Can we stop the hype about Gwen Jorgensen ?

Nope, I’m still cheering for her.

Hounddogharrier wrote:

Uh, she was only 29 seconds behind Hall , who is the odds on favorite to win the thon trials . She certainly is in the conversation . She wasn’t even a full time runner 14 months ago .

Jordan Hasay and Amy Cragg are in a league of their own and locks to make it if they're healthy. Then you have veterans Shalane and Desi who could plausibly make a comeback and perform well on a tough Atlanta course. Then you have Kellyn Taylor, Laura Thweatt, Serena Burla, and possibly Molly Huddle if she can figure out the marathon. Emily Sisson could debut too. Sara ran her PR with a pacer on a flat course in Ottawa. Allie ran better in the marathon than Stephanie and Aliphine at NYC. Gwen seems to be stronger for 5K than the 10K/HM, so we'll see if she can develop a more efficient stride for the longer events.

OP. I don't get your logic. You seem to be claiming that you don't like the fact that Gwen is a bigger story than Bruce and yet Bruce won the race. And that we shouldn't focus on Gwen as she'll never make a"team or a podium on a normal day at US Champs."

My response is as follows.

1) Gwen not a bigger post-race story. Just pre-race. Bruce is getting more pub post-race.

2) If we're judging on who is ever going to make a team, I"d say Gwen has higher odds on that than Bruce. Bruce is 34 and never made a team has she. You think her odds are higher of making a team than a 32-year old who ran 15:15? No.

Moving on to another response I really don't get.

What? Flanagan just won the NYC marathon. You think Hasay and Cragg are in a league above her? No. Not unless MotherTime catches up to Flanagan or she's retired.

Hounddogharrier wrote:

Critic. wrote:

She is not good enough to make the team. There are at least 10 women faster than her.

Uh, she was only 29 seconds behind Hall , who is the odds on favorite to win the thon trials . She certainly is in the conversation . She wasn’t even a full time runner 14 months ago .

You must be on crack my man.... I can easily name 5 women that should and most likely will be ahead of hall(and I personally like hall having spent time with her and Ryan)

Linden, Flanagan, Hasay, huddle, craigg.

Hasays run at Chicago says she should be in a league of her own by 2020 if she keeps progressing and can stay healthy. Flanagan will succumb to old age but I think In an honest race she will make the team. Huddle is the wildcard. She’s been a great 10k/half person who can kick well in a 10k so she’s still somewhat committed to the track and may not be able to fully commit to the marathon but if she does and her buildup goes well i could see her sitting on Hasay(fast or slow pace) and outkicking her to win the trial. Which if we know Hasay, has happened to her many times in her running career.

What most people don't realize is just how *hard* Jerry's group trains. The workload and intensity can be a big adjustment even for elites coming from other groups (most recently, see Kate Grace). We're probably seeing that adjustment period now.

Don't know Gwen personally but big fan, compelling narrative, seemingly good attitude (I know sometimes hard to tell from the outside), lots of potential. Keep getting after it!

rojo wrote:

What? Flanagan just won the NYC marathon. You think Hasay and Cragg are in a league above her? No. Not unless MotherTime catches up to Flanagan or she's retired.

Absolutely in a league above her. Shalane got lucky with Mary having an off day and was fresher off her break from her injury. She's simply not a pure marathoner like Jordan/Amy. If Shalane and Desi still have the fight in them, one of them could still grab the 3rd spot. Wish they would retire now while they're on top. Nothing more to prove.

Berte, you're a professional runner, no? Why hurt your brand with these statements

Gwen is trying to transition in a few ways, post partum, just running, as well as trying to transition into the program at Bowerman. I'm impressed at the results she's put up already this year, just hope it wasn't too much too soon. I'm looking forward to what she can do in two years.

The hype is getting annoying, but it is an interesting story. In most other countries, she would be a lock for a spot in the 10,000 / M, but the US has impressive depth right now.

English is at worst the 2nd language for anyone on this planet. Otherwise I agree:)

yyy wrote:

English is at worst the 2nd language for anyone on this planet. Otherwise I agree:)

Not sure if an ignorant American, or trolling.

I'm Belgian. First language French, second language Flemish. I'd say German and English are my equal third languages.

I'd say in Asia and Africa (the two most populated continents on this planet), English is even less likely to be their second language.

+2.. Give the woman a break, she's coming off pregnancy and is running pretty strong all things considered. Give her some more time at the longer distance to develop.

You sound like a political pollster talking 18 months before the election. There are so many miles to run yet; anything could happen.

Critic. wrote:

She is not good enough to make the team. There are at least 10 women faster than her.

1.5 cents wrote:

rojo wrote:

While, I have said she has a zero percent shot of winning Olympic marathon gold, I 100% disagree with the OP. I love talking about her. It's interesting to talk about as we don't know how it's going to workout. For the rest of running, nowadays in the year 2018 with there being so much info out there, we kind of know how it's going to play out. With Gwen, we don't really know.

