RE: 'The Road to Beijing': 3 hour marathoner wants to make British Olympic Marathon team in 2008

Evidence as to why betting companies are so profitable...

I think he will run in the region of 2:25-30 in 2008 at London which will be incredible really for a 3 hour marathon runner. 2:15 I think would be very dufficult but who knows!!

Good luck man, you are my inspiration.

3000m 7:59.8 1:04

5km 13:48.8 1:06.3

10km 29:00 1:09.6

15km 44:45.1 1:11.6

10mi 48:15.1 1:12

13.11mi 1:04:28.1 1:13.3

26.22mi 2:15:20.8 1:17

Equivelant performances - Does this seem likely to you?

You don't have to run that fast at 5 and 10K to run 2:15. Take a look at Huw Lobb's performances. However, he still has to run 30 minutes for 10K which only 29 guys achieved last year. I wonder how many of those were racing 36 minutes the year before.

http://www.athleticsdata.com/rankings/performances.aspx?athleteid=948

Also consider Paula:

2001:

1500m 4:04 (achievable for a healthy man in his 20's, no?)

10,000m 30:55 (tougher than above, but still 86 UK men went under on the roads in 2006 - maybe it would have been 100+ if more raced on the track.)

2002

3000 8:22

5000 14:31

10,000 30:01 (getting better)

2003

Marathon 2:15:25

i'm not sure that Paula is the best example to use. Women tend to do relatively better at longer distances than men and Paula is the best of the bunch.

Also, Paula is physically suited to the Marathon, and trained herself so well that she could run the distance just 20 seconds per mile slower than her 10000m (not 10k) pace.

May I remind you all about the fact that at least 50-60 British runners ran sub 29 minutes at 10000 metres about 30 years ago. Out of that bunch of runners came all those running 2,08-2,15 at marathon. Some speed is required, no doubt!

So what you're saying is that the 430miler has more chance of winning the Nobel prize for literature than this guy running 2:15.

so you're saying there's a chance... yeahhh, i read ya, loud and clearha (from one of my favorite movies)

barrettowesyou wrote:

So what you're saying is that the 430miler has more chance of winning the Nobel prize for literature than this guy running 2:15.

I agree with some of the stuff which has been written on here concerning 'the ability to do the high levels of training is a talent, not just having talent to run fast', however, if you are struggling to run 1 mile at your goal pace for a marathon in twelve months time then I think you are in danger of being a laughing stock, regardless of how good you are at marketing.

If I was running 17 minutes for 5k a this point in my preperation and was being so upfront about 'what I'm going to do next year' I think I'd be tempted to be a little less forward about things.

and by the way, he isn't trying to run 2.15 he's rying to run 2.14, at least thats what it says on the schedule ; )

i think this is in essence what winds people up about this whole thing - its almost a contempt for the sport - running 17.20 5Ks (already way off the supposed 'schedule' of 16.30 at this point) - is so far removed from being even remotely close to 2.14 in 13 months time. 2.15 and bits is 5.10 miling - at the moment hes struggling to do 3 miles at 5.35s. To claim to be genuinely trying to qualify for the Olympics is daft.

And for those people saying 'he may be an untapped talent' - I think over 12 months of training would be yielding better results if this were the case.

Good luck, hope he continues to improve, but cease trying to convince people this isnt just a load of cobblers.

As for the stated 'its been my dream since a child' - why did you then spend years being a fat & lazy s0d (by his own admission)?

EXACTLY - yet everytime i say this, all i get is people saying, if you don't love this guy you need therapy, give him a chancehe says it is his lifelong dream... bs... if it was he would've done something about it a lot earlieri'm sure deena kastor's life long dream was to win an olympic medal, she certainly didn't sit on her ass until when she was an adult and then start working on it...it was a determined effort over approximately 20 years

point wrote:

As for the stated 'its been my dream since a child' - why did you then spend years being a fat & lazy s0d (by his own admission)?

I'm not sure its contempt for the sport - just ignorance on what it all means, and the public announcement of what perhaps should remain a private dream. We all dream - just not all are for public consumption! But I agree with all the posters who say he hasn't got enough speed yet - we can all argue about how fast he needs to become over 5k (I'll chip in with at least 14:30) but as he hasn't reached his intended marathon race pace for 5k yet its all really academic.

Another hurdle will be where he stops knocking chunks off pb's and starts chipping away and so the realisation of what trying to knock a big lump off actually entails!

But I would love to see him achieve it - it would really be good for sport to show what hard work & focus could do. But a bit of talent (aka natural speed) would do wonders....

David Lean wrote:

FFS! the guy runs a film production company - that is what he does! He makes films. For a living.

His company has made lots fo films - some sporty, some not. So, now that he has taken up running it is perfectly logical that he wants to make a film about it.

Get over it.

I'm perfectly over it. Its still ridiculous and i can understand why people aren't supportive of it.

Apparently anyone with an opinion differing from yours shouldn't have one...

make mine a pint of.... wrote:

Im not responding to that fool any more.

Ahh yes. The tried and true name calling response. Don't have anything else to say? Thought not.

thought you would like his website, phill. in my opinion, i think this guy knows hes got zero chance of making the olympics, a sub 2.15, or even realistically a sub 2.30, maybe he might make a sub 2.30 if he trains really hard for 4 years, but he wont. i think hes a ben fogle wannabe media south-west london type, who wants to spend 12 months trying to make a film about himself, and may well do it in a -i lost 7 stone, now im an elite athlete, sponsored by the daily mail and weightwatchers,housewifes choice -sort of way

I will be surprised if he lasts beyond August before he hangs up his dreams and joins the real world.

[quote]anEconomist wrote:

he says it is his lifelong dream... bs... if it was he would've done something about it a lot earlier

i'm sure deena kastor's life long dream was to win an olympic medal, she certainly didn't sit on her ass until when she was an adult and then start working on it...

it was a determined effort over approximately 20 years

[quote]

That's a very good point. Unless he has been seriously misquoted, then this guy is a major league bullshitter.