Just use the URL. The thread ID number appears to be sequential more or less. This post right now is 13074914 (letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=13074914). The oldest I could get to load with a quick trial and error is thread number 100, dated July 2, 2002. thread=99 doesn't load nor does thread=1. I am too lazy to check all the numbers in between to see if anything loads there.
You can see post titles back to 2000 using archive.org but they don't appear to load. The DB was migrated at some point early on (I tried navigating to it from the main page's early archive entries) so it's a matter of whether those earliest entries were migrated over and if so whether their original date was reflected in the new db or if they all got tagged with the date of their entry into the new database as their "post date"
You can see post titles back to 2000 using archive.org but they don't appear to load. The DB was migrated at some point early on (I tried navigating to it from the main page's early archive entries) so it's a matter of whether those earliest entries were migrated over and if so whether their original date was reflected in the new db or if they all got tagged with the date of their entry into the new database as their "post date"
ok, we see one there from Sept 4, 2000 4:05pm named “underdogs”.
a) we can’t read it
b) obviously not the first post
Sept 2000 was the start of Alan Webb’s senior year in HS. Surely, there were a lot of posts about him and Ritz in the fall of 2000.
It was ArmstrongLivs accusing somebody of doping, and the second oldest post is Rekrunner replying saying that EPO doesn't work. They've been going back and forth ever since.
Deer OP, thank you for posting is first thread update. It was in fact the official thread for a marathon being run on a track. A bunch of real men met online to discus it. People were getting lapped, people were getting unlapped, it was mostly all hobby joggers in trainers and everyone was doped to the gills running on pure hate but they looked relaxed. Afterwards the posters all met for a saladbar dinner and expected great things. One guy threatened to stop posting forever. Who won the race you might ask? Umm ever heard of Jordan Hassay? Unfortunately page 6 of the thread was not Rupp certified and has since been deleted by an overzealous mod. Gobble gobble MF.