Should I lead the first half of Olympic Trials then drop?

I'm pretty shocked that this thread has gone on for so long without mentioning Gary Fanelli, a nobody in the running world who led the 1980 Olympic Trials marathon for the first fifteen miles of the race, building his lead over the chase (lead) pack to 150 yards by mile 11 and coming through the half-way point in 1:04:39. He was even talking to the reporters on the press bus during this escapade, complaining about a blister on his foot that might be slowing him down. Unlike you, however, Fanelli did not quit, but rather held on to a vey respectable 2:16:49 for twenty-second place. Remarkably, two weeks later, Fanelli won a 10k road race over Bill Rodgers (who hadn't run the trials) and Rod Dixon (who, as I recall, had never run a road race, and showed up for it wearing training shoes). About four months later, Fanelli ran his personal best of 2:14:17 in Montreal. In the next (1981) Boston Marathon, he led for 16 miles; I don't know if or when he finished. In 1987, he finished seventh in the Boston Marathon, then moved to American Samoa, becoming its Olympic coach and somehow getting to run in the 1988 Olympic marathon. Over the years, Fanelli gained quite a lot of fame (and, I believe, significant sponsorship money) for, among other things, leading major races while wearing goofy costumes (Elwood Blues, Michael Jackson, Chef Ronzoni, Abraham Lincoln, and my personal favorite, Billy Chester Polyester, which he used in winning the Jamaica International Marathon, where he faked a hamstring injury and crawled to the finish line).

I've known many instances of runners who led Olympic marathons, Olympic trials marathons, and other major races for as long as they could, knowing full well that they weren't going to be contenders at the finish. (I contrast these people with someone like Matt Carpenter, the mountain runner, who led the first seventeen miles of the 1990 national marathon championship against an exceptionally strong American field, because Matt was genuinely trying to win the race in his usual way of trying to destroy anyone who tried to hang with him. And there were guys like Tom Fleming, Garry Bjorklund, and Juma Ikaanga, legitimate contenders who would often open up big leads before getting swallowed up by the eventual winners -- although Ikaangs's victory in the NYC marathon was an important exception to his history of second-place finishers.)

I respect most of these runners. I even came to appreciate the goofiness of Gary Fanelli, although I don't particularly respect his scheme to get into the Games through a rather short-lived (at the time) connection to America Samoa. But I have very little respect for the runners who lead a major race while recognizing that they're just trying to draw attention to themselves on television and other media, and I did notice that television coverage of those individuals tended to decrease as these ploys became more common and recognizable. I think those individuals generally just demean the sport and the truly serious athletes for their own selfish ends. They also often create havoc early in the race, because they're intent on getting into first place and showing off. When I was a serious competitor, standing with the other legitimate competitors at the front of a race of thousands, I would look for signs of those pretenders, who posed a risk (even in marathons) of getting in the way and tripping up legitimate racers.

Unfortunately, I tend to place your possible plan in the negative group. As a purely selfish act, I think it has much to offer you and little downside, and you can certainly choose to act accordingly. But you are inevitably going to be taking attention away from more deserving athletes, you are going to being encouraging this kind of conduct in the future, and you are going to do so under the completely fraudulent premise that you are actually competing in the race. The glory you will receive will come only from those who know nothing about how this sport works, and how easy it is for an unexceptional runner to lead most marathons for a very long time. Perhaps you can wear a shirt that clearly and explicitly clarifies that you are not competing in the race, but are merely seeking to see how long you can stay in first place, which would at least allow mass media companies to choose whether they should bother to provide any coverage of you. But I've never seen anyone do that, and I suspect that you wouldn't, either, so you would just be carrying out a fraud at the expense of others and to the enjoyment of those -- apparently including a number of lesser runners on this site -- who may get a vicarious kick out of seeing someone subvert the event in such a way. But it's your choice, which will probably say something about your character. I certainly understand the temptation; a 1:05 half-marathon isn't much of an effort for lifetime bragging rights. But I know that I wouldn't do it, and I know that my choice reflects my own values rather than any ignorance or misapprehension about how to further one's own self-interest.

TL; DR

Do it. Toxic Johnny approves this message. However you must procure a letsrun.com onesie, which you will expose at mile 8. Only then will you achieve legendary status in the LRC pantheon.

go for it.
as long as you don’t interfere with the people who are actually there to race then what’s the harm?

id rather experience what it’s like at the pointy end of the race than get a top 50 finish.
leave the LetsRun singlet at home though.

just do it and be legend(s)

How many Brits have run faster than 2:16 this year?

I don't think USATF will cut the qualification so that only a handful can run it, as it's one of the few races that's actually a spectacle, with heightened drama, and the chance of a long shot fulfilling their Olympic dream with the performance of a life time.

