Official good job Matt Elliott thread

Mile progression:

4:06.42i OT SB 1 Akron Inv Akron OH 14 Feb 2009

4:06.66 SB 10 Music City Nashville TN 5 Jun 2010

3:58.96 1 Music City Nashville TN 4 Jun 2011

3:58.06 SB 6 Falmouth MA 13 Aug 2011

3:59.96i PB 3 Hilton Garden Winston NC 2 Feb 2013

3:57.16 PB 1 Music City Nashville TN 1 Jun 2013

(2012 was spent with Robert Chapman as his coach, but no good results)

Can't not like this kid. He is the man.

Serious props for his 4th place in the 15 at nats. A truly good guy.

Man that was one of the most inspiring interviews ever!

The Answer!! wrote:

I don't congratulate guys who finish 4th, sorry.

There are many people that work full time and train at an elite level. In fact, most do it while working part time. Which may be more impressive considering cash flow.

Real fast guys have full time jobs also...running.

Wow you're hardcore

I have to disagree with most of this. Yes, great performance and he should be happy. However, I don't think he will ever be a great runner; this may be as high as he ever places. The fact that this race led him to openly bawl on camera...yikes. That level of ecstasy over a slow 4th place is not the sign of a future champion. It was like it was a surprise to him that he placed that highly. That shows to me that he has no confidence in his abilities and didn't really believe that he deserved to be in the final in contention for the team. Someone like that is a one-hit wonder, so to speak. I would have vastly preferred a "I'm really pleased with my performance, but I have a long way to go to get where I want to be. I think if I'd done a few things differently, maybe I'd be going to worlds." I hope he proves me wrong (he's a nice guy) but I think we've seen the best he will ever do.

I understand where you are coming from and I respect that reasoning. But progression can be unpredictable. 4:10 milers in high school more often never actually break 4 minutes once they arrive at the collegiate scene. I wouldn't count him out yet, I believe he still has room for improvement. Also, 4th at Nationals is no cake walk! It was tactical race and he did his job at doing what needs to be done. The guy runs for a purpose beyond himself and that is something I really admire about him.

who gives a #&@$ if that is as fast as he will ever run?? the emotion clearly shows how hard he worked to get to where he is. you're right, he probably DIDN'T expect to get 4th at nationals, but that's what makes it so incredible. he worked as hard as he did working full time and surprised himself running a hell of a race. how is that not worth something? the emotion shows it all there. you're forgetting how much of an individualized sport running is, and should be. most will never have the talent to be winning US championships or medalling at worlds, but by emphasizing that too much you're overlooking what's really important in our sport. it's about setting personal goals and reaching for them. he talks about having run 4:42 in high school, and i bet there were hundreds of doubters throughout his life that laughed when he said he wanted to go to a US championship or get top 10 there or whatever. this is him saying "eff the haters, i did it." that is powerful. i love how raw it is.

as a fellow full-time worker dreaming of making it to the 2016 US trials, Matt Elliott is an inspiration to me and i wanted to cry with him watching that interview.

who gives a #&@$ if that is as fast as he will ever run?? the emotion clearly shows how hard he worked to get to where he is. you're right, he probably DIDN'T expect to get 4th at nationals, but that's what makes it so incredible. he worked as hard as he did working full time and surprised himself running a hell of a race. how is that not worth something? the emotion shows it all there. you're forgetting how much of an individualized sport running is, and should be. most will never have the talent to be winning US championships or medalling at worlds, but by emphasizing that too much you're overlooking what's really important in our sport. it's about setting personal goals and reaching for them. he talks about having run 4:42 in high school, and i bet there were hundreds of doubters throughout his life that laughed when he said he wanted to go to a US championship or get top 10 there or whatever. this is him saying "eff the haters, i did it." that is powerful. i love how raw it is.

as a fellow full-time worker dreaming of making it to the 2016 US trials, Matt Elliott is an inspiration to me and i wanted to cry with him watching that interview.

Yes. Great. He worked hard. So did Centro, Lomong, Manzano, Batty, and everyone else in the field (minus Wheating). They all overcame various hurdles and criticsm, too. How many times have people on here openly criticized Manzano, despite him performing when it matters time and again and despite him being an Olympic silver medallist?

