Paul Chelimo 2:18:08

Excellent post. I especially like the part where you say a bad day was written off and learned from and not the end of a career. That said, there is a difference between Rodgers' early marathon efforts and Chelimo's. Rodgers was at the beginning of his career, (yeah, he'd run decently in college but wasn't all that serious about it) and was on the upswing at any distances as well as in the training he was doing. Chelimo is likely as fit as he's ever been and ever will be. But even so, it could have been just a really bad day.

AMAZING RESULTS . If his name was PAULA

Great post.

I'm amazed that not one person has looked at the splits.

He ran quite evenly to half in 1:04:44, which is of course on pace for a ~2:09:30 finish.

He really blew up from 30k to the finish, running the last 12.2k in 44:26, which is about 2:34 pace. A lot of runners have definitely dropped out when slowing this badly.

If you know the marathon, you don't see a 2:18 with this pacing (1:04 / 1:14 --> 2:18!) and conclude the runner has 2:18 ability.

It's quite obvious that his ability, while not currently at the 2:09 he targeted in the first half, is better than a time run while totally blowing up.

Nick Bester wants to challenge Chelimo now.

Precisely why this is such an abysmal result…he is slower than you over 26.2 miles (a rather arbitrary distance), and so you have reason to gloat! I love it!

Btw, what are your times at literally any other distance?

I mean, not that it matters, only that you strike me as a late-blooming roadrunner without much understanding of real competition.

And I realize you were being facetious. However, that doesn’t take away the absurdity of your claim, Road Plodder. I suggest you get faster before offering such remarks, otherwise they might just bite your ass.
Also, your sense of humor is as flawed as you are, which is substantial and worthy of calling out.

Paul has zero future in the marathon.

Keep in mind that this is his second marathon. He got dropped hard in his debit at the OT by D2 Zach Panning before dropping out.

This race is the result of everything he learned in his debut.

What was the weather like for the race? Some heat/humidity? Tough course? Winner ran 2:08. Lots of times in the 2:11s. Kind of a random race for him & it didn't draw top runners but the times seem slow across the board. He's plenty talented. Maybe he'll figure out the marathon. Has plenty of time to give it a real go.

Which means he isn't anywhere near 2:09 fitness. Maybe if he went out in 2:14 pace he might have held it together.

2:09:30 is just about womens wr pace

Warm weather.

Not a fast course.

He has to put in real marathon training. I don't know if that is what he wants to do. Big miles at slower pace. Long runs. He can probably run 210/211 on fast course off that. Just not sure if he is a super fast twitch type like Lagat. Those guys don't transfer as well to 26.2.

Lemma (2:01:53 PR):

Marathon
2012
2:28:14
Frankfurt (GER)
28 OCT 2012
2013
2:09:02
Warszawa (POL)
21 APR 2013
2015
2:06:26
Frankfurt (GER)
25 OCT 2015
2016
2:05:16
Dubai (UAE)
22 JAN 2016
2017
2:08:04
Dubai (UAE)
20 JAN 2017
2018
2:04:08
Dubai (UAE)
26 JAN 2018
2019
2:03:36
Berlin (GER)
29 SEP 2019
2020
2:04:51
Tokyo (JPN)
01 MAR 2020
2021
2:04:01
London (GBR)
03 OCT 2021
2022
2:07:26
London (GBR)
02 OCT 2022
2023
2:01:48
Valencia (ESP)
03 DEC 2023
2024
2:04:59
Valencia (ESP)
01 DEC 2024

Lemma and Chelimo were born two months apart.

Meaning Lemma made his marathon debut 12 years younger than Chelimo.

Progression is going to be VERY different in literally anything starting at 22 vs starting at 34.

Paul Chelimo

You gift Chelimo 7-8 minutes off of his first marathon? That is insane. He ran 2:18 and thats it.

Also, Chelimo can't even chill out for the first 10 minutes of a 5K. Physiology and training aside, he doesn't have an elite marathoner's mindset.