"The Meb" is hurt?

I spoke with Kahlid @ Chicago. Sounds like his neuroma is completely healed up, orthotics are working fine, running going great. I think he is the man to beat. We'll see how he does this weekend. Heck of a nice guy. I wish him the best!!!

"having kids in the constant-motion tear-around-the-house 2-5 yr. range, a la Culpepper, might be more tiring."

Now, THAT is a lame excuse. Kids are tiring, but to say they tire you out beyind your 140-miles-a-week-dead-legs of running is ridiculous.

Dude is a monster wrote:

I'm telling ya. The only one you can count on to show up at the trials in NYC in November and deliver a 2:11 on that hilly course is the "rock" Brian Sell. No excuses, he just shows up and kicks butt.

Like the US 10 mile champs?

Ass I recall, Meb only ran about 3 miles of the 7 mile 2004 Olympic Trials course tour because he was hurt and then proceeded to destroy everyone save Culpepper.

dwigt schrude wrote:

Dude is a monster wrote:

I'm telling ya. The only one you can count on to show up at the trials in NYC in November and deliver a 2:11 on that hilly course is the "rock" Brian Sell. No excuses, he just shows up and kicks butt.

Like the US 10 mile champs?

Did Brian run the US 10 mile champs?

no.

short attention span wrote:

Have people already forgotten that starting at the end of July Meb ran two excellent 7 mile races sandwiched around a sub-28 road 10k in a span of 3 weeks, and then several weeks later ran a 27:41 track 10k in Europe? .

He also looked sharp at Gate River before London and that didn't mean much.

Heard Meb has been doing 30mi mountain bike rides instead of morning workouts at Mamouth.

I'm really rooting for KK. This guy was the premier marathon runner in the entire world for several years and has since faded into almost obscurity. Outside of Sell, KK is guy I'm hoping most to make the team.

Let's face it, our best team for Beijing in KK, Meb, and Abdi. We need our Africans to make the team because Beijing is going to be hot, humid, and dirty and I think these guys can handle it the best. I personally hope NY is a sweltering hot day just so the 3 that make the team will actually be our 3 best. It was pretty hot in London for Hall so maybe he can be alright. However, judging from past race results guys like Ritz (see Osaka) and Dan Browne (see Athens olympics), while talented enough to be top 3, can't run in heat. The naturalized citizens we have are our best shot, no doubt.

If he was born 6 letters earlier he'd be unstoppable.

faded?! he ran 2:07 last year in London.

no one in the field had run faster than KK's slowest marathon.

KK is on a different league, the guy deserves a lot of respect, if he shows up at 80% he'll win hands down.

ACM wrote:

no one in the field had run faster than KK's slowest marathon.

KK is on a different league, the guy deserves a lot of respect, if he shows up at 80% he'll win hands down.

If I had a nickle for every time I've read that...

d3alum wrote:

Let's face it, our best team for Beijing in KK, Meb, and Abdi. We need our Africans to make the team because Beijing is going to be hot, humid, and dirty and I think these guys can handle it the best.

It was hot & humid in Helsinki in '05 (not as bad as Beijing, admittedly) and Sell did pretty well there. In contrast, KK has never run particularly well in the heat.

Sell's a solid performer. He'll run a solid race and finish, solidly, nowhere near the top three.

Abraham Cornflakes wrote:

Ass I recall, Meb only ran about 3 miles of the 7 mile 2004 Olympic Trials course tour because he was hurt and then proceeded to destroy everyone save Culpepper.

Do you mean the year that all he had to do is beat Trent Briney to make the team? Probably not going to be good enough this time around.

Some ignorant person wrote:

"Sell's daughter isn't exactly asking for keys to the car age, either, and it hasn't hurt him much. And Meb's daughter is still in diapers, too."

Ignorant person, you must remember that Sell is a blue collar runner. In other words, he is a working class runner. He works hard and gets his hands dirty in order to experience the same kind of success that comes more easily for white collared runners such as Meb whose African ancestry puts him at a greater physiological predisposition for success in endurance sports. Comparing SEll to Abdi, I would say that Sell works on the order of 5-7 times harder than Abdi. "Harder" being quantified by avg weekly miles run and general work ethic which one can really gain a sense of from interviews and documentary. And despite working 5-7x harder than Abdi, Sell has experience a similar (if not lower) level of success than his lazier counterpart.

What am I getting at? Well, to be honest, I'm not sure anymore, but I thought it was important - at least for all white skinnier runners that frequent this board who dream of one day experiencing running greatness - to bring up the fact that Sell is blue collar runner, although it doesn't seem relevant to the discussion. I am very knowledgeable and I like to share my knowledge. It is my way of giving back to the sport that has left me delusional. Thank you.

Reductionism wrote:

Ignorant person, you must remember that Sell is a blue collar runner. In other words, he is a working class runner.

If there's anyone who knows that, it's me. Read the Nov. Running Times if you want examples of my extolling those very virtues.

Only at London can a guy lay down 2:07:04 for 4th and be considered an after thought. And I like what someone posted here yesterday- KK could bring his 'B' game and still make the team. Easy. I like what I am reading about his fitness and attitude too. I am 100% rooting for him. If he makes the team I like our chances to win it all. Same with Hall.

If we had KK, Hall, and Meb 100% healthy, I'd say it would easily be our strongest team since '76. I'll take Abdi if Meb is out though- not a bad alternate. Definitely a serious threat for 1 or 2 medals.