Doha: That Was a TREMENDOUS Track Meet

Great meet.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Up until 2004, only 264 Americans had ever broken 4. Now 420 guys have done it. So we've had 154 guys do it in the last 10 years whereas only 264 did it in the first 47.

Yay America. Which one of them is going to run sub-3:30?

Wheating :-)

wejo wrote:

I was just talking to Robert and told him, "It made me want to fly their next year."

He said the same thing. If we could get crowds like that at most meets we'd have something.

Here is the perfect plan.

We get a ton more Americans over there, acclimated, and ready to race. Then we use computer aided editing equipment to make the race seem like it is in...pick a city in the South with warm temps and a big stadium.

We replace the words "Doha" with name of to be selected city.

We replace the sponsor signs with USA based companies.

We ge Al Michaels and some sidekick to scream the ish out of the race calls about the most popular new sport in America...

Let the conspiracy and the hype beging, heheheheh (evil laugh).

rojo wrote:To be honest, I've wondered in the past why people weren't better more often. Bad coaching. That no longer exists really

Not quite

I'm sure coaching is fractionally better but the 1 thing that transforms a runner ( any distance ) is

Strength

Coaches aren't significantly better, but they learnt they are only part of solution :

A Weights coach + Nutritionist have made helluva lot more difference

The running coach, if he has 1/2 a brain woud realise that if his guy/gal is spending lot more time in gym, then they will much less energy/time left for running & to tailor their running training around reduced available time/energy

If you want to be an elite middle/distance running talent, the logic is obvious :

You get the strongest possible you can with least weight gain from muscle mass ( even this may be somewhat moot ) as each extra muscle will slow you down from

T = (New weight/Old weight)^(1/3)

You want the extra strength from acquired muscle to significantly overpower the above from

Increased strength = ncreased Speed is more than above formula

rojo wrote:

It was AN UNREAL MEET.

You do realize that times across the globe are unreal. Have you seen the college ranks? 10 years ago, I could get a guy to run 1420 and 2940 and he'd dominate the Ivy League. Now he won't even score.

Even take a look at the Payton Jordan. How many years did we watch the best America had to offer, running 13:30? Or going nuts on the very rare occasion where someone got the A standard there? How often did we not send a full team in the distance events because we didn't enough (or any A standards)? Remember 2003 when Jorge Torres was the on US man at worlds in the 5k, and that was with a B standard?

Prior to Ritz opening the flood gate with his 12:56, how many Americans had broken 13:10? BK, Lagat, Maree, and Teg are the only names coming to mind. Compare that the results of this year's PJ alone.

Soop wrote:

Obiri almost got her clothes ripped off

Up until 2004, only 264 Americans had ever broken 4. Now 420 guys have done it.

You failed to mentione that.

4/20 blaz it!

rojo wrote:

Up until 2004, only 264 Americans had ever broken 4. Now 420 guys have done it. So we've had 154 guys do it in the last 10 years whereas only 264 did it in the first 47.

Robert, I love this site and think you provide a valuable service, but do you have to shove in our faces the kind of student that Princeton is willing to take if the, umm, "intangibles" are right?

We've already established that spelling, English composition, and punctuation are not your long suit--what the heck, you're just trying to get something on the boards to us quickly, and not too concerned with proofing (and of course errant posts can't be edited *ahem*)--but do you seriously want us to understand that you can't subtract 264 from 420 successfully?

Boy, I hope your family gave a *huge* donation to Old Nassau. Sheesh.

Souleiman, Kiprop, Kiplagat, and Maka in the 1500m...outstanding race. Kiprop brought the business over the on the last straight.

rojo wrote:

You do realize that times across the globe are unreal. Have you seen the college ranks? 10 years ago, I could get a guy to run 1420 and 2940 and he'd dominate the Ivy League. Now he won't even score.

Thanks to the Internet (and letsrun has a small role), good coaching is global now. People should be good.

....

To be honest, I've wondered in the past why people weren't better more often. Bad coaching. That no longer exists reallly.

.

So.....why have does the US still suck at the Marathon (except for the occasional great race by Meb and Hall) ??

The depth has gotten WORSE over the last 20-30 years.

rojo??? It doesn't add up. If there is no more "bad coaching", and if everyone is "good" now thanks to your and your brother's, and JK's, and malmo's great wisdom passed across the world and especially in this country (and let's cut the humble crap, you do think you guys deserve the "credit"), WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE MARATHON IN THE US ?? You guys all push lots of mileage which should work in the marathon more than any distance. But the results suck for the US.

Sorry, where we should see the biggest improvement, we've seen none. Look like you will have stop patting yourself on the back.

Off your meds again T Rex. Your millinaire wife cut you off again?

wejo wrote:

I was just talking to Robert and told him, "It made me want to fly their next year."

He said the same thing. If we could get crowds like that at most meets we'd have something.

Made me want to fly their what?

rojo wrote:

Thanks to the Internet (and letsrun has a small role), good coaching is global now.

Robert, you'll probably get some grief for this remark, but I happen to think that it's accurate. The Internet (particular kudos to YouTube) has increased coaches' knowledge; and I think that LRC has played a little more than a "small role" in getting the word out. I know I've learned a lot here, anyway, after having coached for more than a quarter-century.

Thanks!

What's with the lone rangers in the blue and gold singlets winning everything?

Maybe I didn't watch enough races

.75 laps to go...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqtc9AnGzgg

sdfptaya sdfrtiski sdfrewaya wefsdtinski "PACE MAKER" ertaya

rojo wrote:

But no everyone wasn't superhuman in Doha. Case in point, Genzebe Dibaba. She wasn't good today at all.

You failed to mentione that.

She's pretty cute.

Pity they had no long distance races

How come they assume audiences will watch a 5 hour marathon but not under 13 mins or 26 on the track

Perfect setting. Intimate about 10000 people. Ideal

[quote]Bad Wigins wrote:

Except for the 5 superhuman women who beat her, she ran the fastest outdoor time since 2007, setting most of the pace herself. Sounds pretty good to me.

This sounds very similar to what happened to Flanagan in the Boston Marathon