Feb 15th--Why not have Galen go for the Mile WR at Millrose instead of Boston? Hurts the sport?

ask and ye shall receive wrote:

Alberto announced early that this was going to be a season of chasing records - and that's exactly what Galen is doing.

Probably the biggest record ever noted was Roger Bannister's 4 minute mile - a total set up and pace race for the record.

I'm not suggesting that Galen's runs are of the same notoriety as was Bannister's, I'm just pointing out that record attempts have always been part of our sport.

10/10

Did'nt know the Armory was such a slow track...still wooden floors after all these years?--Sarcasm

Galen needs to run without anyone else interfering him. As ventolin points out every time you pass in lane 2 you lose 1.46385737573638584 seconds and he won't squeeze out the AR in that case.

Let's be honest here: even if Galen was running at Millrose, nobody would give two sh*ts except for us. It would not "expand the sport". We can pretend like it would, but we all know better. I can admit that stars lining up against each other more frequently would help. However, "stars" = sprinters, hurdlers, and Mo Farah. My best friend is a former runner (and a decent one at that). He watches the Olympic distance races, has some knowledge of who the top distance guys are, and understands what an impressive time is for a given event. He is much closer to being a "track fan" than Average Joe. If I told him that he should watch an indoor track meet because Rupp was lining up against Centro, he would laugh in my face. When I tell him that Rupp is chasing a World Record held by El G (and actually has a good shot at the record because he has given himself the best possible setup), he will probably watch.

Anyways, I think of it this way: now I have two exciting races to watch rather than one.

Are you trying to say that you think this was an excellent post? That is done by typing "^THIS" or "+1", not "10/10". "X/10" is the troll meter. The person you are replying to said nothing that could be considered trolling.

Mr. Mellotron wrote:

ask and ye shall receive wrote:

Alberto announced early that this was going to be a season of chasing records - and that's exactly what Galen is doing.

Probably the biggest record ever noted was Roger Bannister's 4 minute mile - a total set up and pace race for the record.

I'm not suggesting that Galen's runs are of the same notoriety as was Bannister's, I'm just pointing out that record attempts have always been part of our sport.

10/10

In a general sense, I understand where you are coming from, but this particular instance is that big a deal. Rupp has already run a couple times this years against all comers and you can't kill him for skipping one race in order to have a better attempt at a record. Also, in your subsequence post, which I could not figure out how to reply to, you listed when and where MD records were set. You were correct with some them, but several of the races you listed were indeed record setups in terms of the venue, date, pacers and competitors, etc. Nowadays, a meet have to pay for a WR attempt and be willing to pay even more if the athlete gets the record. The cruel reality is that Rupp is probably getting a quarter of the entire athlete's budget for the meet and as professional, Rupp has a right to earn a living.

You are missing wejo's point.

He acknowledges that athletes, coaches, agents etc need to do what they can THE WAY THE SPORT IS SET UP.

As he's suggested many times, though, it would be nice if the IAAF and sponsors provided some more incentive for racing vs chasing.

And let's say Galen does get the record on the supped up track...I'm impressed with the shape he's in and what he's doing in many ways, but what does the mile WR mean -- or even the mile AR -- if everyone knows that there are probably 6-10 guys who would beat him if they were in the race? Kind of cheapens it, no? Usually the WR is set by the guy who is actually the fastest on the planet at that time (i.e. Cram, Morceli, Elg, Kiprop eventually maybe...and other events -- Geb, Komen, Bekele, etc.) To set a WR (or AR) when all these guys are faster, it's weird. If Centro were in the mile he'd probably beat him, for instance. Or Lomong, or Lagat. Not to mention Kiprop, Mo, Kiplagat, what's his face from Morocco, etc.

rupp-certified commissioner wrote:

You are missing wejo's point.

He acknowledges that athletes, coaches, agents etc need to do what they can THE WAY THE SPORT IS SET UP.

As he's suggested many times, though, it would be nice if the IAAF and sponsors provided some more incentive for racing vs chasing.

How many WRs are held by Wejo?

