Love it: 2:08 marathoner says if he doesn't qualify for MGC in Tokyo, he's retiring. Why don't Americans do this?

This says a lot about the cultural differences between Japan and the United States.

In Japan, nobility and honor are a huge component of their mindset. If you are not performing or no longer have the drive, then it is noble to step aside. You are no longer creating value for your employer/sponsor and you are possibly denying another athlete the opportunity to grow and shine. You are praised for making an honorable choice and moving on towards becoming a regular citizen.

In America, our society is built around hustling. If you get an opportunity, you squeeze every last dime out of it until you find a better one or get shown the door. We tend to honor survivors and love it when someone can hang on by their fingertips. That's gutsy! Americans love the aging guy still chasing a dream when his peers have retired to real jobs and those that have found a way to game the system.

I respect Miyawaki's attitude. I don't find fault in someone like Noah Droddy trying to extend his running career. To each his own. Ultimately, you do what makes you happy and makes sense for your financial situation.

Easy answer: low support level and low expectations. We don't fund groups training for the marathon to the same degree at all. With great resources come great expectations. We sort of had that for a minute in the '00s, but it's gone again. The money to fund pro training groups doesn't grow on trees, pal. We'll probably never approach the corporate league model of Japanese pro distance running. It's only a handful of dorks in the internet's runnerd backwater who obsess narrowly to conflate US running culture and marathoning with Japanese running culture and marathoning.

On the other hand, internet tough guys like the OP wouldn't last 10 minutes in the Japanese work culture.

Yes, every individual decision is built on individual considerations. With few exceptions, almost anyone qualifying for our OT marathons comes from good families and are well educated. They also have a work ethic that is exceptional. It would seem like a rare story for any of them to wind up stuck in poverty or significantly underperform in a post-running career. We sort of suffer from the "blue collar runner" mythology akin to the "puritan work ethic" mythology. There's nothing wrong with wanting to take every possible opportunity to see how good you can be at something you have a talent for and really enjoy. If their families disapprove, then that's their problem to deal with. If it were my kid, I'd be happy for his or her happiness and trust that I gave them a good foundation in raising them to figure out how to thrive regardless of their personal decisions around this. But then I wouldn't have raised them to define their self-worth entirely or significantly by the results of their efforts.

Just like Kipchoge should have retired after getting beat by Bekele at the Olympics for the second time. Get a real job you do nothing.

Statements like this are so stupid and narcissistic. We've seen this over and over again and 99% of the time the athlete doesn't retire or whatever they promised.

This goes back to my original point. Sponsored western runners are essentially models. Despite being elite, Diver and Seaward have less value than some subelite models because their social media and image are perceived to move fewer products. An employed runner could make this all in stance, but unless they are employed to run they probably get pleasure from competing and training.

Yep, remember Osako’s retirement? Lasted all of six months and with hindsight carried all the appearance of a Nike marketing gimmick. It’s a ploy for attention, nobody really cares whether a 2:08 guy in 2023 continues to compete. Not even in Japan. Toyota got a mention in the press when they otherwise wouldn’t have, well done.

I can't wait to qualify for the Olympics with my 4:30 marathon once all the guys faster than me retire per this poster.

If Americans did this, there would be like, 3 guys left.

Plus, if our 2:11-2:14 guys retire, we would only have SLOWER runners left. Why don't you demand that the even slower guys quit the sport? And then what about the even slower than the slower guys? Should they quit too? By your logic, no Americans should even be running marathons.

I think what Rojo meant is that you need to be 100% in or 100% out. Our 2:10--2:15 guys aren't even trying to run 2:05. They aren't training anywhere near hard enough, and most of them don't have real jobs.

Yes. If you are an American who can run 12:58 in the 5km, you are a 5km runner. If that is your PR in Kenya or Ethiopia, there is likely no chance that you will ever make a team. So they have a lot more 13:00-flat type guys going into the marathon (and sooner!).

Americans who run fast stay on the track. Most of our best Marathoners (Noah Droddy comes to mind) are not 7:35 3km guys or 13:00 5km runners.

Rupp was the exception but he is also the exceptional talent and performer in American marathoning.

Better question: Why 2:10? Let's cut em off at 2:06 since that's what it takes.

As an American distance running fan- we have zero business trotting out a bunch of entitled, snobby 2:10ers that get stomped by Kenyan 14 y/os that farm 14 hours a day at any major.

And for the guy that actually suggested NOAH DRODDY as a high-level marathonner: 10/10 troll post, well done

Running is just about the only sport where you can train like an elite and still have a career. Plenty have done it and continue to do it.

My point about Noah Droddy is that he is not an elite marathoner. He is/was however an elite American marathoner. That is the crux of this thread.

Fill in the blank: "Noah Droddy's PR ranks him as the _____ fastest American of all time."

And of the top-10 fastest Americans, a full half weren't even born in America, so there is that. Droddy, by that calculus moves up even further on the all-time list, ahead of Zach Panning but still behind Martin Hehir on the "fastest marathoners America has ever produced" list.

Having qualified for the Olympic Marathon Trials for the first time as a runner older than 30, I can relate to the 100% in or 100% out mentality. I know my max potential is probably in the 2:15 range, so I question whether it’s worth it to keep grinding after the Trials. I’m all in on running right now and plan to be in the best marathon shape of my life in February 2024, but after that I would rather put more emphasis on my career, family, and other fun hobbies. Sure I’ll still run for health and enjoyment, but at some point running has to become less of a priority. You try to get as fast as you can and then once you get to the point where you stagnate, it’s time to re-evaluate things. If you still find joy from training at a high level even if you’re not getting better, that’s great—keep doing it. But for me it’s all about maximizing my potential and then prioritizing and enjoying other aspects of life.

Exactly!

The guy says he’ll leave the Toyota team, not that he’s going to quit running. Pretty big difference

Americans are extremely selfish due to living in a dog eat dog capitalistic system. The swine will hang on till their last breath.

It's worth noting that Miyawaki's best performances were all quite a while ago. At non-marathon distances, from 1500m to 30km, his best performances were all over a decade ago, and he hasn't come anywhere close to those levels in recent years. In the marathon, he debuted nine years ago, and his best marathon performance of the "super shoes" era was five years ago. Since then, his most notable performance was 25th place in the Tokyo marathon three years ago. He's going to need a really good performance just to qualify for the Olympic trials this year.