Who is the best runner you have ever TRULY beaten?

I've won over myself once. Wasn't easy, I had to bend over so much on the line that I crashed heavily.

To the sceptics:

1. I was in my prime.

2. it was just by a hair but numbers don't lie.

3. we both were pushing really hard.

Gotta admit it only happened once, though :/

Pat Porter was such a great guy. At meet and greets, victory parties, etc and he was at the top of his career he would point out all the people that use to beat him. Truly humble guy. He said I beat him but I can't find this in any race results.

I beat Amby Burfoot in a XC race last year (he's *only* 30 years older than me).

I also beat these "elite" runners at Boston in April:

2:04 guys:

Tola

Berhanu

Desisa

2:05 guys:

Kigen

Chebet

2:06 guys:

Kandie

Rono

2:08 guys:

April

Gabius

Rupp was a 2:09 dude before Boston

Vail a 2:10 bro

Gillis a Canadian 2:11er

Ritchie a 2:11 guy

Yes, a DNF is a loss.

Not completing the race is failure.

These runners failed to complete 26.2 miles.

If you start the race and don't finish it, you have lost the race.

Brendan's Bum wrote:

It would have been cool if you beat Guy's Adola in London. His time was slow enough to be beaten by a good marathon runner but far from elite. He literally went from 2:03 to 2:32 between marathons. That would be the best example of someone beating a really good runner only half a year after they nearly beat Kipchoge.

I have a couple of mates who did exactly this. Neither realised they went past him at the time however, probably just assumed that any elite would drop instead of crawl to the line.

ThatAverageRunner wrote:

Sure, you technically beat rupp, but I hardly think that counts as ‘truly beaten’. The overweight moms who finished in 6 hours also beat Rupp. Big whoop.

Is it just moms who can be overweight or men can be overweight too??

mine is pretty good wrote:

Who is the fastest runner you have ever actually won over? (Better result in a race.)

I am not talking about someone who is DNS because then you didn’t actually beat them in “the field of play.”

My “PB scalp” is Galen Rupp in the 2018 Boston Marathon.

I nearly spit my coffee out...

“TRULY” and then starts talking about a DNF race ???

I ran a JV race in XC once. Our state champion DNF’d in the V race. Therefore, I am greater than the state champion.

DNF means YOU LOSE wrote:

Yes, a DNF is a loss.

Not completing the race is failure.

These runners failed to complete 26.2 miles.

If you start the race and don't finish it, you have lost the race.

Only hobbyjoggers think that. Elites are there to COMPETE, not to collect their finisher medal.

L O S E R wrote:

DNF means YOU LOSE wrote:

Yes, a DNF is a loss.

Not completing the race is failure.

These runners failed to complete 26.2 miles.

If you start the race and don't finish it, you have lost the race.

Only hobbyjoggers think that. Elites are there to COMPETE, not to collect their finisher medal.

Sorry that you can't finish races and have lost to so many hobby joggers. Better luck next time.

I beat Filip Ingebrigtsen in an 800m when I was 16. That's right, give me praise idiots.

Nef Aria, second place at NCAA XC and 4th at FLN.

He had a bad day and I had a great one.

I've beaten a few well known women. Unfortunately, I was a man in my prime so it is not anything to brag about.

Never beat any top notch men.

I beat Erik Nedeau and Paul Vandegrift in a 1500m race three weeks before the 1996 Olympic Trials.

I finished in 3:42.1 and qualified for the Trials but did not go on to make it to the finals.

They went on to finish 4th and 7th (I believe), so they were fit at the time. And Paul's time finishing behind me was his qualifying time for the trials that year (His lifetime PR is 3:38 as is Erik's).

I finished close to Spivey in that race, which was cool.

I think I beat Rich Kenah in a race somewhere but surely not when he was fit.

286 runners "beat" Rono in the 1978 NCAAs Cross-Country championship.

ThatAverageRunner wrote:

Sure, you technically beat rupp, but I hardly think that counts as ‘truly beaten’. The overweight moms who finished in 6 hours also beat Rupp. Big whoop.

I think he was joking lol.

TV Guy wrote:

Beat Clayton Murphy a lot in HS. All you had to do was take off at mile 2 and he would quit. He must have toughened up since then.

Or, more likely, he received much better coaching in college and got to be much more fit. Most people talk about "toughness" in a race as if an athlete can somehow magically push past their current fitness level. My guess is that Clayton got a lot fitter and college and (miraculously) was able to respond better to opponents' moves in races.

This is a common misnomer. I am pretty confident that I have run many races where I raced harder than Mo Farah raced in any of his gold medal races.

Who's the best I've ever beaten (meaning DNFs count)? Bekele and Geb.

Who's the best I've ever TRULY beaten (meaning DNFs don't count)? Dan Lincoln.

mine is pretty good wrote:

Who is the fastest runner you have ever actually won over? (Better result in a race.)

I am not talking about someone who is DNS because then you didn’t actually beat them in “the field of play.”

My “PB scalp” is Galen Rupp in the 2018 Boston Marathon.

Ed Whitlock.

Lashawn Merritt in an indoor 800 at Christopher Newport University during my sophomore year of college. He was obviously just training, but the result still stands!

The big difference is most of these pros that DNF still get travel expenses and some appearance money. In the mix of it most have to pay entry etc. Does that put victory into prospective . I DNF in Chicago marathon at mile 22 knowing the cold weather was going to do me in. I was brought to the tent with hypothermia. The four guys I was with at the time all finished. Two under 2:20 and the other two past 2:22. I wanted a sub 2:20 or bust. He who lives and runs away lives to fight another day.