FAM runs solo 13:40 road 5k; says NYRR wouldn't bring him in

hoss wrote:

From his twitter: "Felt like crap today still ran state record 13:40 road 5k

I've never heard a professional runner talk/brag about setting a state record before. Does anyone other than Fam care about setting state records? Would most pros even know that they had done so if they set a state record?

BFD. I won two RRCA state champsionships in the last 2 months, in two different states.

What I respect, and which must make me among a slim minority here, is that Fam is the rare pro athlete who WILL speak his mind and tends to have well-formed opinions. He is perfectly willing to speak truth to power. That probably scares off a lot of potential sponsors, but he seems quite good with that. However, it may be leading to getting him blacklisted in the sport. NYRR is known for embracing athletes who know how to put on the happy face and spout corporatespeak at press conferences and via social media. They like control and predictability. (Remember Hansons rejecting their bribes er grants that were disbursed by USATF a few years back?) Think of their current poster boy, that Sony Skecher Powerbar guy. On that note, I have to wonder if Lauren Fleshman will be invited to many more NYRR races after the whole Picky Bar incident. She did try to spin it in a way that deflected all blame from NYRR, but the fact that she attempted to use their main event as a stage for her publicity stunt probably doesn't sit well with the higher-ups. Anyway, as much as I may esteem Fam, I cannot be that surprised if the NYRR has a secret policy to discourage him from coming to their races and if it might be the start of him being blackballed from the sport.

Fam...no one likes you.

Time to get a life, amigo.

-FAM- wrote:

I received no invite and did not ask for one after hearing the recent news on Hesch;

Fam you know, or should at this point in your career, that not many invites go out for this type of race except for a few top stars. This race is secondary to the NYC Marathon the next day. As such the NYRR's puts out a very few invites and fills out the field with those who let it be known to the NYRR elite coordinator or consultant that they were interested in competing. As long as that person was of suitable caliber they usually get in.

Fam you are not of the quality anymore (you didn;t even qualify for the Olympic Trials) to expect an invite to such an event, but I am sure if you expressed interest a suitable time in advance than you would have happily added to the field and provided with accomadations/travel.

But you didn't ask to be entered or show an interest according to the NYRR. The Hesch comments is just below the belt on your part. The elite field was announced before that Hesch story broke. At that point no athletes were being added to the field, so if decided not to seek entry until after that point it would ahve been too late anyways. Also the NYRR probably catches and DQ's more dopers than any other major race organizer. Their anti-drug standing is long and strong. Hesch had nothing to do with your decision and to bring it up is just you trying to jump on a bandwagon to try and swing people to your side.

Stop trying to be the victim all the time. It really is getting pathetic.

Fam,

There is a difference between speaking your mind and whining. You don't come across as a voice of reason speaking out against injustice. You come across as a whiny kid who pouts on Twitter when he doesn't get his way.

Also, you are not important enough for anyone to have "a secrete policy to discourage [you] from comming to their races." Only a raging narcissist would believe this.

What "truth to the power" do you imagine Fam is actually speaking?

I am sure the NYRR would like Lauren Fleshman back at any time. With the possible exception of Kara Goucher, no one is better at cultivating and maintaining a fan base (through her blog) than Fleshman is. Fleshman is a publicist's dream. Fam is most certainly not.

I don't get all the hate for Fam. What has the guy done wrong here and consistently? In other posts people rave about how he is a class act, makes time for fans, and all that. Now, people are complaining he is nothing but a whiny has-been.

It seems pretty ironic to respond so negatively to somebody who you feel is being so negative.

state record? wrote:

hoss wrote:

From his twitter: "Felt like crap today still ran state record 13:40 road 5k

I've never heard a professional runner talk/brag about setting a state record before. Does anyone other than Fam care about setting state records? Would most pros even know that they had done so if they set a state record?

And again, the "5k" course he set this state record on is notorious in the area for being a short course.

And again, the "5k" course he set this state record on is notorious in the area for being a short course.[/quote]

Seriously- the 16-17min guys I know all ran 30-45 seconds faster than their PRs or what they're in shape for right now. This is not HS, experienced adult runners do not drop that much in one race unless the course is not legit. I call BS on 13:40, maybe 14flat. I'm sure fam knows that's not legit and that didn't stop him from hyping it.

That being said, I would love to see Fam and Bobby Mack duke it out on a legit course- the winner would surely get a state record.

Put a stop to the confusion now, kids: I am not Fam and Fam is not me. I have been posting on here with this handle for years and I've never seen Fam post under any name other than his own.

Sure, as evidenced by all the ads in running mags I see Fleshman in all the time. I like Fleshman a lot, for reasons similar to those that lead me to like Fam, even though I found the temporary tattoo grandstand to be rather feckless. I agree that her blog is great. I just don't make the mistake of confusing personal admiration with what appeals to the general public or even just joggers at large.

Corner Pocket wrote:

I am sure the NYRR would like Lauren Fleshman back at any time. With the possible exception of Kara Goucher, no one is better at cultivating and maintaining a fan base (through her blog) than Fleshman is. Fleshman is a publicist's dream. Fam is most certainly not.

Actually Fam and another guy I know had GPS and got it at 3.09 and 3.11 so it was legit.

At the race. wrote:

Actually Fam and another guy I know had GPS and got it at 3.09 and 3.11 so it was legit.

That makes it official. And why is he running a 5k with a GPS?

I HIGHLY doubt... wrote:

hoss wrote:

From his twitter: "Felt like crap today still ran state record 13:40 road 5k @NYRR_pro doesn't think I'm good enough for their 5k? #ohwell"

https://twitter.com/recklessrunning/status/259638646116859906/photo/1

Wonder if they didn't offer at all or didn't offer enough?

Having dealt with NYRR many times before, and their elite program, I highly doubt they didn't offer Fam a spot in the 5K elite field. I can imagine that they didn't offer him a ton of money but NYRR is pretty generous with offering elite athletes perks and free admission (invites, hotels, etc), especially for those like Fam who are local.

Years ago I ran into Fam at the starbucks on 86 and Lex. He was a nice enough fella, approachable and had charisma. He is a marketable character and clearly has talent, but for the American audience unless you have medal potential in a main event there isn't much money to be made. I think he knows this to be true, he just feels that this is wrong. Is this a rightous battle to fight for, when there are so many injustices in the world? No. But its the battle he has chosen, and I hope he wins.

Twitter hound wrote:

He's ranted and raged about the USATF and the NYRR, the two most powerful groups in the U.S. in our sport.

HARRA is twice the size of NYRR!

NCAA-established market rate for his coaching service

This is not paying him what a college coach would make. A college coach makes X amount of dollars for coaching more than one kid. They just have to pay them what they think the going rate for any club coach would be. In the same way a college coach is required to charge if he coaches a high school age club.

It will probably be something like 100 bucks a month, or something like the typical cost of a gym membership.