puhspective wrote:
Maybe Gary Martin enjoys xc and racing with the team. He's a great mile talent, but he's also a kid with a life who should enjoy himself. He ran most of the race up with his teammates near the front. And that opinion is not even taking into account armchair coaching, which will run the gamut from "he should only be doing speedwork" to "he's building great strength."
If I was a top 7 guy on my team and my coach held me out for some vague purpose of "long-term development" I'd be furious. I'd want to go on the trip with the team, make memories, have fun, get into the midst of things instead of watching it back home through a TV screen. Assuming he doesn't break both his legs 5 miles into the race next week there won't be any harm done to his future development and he makes memories that will last a lifetime. Anyways, we've got to stop babying our best talents, Ingebrigsten was going up against the best in the world (and often getting crushed) at his age. He's doing just fine now.
