Bill Rodgers raced nearly every weekend. He would race anybody, anywhere, at any time. Of course, he needed to to earn a living; but him having a bad race is like an athlete of today not feeling good in a training session.
Bill Rodgers raced nearly every weekend. He would race anybody, anywhere, at any time. Of course, he needed to to earn a living; but him having a bad race is like an athlete of today not feeling good in a training session.
Great point and good reason for any runner to race at least somewhat consistently. When you have a bad race, just write it off and move on to the next.
This post was edited 18 seconds after it was posted.
“Devastated” is a little dramatic don’t we think? Marathons are extremely taxing. A professional runner that just didn’t catch a good day on the right day would probably be wise to just stop instead of inflicting more damage and requiring more recovery time as opposed to suffering through for no reason. Sometimes you get lucky and the stars all align on the right day, and sometimes you don’t, it’s not more complicated than that, and that’s marathoning. But “devastated”? Little drastic.
Professionals are never devastated. Thats the domain of letsrun douchebags. Professionals became professional because of experience -- they've gone through the "trials of miles". Bad days happen. You move forward.
A week ago someone asked me for an account of my NYCM races in 1982 and 1985. I posted a recap of 85 race, which I described as a "tragic comedy." The race was hot, 70' start temp. Hot day 1985 vs perfect day 2023. My splits were faster at each mark along the way. Was holding back, not feeling it until the 19 mi mark when the heat and dehydration/fueling took me out. Levins wasn't feeling right from the beginning. Your mother warned you there would be days like this. If Levins runs ten more marathons I'd bet none if them would be like this one.
I think people are butthurt he was saying "in my mind I can win the NYC marathon" and then he bonked hard (I don't know the reason) and people love it.
Any updates as to why he dropped out before the half? I hate being mislead into the hype when its like "I'm in peak condition" but in reality I'm hanging on by a thread.
Feel bad and hope he just noped out today and maybe has a comeback plan. Don't want to wait til the Olympics to see him again.
Also did he actually go back on course or was he driven by later and his chip go registered? that was weird.
Maybe he wanted to do a triple run yesterday, so he had to drop out, rest a little bit, then run in the afternoon and again in the evening.
Carlos Lopes dropped out of 2 marathons, won Rotterdam (against the best runners of the day), then won the Olympics.
There is nothing wrong with DNFing a marathon if you're having a bad day.
I think that maybe 30 plus years ago dropping out of marathons was more common than now. I even recalling (very, very, vaguely) reading somewhere that even though average marathon times have slowed dramatically in recent decades the dropout percentage is much lower. If true, I think it's because for so many runners now, who don't do gobs of training, finishing a marathon, regardless of time or place, is a major accomplishment and hanging on to the finish is worthwhile. But for many people who train a lot more, as was mostly the case 30 plus years ago, finishing alone wasn't really an accomplishment unless it brought a desired place or time and when it was clear you weren't going to get that place or time it maybe made more sense to save yourself for another day. That certainly was not universally the case but It wasn't uncommon.
This post was edited 6 minutes after it was posted.
Reason provided:
correction
Carlos Lopes dropped out of 2 marathons, won Rotterdam (against the best runners of the day), then won the Olympics.
There is nothing wrong with DNFing a marathon if you're having a bad day.
I think that maybe 30 plus years ago dropping out of marathons was more common than now. I even recalling (very, very, vaguely) reading somewhere that even though average marathon times have slowed dramatically in recent decades the dropout percentage is much lower. If true, I think it's because for so many runners now, who don't do gobs of training, finishing a marathon, regardless of time or place, is a major accomplishment and hanging on to the finish is worthwhile. But for many people who train a lot more, as was mostly the case 30 plus years ago, finishing alone wasn't really an accomplishment unless it brought a desired place in time and when it was clear you weren't going to get that place or time it maybe made more sense to save yourself for another day. That certainly was not universally the case but It wasn't uncommon.
That could be- I'm not and never was world class and Malmo has had some excellent posts on this topic.
It seems to me that runners 30 years ago raced more often. And it seemed that many races were 10k's that were "slower" times (for them) but they got a top place and some cash. Maybe a small appearance fee and bonus money from their shoe contract.
Bill Rodgers raced nearly every weekend. He would race anybody, anywhere, at any time. Of course, he needed to to earn a living; but him having a bad race is like an athlete of today not feeling good in a training session.
I think that maybe 30 plus years ago dropping out of marathons was more common than now. I even recalling (very, very, vaguely) reading somewhere that even though average marathon times have slowed dramatically in recent decades the dropout percentage is much lower. If true, I think it's because for so many runners now, who don't do gobs of training, finishing a marathon, regardless of time or place, is a major accomplishment and hanging on to the finish is worthwhile. But for many people who train a lot more, as was mostly the case 30 plus years ago, finishing alone wasn't really an accomplishment unless it brought a desired place in time and when it was clear you weren't going to get that place or time it maybe made more sense to save yourself for another day. That certainly was not universally the case but It wasn't uncommon.
That could be- I'm not and never was world class and Malmo has had some excellent posts on this topic.
It seems to me that runners 30 years ago raced more often. And it seemed that many races were 10k's that were "slower" times (for them) but they got a top place and some cash. Maybe a small appearance fee and bonus money from their shoe contract.
To me there's no question that runners raced more back then. There was money to be made, under the table at first but openly pretty soon and it was not just in marathons. Bill Rodgers didn't run a Fourth of July 15 km in Altoona, Pa. just to see the Horseshoe Curve. Look at Anne Audain's or Jon Sinclair's ARRS page and compare their racing frequency with almost anyone today.
According to Strava he is in extremely comparable condition to his worlds performance. And his tune up race was way better than any other tune up race he has had. So in theory, he was. Sometimes sh** happens. Hopefully it isn’t bad injury that stopped him. It’s almost predictable that these marathoners will race terribly if they talk to the press beforehand and get the “hype” you’re pointing towards.
Cam is your typical, spot on running guy. Nice, quiet, humble, and a bit awkward…it’s kind of awesome!
Why would anyone be more of a fan of Cam than Tola? Tola has a much more exciting career to me.
Who the heck is Tola? This is why! Cam is a NCAA champ and a well known Canadian. I hope he has a great comeback.
If he really just had a crappy day, we all know how it is. Sometimes, the body just doesn't feel it on the day, and there's no way to do a Marathon on those days. If he's not sick or something, he should try to get into Valencia. Do a what Rupp did when he dropped out of Boston and use the fitness.
I think people are butthurt he was saying "in my mind I can win the NYC marathon" and then he bonked hard (I don't know the reason) and people love it.
I love how Cam is competing with the best out there and trains to win.
Agreed, but it is about the headline and clicks. I think devastated is one of the most overused/misused words here.
Your last point is under-rated. The press take it way to far and the sponsors need to step in and stop the days of interviews and questioning before a race. In no other sport do they spend so much time demanding from the athlete prior to the event. Same thing IMO happened to Kipchoge pre Boston.
The bottom of what we're trying to get to is WHY he had a bad day. 'Bad days happen' is a cop out. Moreover, you don't learn and correct the mistake for next time.
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