If you want to make road races less entertaining, sure, make it a 10 person field. But if you want to capture the public's imagination, and actually draw them to running, then keep it as it is.

I'd say try to basically be the pacer of the race. If you shoot for 2:09 pace you'll probaby be leading for awhile, given the likely conditions, but its a realistic enough pace that they hopefully won't let you go.

Go out hard, try to hold on!

B. Shrader did this at the 2020 trials. Minute lead at half then dnf. Maybe he thought it was cool. No one seemed to really care though.

If you want to roll the dice, then go for it OP. Ever heard of Mick Iacofano? Dude set a half PB en route to a 2:09 at the Marathon Project. Blue collar hero for that run. The way that you wrote this seems like you're more into the appearance of it. There's a difference between getting DQd to reveal a singlet and going out at PR pace & trying to hang on for dear life.

I would probably go for place and see where I stack up in a field like this but if you're in shape & want to go for that do that but leave a lot of this mindset out of the equation. Don't think about running with the women the second half of the race or what other people think.

Lead it as long as you can. When you're out of gas, and before the lead pack catches you, yell very loudly, grab your hamstring and limp dramatically off to the side of the road. As the lead pack passes you, scream that you would have beaten them all today, they are lucky bastards that you got hurt. Then quietly return to video games in your mom's basement.

100 percent made up story. 0 out of infinity

I don't remember a ton from the men's marathon during the 2019 Worlds in Doha, but I do remember the nutjob from Paraguay (I think) who went balls to the wall for the half the race and then doubled over, his face looking like someone descending into the bowels of hell. In other words, go for it, especially if it is insanely hot and likely to cause mass carnage.

Seems like an opportunity to do it all:

- have fun doing something stupid for attention

- help the race

- hang on and see what you can run off of a suicidal early pace

- make a statement

Respect the race and go out with the leaders and lead the race, you’ll get your airtime and your lifelong story.

break the wind for the leaders, set the pace for half of the race a smidge faster than they seem to want to go.

hang on and finish the race.

reveal an LRC shirt with additional messaging about how Max Siegel should be booted, guntime should have been at 8am instead of noon, and the trials should have been in Chattanooga instead of orlando

Yes you have no hope of placing, go out there and waive your Jersey around and get your sponsors some GD airtime. Maybe they’ll let you go too.

This is a fascinating thread. Like many others, love the idea, got me a big laugh on a Sunday morning. Would I actually do it? Probably not.

There's one aspect of this with some depth to it that I want to highlight, which is the bittersweetness of a race like this for all but the top entrants. (I've never qualified for Olympic trials, but I understand this feeling on a smaller scale). OP is an exceptional runner who has undoubtedly suck many years into becoming his very best. And he has; running 2:16 and qualifying for OT is an incredible accomplishment.

But the reward is to be on the line with a couple hundred other guys, most of whom easily outclass him. He's got no real chance of doing anything significant, like running a PB, finishing in the top 10, or being anything of a factor in the late stages. We all know here that finishing in say the top 50 at OT is a tremendous accomplishment, a level above "mere" qualification. But there's no glory in a tough 47th place.

I think to some extent that this hopelessness is what underlies this thread idea, and our engagement with it. How does one find meaning in a race that is both the pinnacle of one's career and simultaneously offers no real possibilities to go further?

With all that said, here's my idea for a stunt that will both gain you notoriety and at the same time respect the race and push you to give your all. On your singlet, write an optimistic but realistic goal in big, bold, easily readable letters. "Top 50 or bust", or 40th or 100th, etc. Early on, if the pace lags, go to the front and lead for a couple minutes; if you're lucky you'll get some TV time. And then put everything you have into the rest of the race. Run smart, run tough, and let the chips fall where they may.

If you hit your goal, you'll get tons of credit for calling your shot and exceeding expectations. And if you miss it, at least you were bold enough to try.

i would train for the humidity if possible you're really ready just in case

stay with the lead pack through the first half, then make a decisive move and be open to the fact they may let you go and actually most might think you dropped out or never saw you create separation

it's been almost 30 years since paul pilkington stunned the field in LA

you never know what'll happen unless you go for it

If you could get a buddy to go in on it with you, that would be really dope. Wear the same kits. Two guys bustin' out a breakaway like they're working together to make the team. That would capture the attention and curiosity of the commentators and audience. Gotta have a good exit strategy, though. Maybe start fighting over a water bottle that escalates to the point you both stop running to continue arguing and getting into a shoving match off to the side of the course for the next few minutes as the pack passes you by.

Absolutely go for it. For the reasons you described. Totally worth it. Maybe even wear a funny costume or somethint