While this is an encouraging performance given she's coming back from injury, reality check, she's probably looking at 15-20th place at London with this form.
With regards to a ‘dismally poor English field’ what’s your criteria? As there aren’t many US women who are in sub 2.23 shape consistently at the moment. Charlotte Pudue is fantastic when fully fit and Rose Harvey has run around 2.23 I think.
If she ran in that range that would be a great debut. And women do get better with the longer distances as they get older until about 40.
Sorry but I think that last para is really questionable. Maybe elite very long distance women can just about hold their best form or close to it until they approach 40 but the statement they "get better" is very rarely borne out by stats. And I know of Priscilla Welch.
Increasingly elite GB runners are finding that the ideal place to get global QTs isn't necessarily London. It's better to have a group of 8 on QT pace than one plus one pacer. My guess is they are torn between the objectively better overseas racing opps and the London cash (for Brits) and pizzazz.
I mean proportionally versus the shorter distances of say 5k. For example when you look at Ultra running, women overtake men once they get a bit older.
Eilish is only 34 so hardly washed up yet. What I do think is that the marathon will not be her best distance for various reasons. She has some tricky choices to make. 10k is competitive and out of her reach on the international stage but that is historically where she did well. I think the half will remain her strongest distance currently but I would love her to prove me wrong.
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she isnt built for the marathon. has a terrible running gait and has missed the boat by 3 years. clearly in the twlight of her career and on the decline now. can see a bang average lonely 2:23 - 2: 25 on the cards in what apart from her and Purdue, is a dysmally poor English field
With regards to a ‘dismally poor English field’ what’s your criteria? As there aren’t many US women who are in sub 2.23 shape consistently at the moment. Charlotte Pudue is fantastic when fully fit and Rose Harvey has run around 2.23 I think.
If she ran in that range that would be a great debut. And women do get better with the longer distances as they get older until about 40.
Her biggest weakness is that she’s injury prone. And I know she’s struggled with fuelling on long runs so she needs this dialled right in. She’s mentally very tough though. We’ll see. I suspect her best distance may well be the half and that’s where her focus should be.
Rose Harvey shouldnt have ran in the olympics, not raced since due to stress fracture, surprised she even entered and would be shocked if she can come back to compete at a decent level.
Purdue and McColgan are both extremely injury prone and could easily see either pull out before the race.
there are only 4 other GB ladies who will be in for a very lonely day on the road. i really cant understand why these 2:26+ ladies turn up for the womens elite race? they will be nowhere near the prize money and 2miles+ behind the leaders. is there decent Brit only prize money? they definitely wont be picking up an appearance fee and a free night in the a hotel isnt really worth training for an event where you spend 2.5 hours on your own. surely they would be better off not giving elite entry to anyone who has ran outside 2:25 and chuck them in with the masses, its a tragic spectacle on the tv
With regards to a ‘dismally poor English field’ what’s your criteria? As there aren’t many US women who are in sub 2.23 shape consistently at the moment. Charlotte Pudue is fantastic when fully fit and Rose Harvey has run around 2.23 I think.
If she ran in that range that would be a great debut. And women do get better with the longer distances as they get older until about 40.
Her biggest weakness is that she’s injury prone. And I know she’s struggled with fuelling on long runs so she needs this dialled right in. She’s mentally very tough though. We’ll see. I suspect her best distance may well be the half and that’s where her focus should be.
Rose Harvey shouldnt have ran in the olympics, not raced since due to stress fracture, surprised she even entered and would be shocked if she can come back to compete at a decent level.
Purdue and McColgan are both extremely injury prone and could easily see either pull out before the race.
there are only 4 other GB ladies who will be in for a very lonely day on the road. i really cant understand why these 2:26+ ladies turn up for the womens elite race? they will be nowhere near the prize money and 2miles+ behind the leaders. is there decent Brit only prize money? they definitely wont be picking up an appearance fee and a free night in the a hotel isnt really worth training for an event where you spend 2.5 hours on your own. surely they would be better off not giving elite entry to anyone who has ran outside 2:25 and chuck them in with the masses, its a tragic spectacle on the tv
Agree both are injury prone and Charlotte often pulls out with illness. Also agree Rose should never have run on that injury. That will have set her back so much.
Not sure I agree that you should only run in an elite race if you can go sub 2.22 or whatever we deem is a good time. Surely racing is how they improve as athletes? If they qualify as elites then good for them. Running with the masses? What weaving around thousands of people? With no support for bottles and fuelling? It may be true other marathons have more potential for a better time. But for a Brit, London will mean a lot and therefore worth a shot.
Anyone can have a good day out there as much as anyone can have a shocker. Always worth a go if you’re fit and well and have done the training.
Harvey was frank that she completed Parìs specifically because it was the OG and that is a reasonable decision. I'm sure she was given best medical advice available before the start.
London has perhaps the world's biggest elite marathon budget (albeit maybe now overtaken by sportswashing $%&£holes). If it wished to allocate less than 10% of it to get a stacked womens Euro mix in the 2.22 to 2.27 zone it could do so. But it chooses not to. I'd guess that the UK viewers' interest in East Africans running 2.17 is equal to its interest in Europeans running 2.25. At a smidge above zero. (Same with the men, use 2.04 and 2.09 as the numbers).
Yorkshire runner. You are wrong re Ultras. Check out IAU 100k or Comrades Top 20.Every time. This falsehood arises because sometimes in a niche little ultra a woman wins outright as the race lacks any comparable men.