Come on now Ritz couldn't beat Mebrahtom

lets say Ryan Hall had not run the NYC, i bet you everybody would be talking how he could have beaten Meb and backing it up with all this statistics. I think it was Mebs day and he proved it, give the guy the credit he deserves.

Flagpole's understanding of running wouldn't fill a thimble. Sadly his ego displaces a city block.

Doug Burt wrote:

Flagpole wrote:

Better times = better runner. Period. Ritz is better. He's proven it.

Nice logic here Flagpole. Do better times really equal a better runner? Is Alberto Salazar a better runner than Paavo Nurmi? Is Deena Kastor a better runner than Joan Benoit? Hardware is the mark of a true champion. Meb has some. Ritz doesn't and most likely won't. This is further evidence that you are most likely a racist.

Even if your logic is true, which it's not, Meb has a faster PR in the 10K and marathon. So how is it that you can say that Ritz has proven that he is better than Meb? This sounds like another Flagpole fantasy to me. Sad, but true.

Faster times on equivalent courses shows the better runner, yes. So, yes, Alberto Salazar is a better runner than Paavo Nurmi, and so are tons of men you've never heard of. Nurmi was the best of his time. Time moves on, and the world gets bigger and bigger, and more parts of the world compete, and the pool to draw runners from gets bigger and bigger and bigger.

Meb has faster times in the marathon and 10k, yes, but as I've said for YEARS now, Dathan Ritzenhein is the most talented American-born distance runner we have ever seen (tied with Alan Webb). When his career is over (which will be after Meb's career is over), he WILL have faster times in all distances from 2 miles up than Meb does (unless Meb moves to the ultra marathon and Ritzenhein doesn't). When you bring up current times, you are mentioning accomplishments. Meb is currently more accomplished overall and in times in the 10k and marathon. Ritz though is more talented and WILL have faster times than Meb in the marathon and 10,000 meters.

VIPAM mentioned that Meb is still running and might continue to set PRs. Well, he won't in the 10,000, and in the marathon he likely will if he runs a fast course, but it won't be enough to beat what will be Ritzenhein's career marathon PR. Why? Ritzenhein is a better runner than Meb. No shame in that. Dathan Ritzenhein is a seriously talented runner.

Sir Lance,

1) We for sure can NOT say whether he would have or not...which is why VIPAM's assertion is silly. As I said earlier, COULD Meb have beaten Ritz in that race? Sure. COULD Ritz have beaten Meb? Sure. We can't know. Ritz though has proven he's got superior ability, and so to say he for sure could NOT have beaten Meb...well, as I said earlier, that's silly.

2) I would like to see Ritz medal in the Olympics or win a major marathon, but quite frankly, if he does neither and yet still posts the times I KNOW he will, then he'll still be a better runner than Meb. Olympic medals are a GREAT accomplishment, but they do just signify ONE race, and when comparing one year to another, it's just not a level playing field. Who knows how deep and strong the field might be the next time Ritz gets a chance to run an Olympic marathon. A 6th place finish one year in a blazing time against competition the world has not yet seen can easily be as good of a performance as a silver medal (first loser) in another year. You might very well be correct that Ritz will not win an Olympic medal or win a major marathon. The reason though isn't because he's not as good as Meb (because he's clearly BETTER), but because it is impossible to predict the competition that shows up for future marathons and impossible to predict the strength of the world runners when Ritz is running his best times in the marathon.

Kenyan News - Now That America Is The World Marathoning Superpower, We At LetsRun.com Promise To Not Forget The Little Guy--------this is so funny. letsrun.com posted this lines---------kenyans are the little guys now-----why is kwambai a little guy? ------ you win one marathon and now you become a superpower? as a kenyan i see this headline as an insult. okay, we lost one marathon, our team was not that good, cheruiyot is getting older, too much millege, makau is inexperience and kwambai was not feeling well. mebs win was impressive but don't insult us by calling us little people. do you know how many kenyans can run 2.09 and under? we can bring our c team and they can win that marathon. we kenyans act the same when we win or loose. we do not criticize and say why you did not win, when we loose or yeeeee we won. we act the same way. we don;t call people little people either when we win. to be good runners, you got to check your emotions. we don't cry when we loose, we go back and train even harder. winning is not enough, we go and see why we won and double the effort to win even more. so, please, don't call us little people. remember the next marathon is around the corner. we shall see

Calm down please, all of the United States didn't say that nor did all the posters!