This whole thing about setting up a WR attempt is a joke. If you are fit and are ready to go on the day then it doesn't matter where or who you are running against. For example David Rudisha didn't have a single pacer in the Olympics and he still went out and ripped a world record cause he knew his pace and knew what he was trying to do. All Galen Rupp is doing is avoiding the doping inspectors. His coach and him know that the odds of them turning up at some rink a dink meet at Boston University is slim not to mention he's been training up in boston this whole time. Rupp is doping and everybody in the sport knows it. Whether or not people want to admit it or not what he is doing is not normal nor does it fit with how records are broken. I laugh every time he breaks a record especially when it is in a shorter event like the mile due to the fact that nobody has questioned how a guy who is predominantly a 5k/10k all of a sudden drops a 3:50 mile INDOORS after his previous best was 3:57 OUTDOORS.... The NOP is dirty hence the reason they are so secretive about what they do take and where they train.. Rupp and Salazar are the ultimate magicians in the sport of track and field right now. Farah is for another day, but he's right there with them.

Arm Chair Wrestling wrote:

bleu wrote:

Have to agree. The track is faster in Boston.

I'm guessing he is looking more at his fitness and condition leading up to the race rather than "The rubber is harder on the BU track".

I'd guess that you didn't hear his coach say that the track is "at least as fast as outdoor."

Um, Rupp get's test A LOT! He can get tested today, tomorrow and every day up and including this meet.

Because eff NYC, that's why.

Alberto is a good Boston man

So where's Salazar going to be? Centro and Mary Cain in NYC, Galen in Boston. Who does he love most?

Oh Rupp gets tested a lot??? SO WHAT! Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, and the list goes on of athletes who were tested a lot and were caught cheating. Haven't you figured out that the ones who don't get caught cheating are the ones who find things that aren't on the banned list because they are new drugs or PED'S? That's how sports works. Find something NEW that cannot be tested for then it doesn't matter if you are test 1 time or 1,000 times. If there is no test for it then you can't test positive, but that doesn't mean you aren't cheating... What you are doing is cheating the test and the sport! So you think Mo Farah's 1500 English record of 3:28 is legit too? hahahahaha

Well, at least they moved Rupp's mile from Feb 8, when it would have gone up against the Indoor Grand Prix in the same city.

Weird times wrote:

And let's say Galen does get the record on the supped up track...I'm impressed with the shape he's in and what he's doing in many ways, but what does the mile WR mean -- or even the mile AR -- if everyone knows that there are probably 6-10 guys who would beat him if they were in the race? Kind of cheapens it, no? Usually the WR is set by the guy who is actually the fastest on the planet at that time (i.e. Cram, Morceli, Elg, Kiprop eventually maybe...and other events -- Geb, Komen, Bekele, etc.) To set a WR (or AR) when all these guys are faster, it's weird. If Centro were in the mile he'd probably beat him, for instance. Or Lomong, or Lagat. Not to mention Kiprop, Mo, Kiplagat, what's his face from Morocco, etc.

The very fastest have run indoor miles and below is the list. I'd be surprised if Lagat hasn't run 25 or 30 indoor miles, maybe many more.

Second, if they think they can break the indoor world record, why not go after it? If it's that easy, tweet a couple people in the milrose mile and see if they are interested in chasing after the WR and recruiting a rabbit. You know Rupp is going for it, so why not? There is certainly money in it if you get it. Who was the last american distance runner to ge a WR?

If it was that bloody easy, why doesn't lagat or willis have it by now?

