Have you ever met an elite runner? What were they like?

A friend of a friend is a top triathlete from Australia. He's won Ironman Hawaii multiple times. I got to hang out with him a few times in a casual/social setting. Super nice guy. Very humble.

I also got to do a trail run with him and my friend. They both destroyed me. It was great/awful watching them disappear up the trail like I was standing still.

Similarly, my involvement with my college track team had me in contact with people making the finals for WC and OG in their event. Some were decent people, some thought they were God's gift to mankind. The latter tended to be participants more interested in status, while nicest, best person wound up an individual OG bronze medalist. This bore out through the years after college, the arrogant ones were also usually those desperately hoping to barely make the OT while the ones who achieved highest and actually went to the Olympics and WC tended to be gracious and humble. Met Shorter a couple times and he unfortunately lived up to his reputation of being rather solipsistic and incurious. Was lucky to get to meet Joanie once and she is a true gem.

In 59 years of running, race directing and writing a running column in a major newspaper, I never met an elite runner who was friendly.

This is not an insult. The top runners were always intense, stand offish and unwelcoming of conversation with the unwashed, slower runners.

Any race director, particularly of the smaller races can tell you stories about elite runners who may show up at a race, maybe for a tune up, races and requests his award early because they don’t want to stick around.

The funny thing is that the big fish in the small pond, good runners on just a local level, have the same attitudes.

They are all good and friendly people…. Just INTENSE and self absorbed. An important quality for someone on top.

The older and slower they get, the more approachable they become.

Nice guys do finish last.

I met Nesta Carter (lead off of the Jamaica 4x1 that has the WR) in an elevator in Miami. This was in 2016 so right before he got popped for PED's that disqualified the 08 relay. I had very little running knowledge at the time but he told our group to google him and then walked out the elevator. Once we realized what he did, we caught up to him and chatted him up. Super nice guy tho.

Keira D'Amato randomly came to our run club once and she was the nicest person ever. This was a couple of years ago when she was on her resurgence.

Met quite a few, but a few stand out:

- John Walker way back when. I was a bit intimidated because I thought he was a huge rugby-sized guy. Nope, he was quite thin, just big next to the guys he raced. Nice guy, intense.

- Frank Shorter at an expo. This was probably 25 years post gold medal and he seemed very normal and friendly but far more interested in talking with attractive women. Can't blame him.

- A US Olympic marathoner a few decades back and the only elite I'd say was actually actively a dick. (Not Dr. Bob Kempainen. I've met him a few times and he's definitely not an azzhole.)

Coach Sam Bell helped me give out awards one day and he was a very friendly fellow.

I visited a high school friend in Boulder. Turns out one of his roommates is an Olympian and Indoor World Champion. I also ended up sleeping on a couch in the room over from where said professional runner records a podcast with other professional runners.

All very nice, normal young men. I had the chance to have some meals with them, bake some cookies, play some board games. If you didn't know who they were, you'd think they were just some skinny guys with funny accents

KB?

Too bad the mods won't ban you for a 84th time.

Art Boileau is a great guy. We were both on the Vancouver Olympic Club, but he grew up in Portland, I think. Sat beside him on the plane from Vancouver to Moncton for Canadian XC. Lots of great stories.

Those were good years in British Columbia. A lot of VOC guys connected with U of O. Art, Peter Spir, Norm Trerise, etc.

I did Broken Arrow (@ Palisades Tahoe the week before Western States) in 2023. Courtney Dauwalter was out on the course in a pretty remote location without anyone else around, cheering. Didn't have a chance to strike up a convo obviously, but the fact that she was out there supporting random scrubs such as myself a week before she smashed the WSER course record says a lot imo.

My experience is that they are just about like any other serious runner, they are just faster.

Played tackle football with Tim Broe at a track camp when I was in college. It was a downpour. So much fun.

Had some teammates that were elite - collegiate record holder, multi time national champs. Down to earth guys.

I met Bernard Lagat a couple of times. Very nice guy.

“Elite Runner” 😂

We just witnessed “elite runners” run in a completely empty stadium that didn’t even look like a live event.

Professional running is a joke. Nobody cares.. There was more excitement at this past weekend’s JP Morgan run as one race in Central Park.

Had a beer with Leo Manzano during an internship. By boss called me down right after I burned a J and showered before bed but I couldn't pass it up. They sat me right next to Leo. Couldn't have been a nicer guy to some random intern who probably looked baked.

Got an autograph from Lagat. He was going down the line with everybody in the stands with a big smile on his face.

Jenny Simpson is close with some family friends. Very nice.

Interviewed Charles Hicks a few years ago and was nice.

My favorite was a friend drunk called Edward Cheserek when Facebook put people's numbers out to the public. He called my friend in the morning to ask how he was feeling! Lol

Met one top ncaa runner. Friendly but very focused and slightly entitled

I met the Athlete Special my freshman year at some random party at Georgetown. Super funny dude and he was nice to everyone as far as I saw. He is not as short as you think, but he was way skinnier than he looked on YT. He most definitely loves attention!

I got talking to one of his buddies, and he told me Mr Brown apparently has a HUGE hog swingin' low between his knees. Also, he allegedly knocked out some giant senior out at a meet in HS with one punch which I can't help but be skeptical about.

Dude, if you are making this point, you obviously haven't been to a Wizards game lately. Massively empty stadium, even when playing NBA greats. I saw them play the Nuggets for ~$10. Attendance--even for the NBA--depends on many complex interacting factors.

I see Peter Reid often! So humble / unassuming. I always want to ask him questions about his competitive days but I get the distinct feeling that he couldn't care less about that talk. 😂