designer drugs, just RAW GRIT.
Boston is an A+ marathon because you can't be SOFT and take the W
Ultra running is all about pain tolerance, and still people on LRC talks about how the East Africans would completely dominate if they started to run ultras. Perhaps they would, but then they would have to learn not to be a bunch of crybabies when the going gets rough.
This is the same conversation as "Was Nike's Sub 2 Attempt a Real Marathon"?
The Boston Marathon isn't about proving who is the fastest marathon at the time in perfect conditions. It's about who is the first one to the finish line that day in those conditions. Yuki and Des are great runners -- it's not like they didn't belong in the elite wave.
As long as they offer $150,000 to the winners, I'm sure it will continue to attract talent.
Boston prize money for 1st: $150,000
London prize money for 1st: $55,000
I know which race I'd rather win, weather conditions be damned.
Yes it took a hit. Race was a freak show due to the weather. Sanders was a Desi mishap from winning. In 2:44. Basically you took a requirement for high level marathoning, low body fat, and turned it into a fatal flaw. Yeah you run in the conditions etc but come on that was not a real race—- it was about whose body type was best in horrendous weather
No, just the opposite. It elevates it. One of the most prestigious and glitziest marathons in the world turned into an any man's race. In the sporting world, the women's race was the equivalent of fielding almost an entire team of AAA baseball players to play not just in the Major Leagues for their first time, but in the World Series, and having them all hit home runs.
If anything, its prestige went up in my mind. Not only is there still the large prize $ and strong history- it’ll now be known as a hardcore race for only the toughest. Berlin is nice with it’s pleasant weather, flat roads and phalanx of pacers but watching this Boston was far more exciting as a (TV) spectator. Personally, I love that one of the majors can take on the brutality it did. Yuki IS an elite runner, just because he doesn’t cross the finish line in 2:04 looking fresh. He just reminded everyone that pain tolerance in every sense is the draw of the marathon.
I’m honestly a little less excited for London, Berlin, et al because Boston was so interesting to watch.
Has BAA changed their elite invite fee and perks structure?
Is London offering big appearance fees and lower prize structure.
Pay me 15-20k to race for 50k or pay me 0 to race for 150k?
ataglance wrote:
Marathons are not track meets. Each race stands on it's own and is it's own event unto itself. The weather affects marathoners more than just about any other race you can run in our sport. Because of this reason it's difficult to compare races to one another, even comparing one year vs the others is hard.
No doubt in my mind if there were ideal weather today we'd have 2 different winners, but that doesn't matter. What matters is who is the best ON RACE DAY. Time doesn't matter, who was/wasn't there doesn't matter, whether the win was dramatic or not doesn't matter.... what matters is getting that W.
I officially dislike road runners even more in the last 24 hrs. I appreciate seeing tough minded posters on here that call it how it is and based on these boards, we have a lot of "I'll run my best race when the conditions are totally in my favor type," posting to defend some weak moves by well known names. If you sign up for the marathon and expect for everything to go as planned, you must have been home schooled in bubble wrap. Huge congratulations and respect to every runner that toed and crossed the line yesterday. What a blessing!
Joe Jackson wrote:
Boston prize money for 1st: $150,000
London prize money for 1st: $55,000
I know which race I'd rather win, weather conditions be damned.
you can bet bekele mo and kipchoge are getting more for appearance fees that 150 overall linden beat c level africans and a level Americans boston purposely did a weak us field and put flanagan hasay linden and huddle in hoping 1 of them would win.