I believe that's a mistake - Grandma's would be ineligible
That's what I thought....so it does appear that IAAF has actually made a mistake/typo here?
Not that it really matters (I don't think he was running those times on massive tailwind days anyway)....I was just trying to learn something new (i.e. if there was some weird thing why Grandma's would be considered "record eligible" and Boston and CIM would not be.
But back to CJ: I honestly can't understand his training and progression. It is very unique. Don't get me wrong, I greatly respect guys that have run much, much faster than I ever could.... but from what I've seen from his training and racing and progression and attitude it's all a lot different from other 2:10 guys I've known.
Grandma's is not record eligible (must be no more than 1:1000 drop AND no more than 50% separation) but it is (as is any point-to-point course that is within 1:1000m drop in elevation) eligible for an athlete's WA PR and eligible for auto entry standards (eg. Olympic standard). WA took out the 50% separation requirement in selection criteria, PR's etc..
What is it about angry community-college basement-dwellers that makes them insult those much smarter than them?
Sage graduated from an Ivy League two decades ago or so and since then has no professional or educational credentials other than " running YouTube Influencer." He is now in a physical decline and gets about 5k views each YouTube video. What about ANY of that screams "smart"?
Well, he's not an arrested-development a**hole posting insults anonymously from his mom's basement, so I've gotta say he beats you by about a million light-years in any respect.
I admire CJ for running a very strong race all by himself. It's a flat enough course, but there are a goodly amount of turns, and several dips through tunnel underpasses over miles 21-24, not a lot of fun. There are also slower runners on the course from the shorter races on the day, to navigate around.
I will say, for most runners it's easier to run a quick marathon running with others. For a real quick run, perhaps Chicago would have been a better choice, but then it would have been a plane ticket, hotel room, meals and at least a couple days off of work, so I can understand wanting to run on one of your "home" courses.
The auto is 2:08:10. Not everyone in the olympics will have the auto standard. After that they'll use the descending order of rankings, but to get in on ranking you will need a minimum of 2:11:30. But as CJ pointed out, it is doubtful a time slower than 2:11:30 will be top 3 at the olympic trials. Even if it's 75 degrees 3rd place will probably be at least that.
Someone like Rupp who ran a high 2:08 and top 10 at a WMM (bonus points for that placing at WMM) who could still be top 3 in time like 2:10 and getting big bonus points for top 3 at US championships will be able to get in to the olympics even though they don't have a sub 2:08:10 marathon. The amount of people who think you need the olympic/world standard to qualify is shocking. We just saw McGorty and Notosha Rogers make it to the world championships without the auto standards.
Do you know what the word "standard" means?
No authority has ever said that you'll need 2:11:30 minimum. That's just a number you've pulled out of your a*se - or you somehow think the Tokyo standard still has relevance (it does not).
Also, 2:08:10 is not an auto-qualifier, as a number of countries will have more than 3 athletes reach the standard, and will need to be selected by their committee.
As was the case for the Olympic Games in Tokyo and the World Athletics Championships Oregon22, the qualification system will be based on a dual pathway of qualification
“Any national Olympic committee may choose to reallocate a quota place to an unqualified athlete, provided the athlete in the qualification window has achieved at least a 2:11:30 (men) or 2:29:30 (women) performance.”
I admire CJ for running a very strong race all by himself. It's a flat enough course, but there are a goodly amount of turns, and several dips through tunnel underpasses over miles 21-24, not a lot of fun. There are also slower runners on the course from the shorter races on the day, to navigate around.
I will say, for most runners it's easier to run a quick marathon running with others. For a real quick run, perhaps Chicago would have been a better choice, but then it would have been a plane ticket, hotel room, meals and at least a couple days off of work, so I can understand wanting to run on one of your "home" courses.
Good luck at the trials to CJ!
but when he gets in a race with others he just tries to go solo off the front until the pack inevitably catches up to him, gobbles him up, and then spits him out the back in double quick time
“Any national Olympic committee may choose to reallocate a quota place to an unqualified athlete, provided the athlete in the qualification window has achieved at least a 2:11:30 (men) or 2:29:30 (women) performance.”
As of November 6th, the 2024 Olympic Men's marathon field has a quota of 80 racers and the last man in the field is Ireland marathoner, Ryan Creech, whom has a performance score of 1119 points from 2 races:
29 OCT 2023 Irish Life Dublin Marathon, Dublin IRL B Marathon F 2. 2:14:08 1093 35 1128
19 FEB 2023 Zurich Maraton de Sevilla, Sevilla IRL B Marathon F 45. 2:13:03 1110 0 1110
CJ Albertson would be in the 2024 Summer Olympics if he represented any other country except countries with 3 qualified athletes who rank above him. Here is that list of countries with 3 men's marathoners in 2024 Summer Paris Olympics:
CJ's repeat workouts usually max out at 8k of work and he almost never does 10k-15k of repeat work. This is a problem. Pair that with tempos at slower than marathon pace, and no wonder he's not running the times he wants. Yes Kipchoge and company often run 40k tempos at slower than marathon pace but that's paired with miles and miles and miles of repeat work
The standard is 2:08:10 . 2:11:30 is a "quota reallocation system"
"In June when World Athletics announced a somewhat confusing “quota reallocation system” for the marathon? That system allows USATF to sub out any or all of its qualified athletes with a replacement, as long as the replacement has run 2:11:30 or 2:29:30 within the window. Since the US shouldn’t have a problem getting three athletes in the top 65, that means that anyone who has run 2:11:30 or 2:29:30 in the window would also be guaranteed an Olympic berthwith a top-three finish at the Trials (assuming USATF takes advantage of the quota reallocation system). And even athletes who haven’t hit those times would be able to clinch an Olympic berth by running 2:11:30 or 2:29:30 at the Trials and finishing in the top three"
The standard is 2:08:10 . 2:11:30 is a "quota reallocation system"
"In June when World Athletics announced a somewhat confusing “quota reallocation system” for the marathon? That system allows USATF to sub out any or all of its qualified athletes with a replacement, as long as the replacement has run 2:11:30 or 2:29:30 within the window. Since the US shouldn’t have a problem getting three athletes in the top 65, that means that anyone who has run 2:11:30 or 2:29:30 in the window would also be guaranteed an Olympic berthwith a top-three finish at the Trials (assuming USATF takes advantage of the quota reallocation system). And even athletes who haven’t hit those times would be able to clinch an Olympic berth by running 2:11:30 or 2:29:30 at the Trials and finishing in the top three"
So he has a long way to go.
and he's not getting there with his current training
CJ gets out on the trails and the road (we've crossed paths several times) and there is some logic to mitigating the pounding by running on a treadmill (speaking from experience), BUT, there is something to be said for the tried-and-true approach to running good marathons - unless your last name is Zapotek, do not overcook during training and don't run back-to-back marathons if you need to run a standard and podium all in one day.
In addition, he does have a pretty horrible attitude and is not humble at all either out on the trails or at races. Doesn't ever say hi to folks who know him for his running celebrity. He's our hometown hero, yes. But I don't like the guy at all.
If he can humble himself in his training, racing, and his attitude, I think he could knock out a spectacular time. I've been waiting a long time for him to breakthrough and prove us all wrong. Unfortunately, I don't believe it will happen.
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