Was I robbed of the school record?

800 record wrote:

When some kid runs an FAT 1:52.89 next year they're going to have a lawsuit on their hands.

What?

You were robbed.

In addition to potentially favroable hand timed start/stop marks...

Unless he led off the relay, he also had a running start. Makes a big difference.

Hell, If we're going to start counting relay splits as records, I bet the 100 meter world record would be sub 9.

THAT IS COMPLETE BS KILL THE COACH

bitter about your lousy career? Don't take it out on others.

[quote]Tuesday Afternoon Hero wrote:

Here is somthing to think about ...

No one cares about school records, 'cept you and your momma.[/quote

Once again you are wrong. It's not about glory, it's about what is right and what is wrong. A split is not a record and the kid should have to earn his glory just like the 1:53 runner did. It's the crux of the sport which you just don't get and therefore, should not comment on.

I would not only tell the coach, but I would also alert the AD to make sure this knucklehead doesn't corn hole anyone else out of a record.

If he's over a second faster than you in April, he's gonna take that record down in May. So raise hell about it now, then forget it.

And who is this kid? Not too many 1:52 HS kids around.

What this tells me is that this coach does not grasp the basic principles of the sport he is coaching.

If the current coach wants to honor one of 'his' runners that 1:52.? should be annotated as a hand timed relay split.

All to often we see untrained people take splits when the baton is exchanged instead of correctly timing the baton as if crosses the mid point of the zone.

While well trained Officials on the line can get close to AT( F for fully is redundant) this coach from the stands would be hard pressed to be within +/- .75 and a +/- of a second would not surprise me given his nongrasp of other basics.

All that said I suspect this new runner can run a 800 + or = to your standard.

In a sport quantified by time, time must be treated with respect.

I officiated during the '70s when AT at the HS level was reserved for major meets and even then we had a full timers ladder- the good timers that earned being picked for Championships- were, on average, always with in a tenth of the AT.

I seem to recall in the early 70's, a person could qualify for indoor NCAA's (800)with a leadoff 4X800 or DMR split?

Wine, is there any chance of this being fact or is my mind clouding with time?

Regardless, a split is NOT an event in itself and should not be counted for record purposes for the reasons others have stated.

I noticed most people who complain about others hard earned accomplishments can not relate to this man because of their own underachievments. How many records do you hold? Most likely none...you can not comment from your biased left side of your brain. You have no reference points.

Funny, that is just what I was thinking; but I believe Max could still do some things in the world of running if he doesn't concentrate too much on his past.

Here's an idea. Keep it positive.

If you still live in the neighborhood, stop by the school. Meet the kid. Congratulate him. Give him somewhat of a hard time for doing it in a relay and then any advice you can give him to beat it legitimately. Talk about your old training methods. Give him some motivation to go for it. And cheer him on when he goes for it, whether he makes it or not.

Print this out and mail it to the coach at that school: Anyone who counts a relay split as a school record is totally ignorant about track.

The way I time relays actually makes them slower than open races because the handoff and the next runner getting to the start/finish line actually becomes part of the time for the incoming runner. I still would never count a relay split as a legit time for any purposes.

Print this whole thread and mail it in.

Find out the name of the HS Athletic Director. Then write him a DIPLOMATIC letter about what has occurred. Let him handle it. Perhaps the Track coach just does not understand. If you do this correctly, you will not sould like a poor sport whatsoever, and the AD and the Track coach will rectify the mistake.

there is no amount of diplomacy that will prevent him from sounding like a poor sport. yes, he was robbed, but all the director and coach are going to see is some guy trying to live in the past by stealing from the present. high school is about high schoolers, 5 mintutes after graduation it's "have fun with real life, now f*** off".

wait and see if the guy gets the record in an open race , the rest of the year. If he doesn't and he's graduated; then I would bring it to the attention of those in charge; but hold off for now, in case he gets it in the next month.

I'm not sure but lead leg could count for seeding as I remember not sure if it could be used as a Q time. Swimming accepts WR on the lead leg but they have a touch pad making it technically the same as an individual race. I'll look in some of my old rule books from that time frame.

bertrap wrote:

I seem to recall in the early 70's, a person could qualify for indoor NCAA's (800)with a leadoff 4X800 or DMR split?

Wine, is there any chance of this being fact or is my mind clouding with time?

Regardless, a split is NOT an event in itself and should not be counted for record purposes for the reasons others have stated.

JEH wrote:

If I went to your school, I'd suggest that they make the wrong right. I hear what Flagpole is saying, but I also think that records should be earned and not given away.

Yeah, an 800m HS record is no big deal, but I think the lessons learned from the experience may be of some value. If this splitter gets it, what does that do for him? First, he'll never really know if he was really faster or not (unless he gets it legitimately later), and second, it seems to promote a "good 'ole boy" network as opposed to true merit.

Now this is a great point. After considering JEH's words, I have changed my stance on this. With all things considered, this is the right thing. I came to my initial conclusion because I'm always thinking of ways to give glory to others instead of myself, so that's where that came from.

JEH is correct. Let the track coach and maybe even the AD know too that splits never get recognition for records in that way.

Although I agree that it is only a high school record there can be some meaning to it and to breaking it. At my school the 800 record was set in 1972. In 2005 a senior broke it. The former record holder heard about it and emailed me and the record breaker- to congratulate him. He then came to our State Championship to watch and meet the new record holder.

I ran with the old record holder and coached the new record holder. It was really was a special day for me, the kid, the old record holder and his parents. The other kids on our team were in awe of this adult who still cared.

Connections like these make high school and its memories special.