You are missing my point. Elliot is obviously talented - he came in 4th in a stacked field. But his interview comes across as "OK I'm 4th in the U.S.; I'm done now. I've made it." He's content. I think he could perform better (maybe not win but who knows) and I don't see him doing it. That is my problem. I hope he reads this and gets the kick in the pants he needs.

Even a crusty old non-theist like me doesn't mind his southern-style credit to Jesus.

I ran 4:42 in High School, 4:42 in college, then 4:42 again age 43. Now 56 and gonna take one more whack at it. THAT would be my own personal "surprise breakthrough" that might bring me to tears. Good luck going forward, Matt.

RealMan wrote:

It was like it was a surprise to him that he placed that highly. That shows to me that he has no confidence in his abilities and didn't really believe that he deserved to be in the final in contention for the team.

Sometimes it takes a race/performance like that to gain confidence. I guarantee you if he was caught before the champs in an interview saying he wanted place top 5 with a 3:41 PR, you probably would have been jumping all over about him being unrealistic, which would be what most people do. I hate when people always think they are gonna just randomly have a great race. It comes when you least expect it.

Slightly off topic, but I would like to point out that Manzano arguably had it tougher. He runs very well at the Olympics and then his contract with Nike vanishes, presumably because he wanted more money and Nike disagreed. He runs terribly for most of the season (4:00 at Pre). I'm sure at some point he was thinking he should just take the reduced money from Nike assuming that offer was there. Yet, he persevered through all that and ended up second at USAs. I didn't watch his interview, but I am sure he didn't get so emotional he couldn't continue with the interview even though I am sure he was relieved and happy. I would bet his mind is on the mistakes he made and how he can correct them. That is the difference between someone with talent who will continue to succeed and one who won't.

Actually I wouldn't be all over him because it would be pretty hypocritical of myself. I have no idea how he trains but he does and he should have a good idea of where he belongs in a race.

Great, Matt Elliott finished 4th in a slow race. The USA championships were slow (5k and 1500). Matt ran as fast as he could and was able to beat talent because the field was running slow. No two ways about it. Matt's times in high school were slow, his times at Presby were slow, and he didn't have any success until he went to grad school at Winthrop University and Coach Paxton saw talent and developed him. Matt left the coach that developed him for Scott Simmons who can spot talent, but can't develop talent. Great job at finishing 4th, but really do you honestly think anyone in the field will be worried about Matt in the future. They were all jogging by their standards.

From 6th to first in the last 50 meters in that Music City Mile. Me Gusto.

You are correct, 1st in a race with no field, but first.

1 Elliott, Matthew Brooks 3:57.16 1

2 Presson, Isaac N. Carolina 3:58.67 1

3 Dey, Dey Unattached 3:59.96 1

4 Ripley, Ryan Red Rock Run 4:00.14 1

5 Gilland, Taylor Virginia 4:01.05 1

6 McNiff, Ryan Unattached 4:01.16 1

7 Cowart, Donald Unattached 4:01.36 1

8 Pennel, Tyler Zap Fitness 4:02.48 1

9 Scullion, Aiman Unattached 4:03.18 2

10 Jordanek, Tony Unattached 4:03.64 1

11 Whiteman, Anthony Unattached 4:03.80 1

12 Lord, Brandon Unattached 4:05.20 2

13 Bean, Cameron Zap Fitness 4:08.31 1

14 Cronin, Ian Run Eugene 4:09.19 2

15 Gilmer, Lee Unattached 4:11.66 2

16 Hernandez, Mike K. C. T. C. 4:12.29 2

17 Samuel, Delohnni Unattached 4:19.74 2

If you look at Centrowitz, Manzano, Lomong, and pretty much everyone else you will see that they were all pretty good in High School. Centrowitz tried breaking 4 minutes for the mile in High School. Elliott was a 4:42 miler in High School! He has broken 4 minutes two years ago for the first time. He has come a long way. Most of the guys who are on top now were already talented and running fast times before they got out of High School. Elliott is a great guy, I liked how he didn't give up. I bet that Elliott received much more criticism/laughs for having big goals than the top pros.

gravy wrote:

Elliott is 24, that is still young and I hope he continues to improve.

says he's 27 with a DOB of Septe 8, 1985. That's likley correct as he finished college in 2008:

Great story though.

Great story. This story shows that in 2008 Matt ran a 3:45.07. So his 3:45.85 at USA nationals should not be a surprise for him or anyone else. He has been running consistently since 2008. Good job Matt, keep running.