Ryan Hall made the right decision to DNS

Meb did what he had to do, boldly run as if he could do it, but against the odds. He did that for 20 miles! That's called courage. Then when that didn't pan out, he regrouped and finished ....awesome.

SnakeOil wrote:

On another note, if he IS injured, one has to wonder if it's his Asics shoes....I tried on a pair of Cumulus the other day and immediately though, "These would give me PF as well...."

I like how this comment has been deleted. However ridiculous the comment, we can't anger an advertiser!

My respect for Meb is off the charts. I have no idea how his training went or what his level of fitness was. I feel really bad for him in that over the past year, following his great 2012 Oly run, he ost the Fall season with the NYC Marathon cancelation, and then lost his Spring season with injury.

I have no idea whether Meb finished the race only because of some clause in his contract. Anyone who has run a marathon more than a time or two has had the experience of having the wheels fall off late in the game. In my mind, for an athlete of Meb's ability, and given his extraordinary competitive record, a 2:23 finish is no different from a DNF. He made a decision to finish for whatever reason, and I don't consider it heroic to finish for the sake of finishing. Let me put it this way: I admire Hartman, and my respect for him is not diminished because he DNFed instead of finishing in 2:23.

have to ask wrote:

The Waterboy wrote:

You can't fake your way through a marathon. You can get through an 800, 1500, or *maybe* a 5K being out of shape or injured, but not a marathon.

What are you talking about? You can't fake your way in an 800, 1500, or 5K either.

I tend to think you can. The more aerobic a race is, the more 'shape' or 'fitness' matters. The effects of being out of shape are magnified as distance increases. At the same lack of fitness you may lose 2% in an 800 but lose 6 or 7% in a marathon (time, that is).

I agree with the OP. Hall should DNS every race from now on

There are 3 differences between Hall and Meb. (1) Meb proves time and again that he can come back from off performances; 2:23 is just another bump in the road. (2) What does Meb have left to prove? He's an Olympic medalist and came back last year when everyone thought he was done and almost did it again. So what if he is getting past his prime? The man is almost 40! (3) Meb is a class act - genuine and a true competitor.

And let's face it, how different are their PRs? That Boston time was wind-aided on a fast course. Don't get me wrong, a great race. But I don't think 2:09 low on NYC to too much different than 2:04 high on Boston with winds out of the west.

A Duck wrote:

someone had to do it wrote:

Yup

people on this board think ignoring injury and pushing through to finish in a time much slower than you're capable of shows "heart"

I'm not attacking Meb, just the stupid message board posters who think that what he did is somehow heroic and Hall deciding to withdraw is somehow a character flaw

I like Meb and all, but that made me think his start was appearance money related. Why start AND hang with the lead / big dogs if your "fitness isn't there" ??

Hey Duck if that were an Oregon athlete you'd be praising them non stop for showing heart but since its a non Oregon athlete you question their motives.... Very nice

So you're applauding Ryan for not starting today and not trying to "fake it?" What about in the Olympics?!?!

NaCl Dog wrote:

And let's face it, how different are their PRs? That Boston time was wind-aided on a fast course. Don't get me wrong, a great race. But I don't think 2:09 low on NYC to too much different than 2:04 high on Boston with winds out of the west.

If you give NY 3 minutes, it's about the same as Hall's 2:06:17, which I consider at least similar to his windy Boston time. Since NY has no pacers, even 2.5 min makes Meb's performance close to as impressive.

Oh BS. How many 38 year olds in the world can run 2:23?? A dozen maybe? How many, of any age, can run 2:23-a hundred perhaps?Meb is an American Hero. He should be embraced and admired. He is what is right with America. Maybe he had a bad day-and didn't run a 2:10. He's out there taking a shot-on a very tough day. So what if he was getting paid. He's been at the top of the heap of US marathoning for a decade. How long did Shorter and Boston Billy last? Alberto Salazar?Anyone who's run a few marathons knows the feeling of an off day-and busting up and losing 10 minutes on the back half. This guy is Nolan Ryan and Cal Ripken rolled into one. Maybe he's at the end of the road. Maybe he just had a bad day.Lace up your Skechers and go run.

Exactly. And NYRR got more than their money's worth for whatever they paid him. Everyone still talks about him and loves him. His comments on the police and Staten Island reminded everyone what its all about and gave the race class again. He's their best story even at 2:23.

I don't think people are mad at Ryan Hall for DNSing if he was hurting. I think we're all just getting tired of the hype of him entering big races then stringing a bunch of DNS's together in a row. I'm a big Ryan Hall fan, but he's obviously doing something wrong and I'm not sure we'll ever see a big race from him again, unless maybe he gets a coach.

I faked my way through the 2012 Missoula Marathon. I was running about 25 miles a week, and decided to go for it. ran a 3:13. My second marathon was 2:39

People saying "Hall is done", but I'm not sure there was ever much there. Discussed on (my) blog post: http://chasingzatopek.wordpress.com/

The point is even if he was healthy he wouldn't have been a factor. He is totally finished.

LeadvilleNative wrote:

Oh BS. How many 38 year olds in the world can run 2:23?? A dozen maybe? How many, of any age, can run 2:23-a hundred perhaps?

haha probably every 38 year old guy in kenya with a couple years of half-ass training. And probably could do it barefoot.