Orville, you got it right.
Orville, you got it right.
Why should the truth matter? I take it your position is that truth is rarely "inspirational". Maybe he was running a sub one hour pace for the marathon with 50 meters to go when he passed out. That would be really inspirational. I'm sure his family is incredibly inspired by his stories.
The thing I like about G-Dog and his crazy stories is how he always has these defenders who go "but, he was SO talented, he could have done it!" The guy was indeed crazy good, but still, at the end of the day, his best time he actually ran that was was seen by reliable witnesses was a 6 mile on the track in just over 27, so equivalent to 27:50+. So that's how fast he actually was, no more, no less.
So it's just funny that it seems like ALL the unbelievable stories involve Gerry, rather than other guys who were just as good. The 4-mile accurately measured XC race in 16:30 (a pace that was faster than the 5k track record back then) - that was Gerry. The near-miss at the sub-2 hour marathon - Gerry. 350 mile weeks - Gerry. Let's not forget all the 50 to 70 mile runs Gerry did on the weekend with no aid stations or anything like that. How come we never hear about Frank Shorter doing anything crazy or impossible in a workout, or Pre, Billy Mills, or modern guys for that matter? They all probably have tough workout stories, but they all are believable given these guys' PRs. But we are supposed to take Gerry at his word, and believe that he just never put it together in a real race for some reason.
It's sad, because the dude was really, legitimately one of the best runners. There is no need for him to tarnish his reputation by making crap up. And frankly, the 4:08 first mile sounds like one of the most plausible of his outlandish claims.
Maybe he did this. Certainly he was capable of 4:08. So then he slowed down a lot. What was the 2 mile split? 11:43?
Al Sal once ran a 4:08 to open a 5 mile road race in the early 80s, I recall.
Actually, Gerry did hold the American Record at 3 miles, what was it, 12:53? At the time, Ron Clarke held the world record at about 12:46 or so.
I think this was Gerry's best mark. I do not know what race he ran it in.
He did "put it all together" in several real races. He was the first American to win the 10,000 in the dual meet with the USSR, made an Olympic team, held the six mile WR, won a bunch of NCAA Championships. And you don't know that he didn't do the sessions he says he did so he may or may not be "making crap up."
I you believe that he was on sub 2 hour pace with a mile to go you need the same help Gerry needs.
I've heard this same story told a number of times. At WSU there is a 10 mile loop, which is pretty hilly, that current WSU runners call Lindgren's Loop. It's the same loop that Gerry would supposedly do up to three times a day during training.
A 4:08 first mile on a 10 mile training run is crazy regardless, but when you consider that a good majority of the first mile of this loop was down a very steep hill it becomes a little less impressive, but also a little less stupid to be doing.
A couple former track teammates of Gerry's told me a story about a time they drove up to Gerry when he was on airport road (about 7-8 miles into Lindgren's Loop) running, at what they said was a really fast clip, with his hands behind his back. They asked him what he was doing and all he said was, "I'm strengthening my legs."
Ron Clarke ran the first sub 13 three mile with a 12:52.4 WR in London July 10th, 1965. Gerry Lindren was 2nd with a 13:04.2 AR.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8rC2Xeiz5k
Lindgren ran a 12:53.0 AR in Seattle in 1966 at age 20.
Gold = wrote:
Look at all the other things he says; running 300 miles a week, having been en route to a sub-2 hour marathon before he decided to quit a few miles before the finish line. The guy is either psychotic or a liar and probably both.
Not an either-or -- by definition psychotic people are disconnected from external reality to varying degrees, so often their lies are not lies per se but confabulation. That is, Gerry very likely believes most or perhaps all of what he says, and even if he doesn't, he probably doesn't think that it matters if he's stretching the truth a bit.
Also, "He was a great runner" and "He's a liar/unstable/etc." -- also not an either-or. We know for a fact that he was an incredible runner and there's plenty of evidence suggesting that he made a ton of shit up.
And to the guy who posted that lots of people do in excess of 200 miles a week (false; we know a few elites who have experimented with this for limited periods, but "lots"? No) so it's reasonable to think that a great runner could manage 300: I wish I believed that you posted that with tongue jammed in cheek, but I fear you did not. How ungodly dumb. Do you really think that one person can be so special that he can do 50 PERCENT more work than other elite runners, much of it very fast? Do you think there are ELITE athgletes in other sports (not gimmick-driven toolboxes like Dean K. and Dane R.) outworking EVERYONE in their discipline by that much -- in this case a good 10 or more hours a week, almost 1 1/2 hours a DAY?
How was his form? Did he look relaxed?
Anonymous1962 wrote:
How was his form? Did he look relaxed?
Was he update?
HRE wrote:
And you don't know that he didn't do the sessions he says he did so he may or may not be "making crap up."
And I caught a fish that was THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS BIG!
But I threw it back and I didn't take a picture and no one else was there to see it.
Now, the problem is that I could tell you I caught an average sized catfish and you wouldn't be able to believe me.
At this point, Gerry could say he did 3x1600 in 4:20 with 3 min rest and I wouldn't bother even considering the statement's veracity, regardless of how realistic it would sound.
Gerry is the boy who cried 16:30.
You have an opinion. That's all. There's no way to know if it's a correct one or not. Some of Gerry's claims seem far fetched but some of his accomplishments also would sound far fetched if we didn't know they actually happened. People do exaggerate but sometimes people also do things that seem unbelievable. Some people may do both.
I followed Gerry on Facebook for a while. I could never get past the fact that he left his family in the way he did, and became disgusted whenever seeing a status update of his.
Maybe it just hits me harder being a dad myself.
If Gerry did the things in training that he says, then he is one of the all time underachievers and chokers in competition. Guys who shatter world records in training ought to be world record holders when someone is actually timing the thing. you know, in track meets and such.
would you believe it if he said he did a marathon on the track?
Lorenzo the Magnificent wrote:
If Gerry did the things in training that he says, then he is one of the all time underachievers and chokers in competition. Guys who shatter world records in training ought to be world record holders when someone is actually timing the thing. you know, in track meets and such.
He WAS a world record holder.
Gerry is senile. He is in the advanced stages of senility, and it's really bad.