An obvious desperate attempt by Meb to draw some attention to himself--it's really sad he feels a need to do that.
An obvious desperate attempt by Meb to draw some attention to himself--it's really sad he feels a need to do that.
Not gonna fly wrote:
Sprinters don't like running long. To make it an even race, the distance would have to be long enough that Bolt would hurt and look bad running it even if he won. Meanwhile Meb would just look slow. I can't see Bolt agreeing to look bad. And he apparently doesn't like running even the 400. You would have to get up to something like the 800 or 1500 to make it roughly even.
Besides, if it's Bolt vs. a marathoner, it would need to be something like Bolt vs. Makau (WR holder vs. WR holder) or Bolt vs. Geb (biggest sprint star vs. biggest marathon star). I love Meb, but he's not in the same league as Bolt as a celebrity.
unfortunately, yes. a bekele, bolt 500 would have been awesome in 2009. let this thread not devolve into bekele:bolt hypotheticals. i invoked it because 500 is the perfect distance for a sprinter and distance runner to meet. this would just be very underwhelming. i think i'd cringe watching meb run 57, 63 and bolt running 52, 67
Who says it has to be a footrace? They should race go carts or tricycles.
A selfish attempt?
The marathon this guy had trained to run was cancelled due to an incredible natural disaster, and instead of bitching and complaining he's decided to "challenge" Usain in a "race" FOR CHARITY.
Why don't you get off your selfish behind and raise some money for a selfless cause since someone like Meb isn't allowed to.
Beer mile Bolt vs. Symmonds
You saw it here first folks!
here it is folks...
3 races starting with a 1500 (long enough for meb to win but short enough for spectator attention)
then maybe some smaller ticket races(...like amy yoder bagley vs phil knight)
second, an 800m (5-10min rest)--toss up
some more small ticket races (...like alan webb vs take your pick)
finally a 400m where Bolt could shine and walk away the victor.
This would give spectators something more than 2min to watch, would allow both athletes to shine and allow usain to look like the man.
The payday would have to be HUGE to get Bolt to interrupt his fulltime job of bangin' broads around the world. This will be his top priority for the next +3 years until he resumes his training a couple weeks before the 2016 Olympics.
pre1972 wrote:
3 races starting with a 1500 (long enough for meb to win but short enough for spectator attention)
To repeat, the Mile; the 1500 has little if any interest to the vast majority of Americans including track fans.
I'd be much more interested in Rudisha vs. Bolt over 400m. Billable names too: 100m/200m WR and Oly Champ vs. 800m WR and Oly Champ.
"He's so not trained for it- and Bolt in 2:00-2:05."
The only way Bolt runs over 2:00 is if he stops to sign an autograph in the middle of the race.
Beer mile would actually be pretty fair.
Bolt is a known party animal and I have no trouble believing he can down a red stripe pretty fast, however running a mile for him would be pretty uncomfortable.
Meb on the other hand could probably run 4:20ish? for a mile right now if I had to bet, but I have seen clips of him on flotrack and he seems pretty health conscious and tries to eat a good diet. I am guessing his current activities do not include alcohol drinking.
The problem with all of these proposals is that for the distance to be fair, they would both run badly. Bolt and Meb in the 800 would be a weak race compared to any race with top 800m runners. Bolt might surprise and be good at the 800 but I doubt it, and we know Meb isn't an 800 runner and past his prime at the distance in any case.
If it's an event they are both bad at, you might as well have them play tennis or horse.
Mexican Magic wrote:
What gives Meb the right to challenge Bolt?
Im afraid Meb is a media whore who wants to scrape every cent he can before he retires. Leave this sort of race to David Rudisha or Mo Farah men who actuallt have Olympic gold medals.
My thought exactly. One of these Bolt vs. a distance runners may happen once in our lifetime if we are lucky. I sure as hell wouldn't want to see the race wasted with meb in it. People like Rudisha, Farah or Bekele are more deserving of this opportunity and would make it far more interesting.
Meb should have challenged Lolo Jones so we could see more of her ridiculous tweets.
they hold two races a mile and a 100m dash.
they both line up for the 100 bolt wins and meb stops halfway to sign program covers. then they line up for a mile meb wins and bolt stops at the 100 mark to sign program covers. alan webb places 34th in the mile race and letsrun headlines "webb is on the comeback trail".
It's a politically correct event so everyone gets a finishers medal!!!
Beer Mile would be epic
Chew on this wrote:
A selfish attempt?
The marathon this guy had trained to run was cancelled due to an incredible natural disaster, and instead of bitching and complaining he's decided to "challenge" Usain in a "race" FOR CHARITY.
Why don't you get off your selfish behind and raise some money for a selfless cause since someone like Meb isn't allowed to.
It's just like those Christians are always doing. Thinking of nobody but themselves. The Christian persecuting Libs give ten times as much to charity then brag one tenth the amount.
Distance junkies are hilarious. You guys really think Bolt would run over 2:00?? 2:00 is very, very slow on the grand scheme of things.
NewbieWeightTraining wrote:
Distance junkies are hilarious. You guys really think Bolt would run over 2:00?? 2:00 is very, very slow on the grand scheme of things.
Yes, I think Bolt would run well over 2:00. Just as most distance runners would run over 11s in the 100m (which is very, very slow on the grand scheme of things).
Let's assume the 'fair' distance is around 800. My question is about tactics. I think that if Bolt sat on Meb for 600 then he would blow him away. If he went out at 400 pace and then tied up on the back straight it might allow Meb to reel him in before the line. For Meb, how close does he need to be at the bell? Can he make up 40 meters on Bolt when he dies or does he need to try and stay within 20-25?