1 3:48.45 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Gent 12 FEB 1997

2 3:49.78 Eamonn Coghlan 24 NOV 1952 IRL 1 East Rutherford, NJ 27 FEB 1983

3 3:49.89 Bernard Lagat 12 DEC 1974 KEN 1 Fayetteville, AR 11 FEB 2005

3:50.6 Eamonn Coghlan 24 NOV 1952 IRL 1 San Diego, CA 20 FEB 1981

4 3:50.70 Noureddine Morceli 28 FEB 1970 ALG 1 Birmingham, GBR 20 FEB 1993

3:50.81 Noureddine Morceli 28 FEB 1970 ALG 1 East Rutherford, NJ 08 FEB 1991

5 3:50.92 Galen Rupp 8 MAY 1986 USA 1r1 Boston (BU), MA 26 JAN 2013

6 3:50.94 Marcus O'Sullivan 22 DEC 1961 IRL 1 East Rutherford, NJ 13 FEB 1988

7 3:51.20 Ray Flynn 22 JAN 1957 IRL 2 East Rutherford, NJ 27 FEB 1983

8 3:51.21 Lopez Lomong 1 JAN 1985 USA 1 New York (Armory), NY 16 FEB 2013

3:51.34 Bernard Lagat 12 DEC 1974 USA 1 Liévin 10 FEB 2009

9 3:51.34 Matthew Centrowitz 18 OCT 1989 USA 2 New York (Armory), NY 16 FEB 2013

3:51.66 Marcus O'Sullivan 22 DEC 1961 IRL 1 East Rutherford, NJ 10 FEB 1989

10 3:51.8 Steve Scott 5 MAY 1956 USA 2 San Diego, CA 20 FEB 1981

11 3:52.02 Peter Elliott 9 OCT 1962 GBR 1 East Rutherford, NJ 09 FEB 1990

12 3:52.10 Ciaran O'Lionaird 11 APR 1988 IRL 3 New York (Armory), NY 16 FEB 2013

13 3:52.18 Rui Silva 3 AUG 1977 POR 1 Stockholm 15 FEB 2001

3:52.28 Steve Scott 5 MAY 1956 USA 3 East Rutherford, NJ 27 FEB 1983

14 3:52.30 Frank O'Mara 17 JUL 1960 IRL 1 Fayetteville, AR 25 JAN 1986

3:52.37 Eamonn Coghlan 24 NOV 1952 IRL 1 East Rutherford, NJ 09 FEB 1985

15 3:52.40 Sydney Maree 9 SEP 1956 USA 2 East Rutherford, NJ 09 FEB 1985

16 3:52.51 Mehdi Baala 17 AUG 1978 FRA 2 Liévin 10 FEB 2009

17 3:52.56 José Manuel Abascal 17 MAR 1958 ESP 4 East Rutherford, NJ 27 FEB 1983

3:52.6 Eamonn Coghlan 24 NOV 1952 IRL 1 San Diego, CA 16 FEB 1979

18 3:52.63 Silas Kiplagat 20 AUG 1989 KEN 1r2 Fayetteville, AR 11 FEB 2012

19 3:52.66 Caleb Mwangangi Ndiku 9 OCT 1992 KEN 2r2 Fayetteville, AR 11 FEB 2012

20 3:52.8 John Walker 12 JAN 1952 NZL 3 San Diego, CA 20 FEB 1981

21 3:52.98 Chris O'Hare 23 NOV 1990 GBR 4 New York (Armory), NY 16 FEB 2013

22 3:53.18 Laban Rotich 20 JAN 1969 KEN 1 Boston (Roxbury), MA 29 JAN 2005

23 3:53.26 Paul Korir 15 JUL 1977 KEN 1 Fayetteville, AR 14 FEB 2004

24 3:53.31 Noah Ngeny 2 NOV 1978 KEN 2 Stockholm 15 FEB 2001

25 3:53.49 Reyes Estévez 2 AUG 1976 ESP 3 Stockholm 15 FEB 2001

26 3:53.54 Nicholas Willis 25 APR 1983 NZL 1r2 Boston (Roxbury), MA 07 FEB 2009

27 3:53.6 Tom Byers 12 MAY 1955 USA 2 San Diego, CA 19 FEB 1982

28 3:53.74 Jens-Peter Herold 2 JUN 1965 GER 1 Karlsruhe 01 MAR 1994

29 3:53.93 Daniel Kipchirchir Komen 27 NOV 1984 KEN 3r2 Fayetteville, AR 11 FEB 2012

30 3:54.08 Russell Brown 6 MAR 1985 USA 4r2 Fayetteville, AR 11 FEB 2012

You don't want strong competition, i.e. people as good as you are, in a record attempt race because a) you could get caught up in trying to win the race which is rarely the same as running as fast as you can and most importantly b) nothing's worse than setting a record and LOSING -- in other words you might end up setting SOMEONE ELSE up to set the record.