Moving on.

Are you crazy? She's run 15:15 this year - less than a year after giving birth. The US leader is 15:13. You call that "doing OK?" I call it doing incredible. The issue seems to be she's not doing as well at the longer distances.

+2.. Give the woman a break, she's coming off pregnancy and is running pretty strong all things considered. Give her some more time at the longer distance to develop.

Maybe she won't be able to reach her old form after giving birth . Look at the examples of womens tennis and golf , where

the careers end , regardless of the the comeback effort.

is it hype or is it curiosity? I love that what we are getting to see in real time what happens when the best at the Olympic distance triathlon switches to the marathon. About her goal to win the gold medal, well, what else is a gold medallist going to shoot for? It probably would have been more wise to keep that one to herself but whatever. Obviously that's bound to be her personal goal.

Jorgensen's chances of making the US team? It's looking like 2020 will be the hardest US women's Olympic marathon team to make ever. Right now there are five US women in their prime who have medalled in majors or world championships: Flanagan, Cragg, Linden, Huddle and Hasay, all of whom who have going well sub-2:25. The field also looks like it will include a number of rapidly improving marathoners like Kellyn Taylor (2:24:39), Sarah Hall (2:27:21) and Laura Thweatt (2:25:38). Needless to say multiple women with a sub-2:25 PRs aren't going to make the team. On the other hand, its likely that Flanagan retires before 2020 and the odds are that at least one of top women will be injured so to get the third spot on the team Jorgensen should plan on being in sub 2:25-shape and plan on being able to beat at least one (healthy) woman who has medalled in a marathon major. Obviously that's a tall order.

bertebob wrote:

For real why is she still such a big deal ?

I mean she did some really crazy things in Triathlon and it was interesting seeing where this would lead in Track.

But it's a never ending story you always here crazy times from triathletes what they produced during their triathlon but never has someone proven this on a legit course or something

I am not a hater of Gwen as I think she is doing pretty well for a (ex)triathlete BUT she is far from what she is expecting her to do and she will never even make a Team so why is LetsRun still featuring her in every little post ?

Sorry Gwen but you should have sticked with triathlon and be a good runner their but among runners you are far from a Headline producer ...

No we can't.............and shouldn't. A story line like this is good for the sport and hopefully will generate more interest in it. And there's plenty of time for her to improve her running conditioning, she's already fit from the multi sport training. Its not like the gold medal means nothing. Its still early, just watch................I suspect the marathon trials are going to be quite a show, both men's and women's. Women's especially given the depth of talent in the US these days.

I believe in Huddle’s marathon upside. But I don’t believe the track speed means she can sit on Hasay and outkick her. Perhaps in a 2:30 type race or if they are literally side by side with 400m to go. But I view a marathon kick more on stamina over the final 5k. Huddle is most successful racing fast from the gun.

She is currently under management that believes nothing good can happen until she runs 120+ miles per week.

So, she dutifully makes herself build up her mileage to that level.

This effort is such that she doesn't have the luxury to focus on any kind of race-specific training at the moment. In fact, that effort is such that it might lead her to injury or overtraining...because it's not trivial to reach that kind of volume over the course of a single year.

Besides, high-mileage targets of that sort are outdated, I think. It works for some, but it's not a one-size-fits-all thing.

I would rather have her running 70-90 miles a week with 15-20 miles at target race pace, at 8,500ft, than 120 miles a week at 2 minutes slower than race pace.

rojo wrote:

While, I have said she has a zero percent shot of winning Olympic marathon gold, I 100% disagree with the OP. I love talking about her. It's interesting to talk about as we don't know how it's going to workout. For the rest of running, nowadays in the year 2018 with there being so much info out there, we kind of know how it's going to play out. With Gwen, we don't really know.

+1

Crossovers are rare, and she is entertaining to follow.

I agree she has no shot at any Olympic medal, but she's running well enough that you have to consider her a contender for the team. Jared Ward wasn't spectacular before or after the Trials and Olympics, but still has an Olympic 6th place on his resume.

factsonwheels wrote:

She is currently under management that believes nothing good can happen until she runs 120+ miles per week.

So, she dutifully makes herself build up her mileage to that level.

This effort is such that she doesn't have the luxury to focus on any kind of race-specific training at the moment. In fact, that effort is such that it might lead her to injury or overtraining...because it's not trivial to reach that kind of volume over the course of a single year.

Besides, high-mileage targets of that sort are outdated, I think. It works for some, but it's not a one-size-fits-all thing.

I would rather have her running 70-90 miles a week with 15-20 miles at target race pace, at 8,500ft, than 120 miles a week at 2 minutes slower than race pace.

+1

All this is true and we can't forget that she is shredding her Achilles (every video has her doing exercises, caring for it, or addressing it) at just her current volume so I can't think an increase in mileage would help that