The two recent marathons he had not won have been wet and cold, London and Boston.
Hard to underestimate the effect of "new" challenges like hills and heat/cold... there was one pre-race insight from Kipchogue himself when asked about race prep which is that he does hill training. That is not the same as fine tuned training/prep for racing on hills. Let's say his pain tolerance for a blistering pace on flat courses is massive, but maybe not so much for other types of discomfort.
How many of you would put your money on him again for another hilly marathon?
He probably should've tucked in instead of being out front for most of the race. But he was running the marathon like he always does. Also, Boston can be a nasty lesson. It's a difficult course to run correctly. But Kipchoge is the master and the GOAT. He wouldn't make the same mistakes twice. "Devastated"? Heck, no. What other elite runner makes headline news when he doesn't win? So he joins Abebe Bikila as a 2-time Olympic champ who didn't win Boston.
Whatever the cause, the effort/conditions today line up pretty well with his London loss. He ran 2:06:49 in London. 2:09:23 today. Those feel like roughly the same effort. Rain & similar temps for both of them. He said he had an ear infection/blockage after London. No hills for that race so wouldn't jump right to the course having a big impact today. He looked really good until he didn't. Also don't think missing one bottle should have been game over. Interested to hear from him post race.
1. For first opening half he was always in front, taking on all the wind
2. He missed his water drop at mile 19 -- lost hydration and probably tugged at his mind
3. I believe he does heat training, excess clothing in warm weather, as he performs well in hot races. But he does not do well in cold weather. Hence he doesn't train for it.
It's Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts (and in Maine, which used to be the same state as Massachusetts). The Boston Marathon is always held on Patriots Day, which is always a Monday. So lots of people in Massachusetts have the day off, and many choose to watch the race.
The two recent marathons he had not won have been wet and cold, London and Boston.
Hard to underestimate the effect of "new" challenges like hills and heat/cold... there was one pre-race insight from Kipchogue himself when asked about race prep which is that he does hill training. That is not the same as fine tuned training/prep for racing on hills. Let's say his pain tolerance for a blistering pace on flat courses is massive, but maybe not so much for other types of discomfort.
How many of you would put your money on him again for another hilly marathon?
What is his hill training? Uphill tempos or repeats? What about downhill stuff to adapt the quads to the pounding they'll take in Boston?
assclown has to make a "Kipchoge goes home devasted" thread? The man has nothing to prove to you or anyone else. He doesn't have to run course records or 2 hours everytime he runs. He broke 2 hours! #micdrop
Tradition which is often an excuse for not doing things right. Most people who have run them both and are honest will tell you that Boston isn’t even in the same league as New York as far as excitement goes.
Kipchoge failed for a number of reasons 1. For first opening half he was always in front, taking on all the wind 2. He missed his water drop at mile 19 -- lost hydration and probably tugged at his mind 3. I believe he does heat training, excess clothing in warm weather, as he performs well in hot races. But he does not do well in cold weather. Hence he doesn't train for it.
1. Kipchoge always runs in front. Works perfectly fine when wind conditions are favorable or a non factor-but can (and did) backfire when there is a cold headwind and you're running so fast.
2. Missing the bottle is not he cause but the end result of him starting to waver.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
He probably should've tucked in instead of being out front for most of the race. But he was running the marathon like he always does. Also, Boston can be a nasty lesson. It's a difficult course to run correctly. But Kipchoge is the master and the GOAT. He wouldn't make the same mistakes twice. "Devastated"? Heck, no. What other elite runner makes headline news when he doesn't win? So he joins Abebe Bikila as a 2-time Olympic champ who didn't win Boston.
Right. Abebe was fifth in 1963, the only time he finished an international marathon other than in first place.