thinker wrote:

Oh Rupp gets tested a lot??? SO WHAT! Lance Armstrong, Marion Jones, and the list goes on of athletes who were tested a lot and were caught cheating. Haven't you figured out that the ones who don't get caught cheating are the ones who find things that aren't on the banned list because they are new drugs or PED'S? That's how sports works. Find something NEW that cannot be tested for then it doesn't matter if you are test 1 time or 1,000 times. If there is no test for it then you can't test positive, but that doesn't mean you aren't cheating... What you are doing is cheating the test and the sport! So you think Mo Farah's 1500 English record of 3:28 is legit too? hahahahaha

You said he was avoiding testers. I said he gets tested a ton. You now say it doesn't matter if he gets tested a lot because nothing will come up in the test. Then why does he need to avoid testers?

As far as Farah goes, I don't really know. What I do know is there have been a good deal of marks under 3:29 and he is not near the top of it. He couldn't have been in a better set up and he did not win. If he was a Kenyan 19 year old you'd probably just he's just another natural Kenyan prodigy.

3:26.00 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Roma (Stadio Olimpico) 14 JUL 1998

3:26.12 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Bruxelles 24 AUG 2001

2 3:26.34 Bernard Lagat 12 DEC 1974 KEN 2 Bruxelles 24 AUG 2001

3:26.45 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1r1 Zürich 12 AUG 1998

3:26.89 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Zürich 16 AUG 2002

3:26.96 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Rieti 08 SEP 2002

3:27.21 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1r1 Zürich 11 AUG 2000

3:27.34 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Monaco 19 JUL 2002

3 3:27.37 Noureddine Morceli 28 FEB 1970 ALG 1 Nice 12 JUL 1995

3:27.40 Bernard Lagat 12 DEC 1974 KEN 1 Zürich 06 AUG 2004

3:27.52 Noureddine Morceli 28 FEB 1970 ALG 1 Monaco 25 JUL 1995

3:27.64 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 2 Zürich 06 AUG 2004

3:27.65 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Sevilla 24 AUG 1999

4 3:27.72 Asbel Kiprop 30 JUN 1989 KEN 1 Monaco 19 JUL 2013

3:27.91 Bernard Lagat 12 DEC 1974 KEN 2 Monaco 19 JUL 2002

5 3:28.12 Noah Ngeny 2 NOV 1978 KEN 2r1 Zürich 11 AUG 2000

3:28.37 Noureddine Morceli 28 FEB 1970 ALG 1 Monaco 09 SEP 1995

3:28.37 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Monaco 08 AUG 1998

3:28.38 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Saint-Denis 06 JUL 2001

3:28.40 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Bruxelles 05 SEP 2003

3:28.51 Bernard Lagat 12 DEC 1974 KEN 3r1 Zürich 11 AUG 2000

3:28.57 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1r1 Zürich 11 AUG 1999

3:28.73 Noah Ngeny 2 NOV 1978 KEN 2 Sevilla 24 AUG 1999

6 3:28.81 Mohamed Farah 23 MAR 1983 GBR 2 Monaco 19 JUL 2013

3:28.84 Noah Ngeny 2 NOV 1978 KEN 1 Paris (Charléty) 21 JUL 1999

3:28.86 Noureddine Morceli 28 FEB 1970 ALG 1 Rieti 06 SEP 1992

3:28.88 Asbel Kiprop 30 JUN 1989 KEN 1 Monaco 20 JUL 2012

3:28.91 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Zürich 13 AUG 1997

3:28.92 Hicham El Guerrouj 14 SEP 1974 MAR 1 Bruxelles 22 AUG 1997

3:28.93 Noah Ngeny 2 NOV 1978 KEN 1 München 11 SEP 1999

7 3:28.95 Fermín Cacho 16 FEB 1969 ESP 2 Zürich 13 AUG 1997

8 3:28.98 Mehdi Baala 17 AUG 1978 FRA 2 Bruxelles 05 SEP 2003