Allie O DNS in Final

Did Allie take a spot from someone else, or was the next woman in time able to compete after she scratched? If the scratch was too late, I feel way more bad for the next runner (Caili Doan, I guess?) than Allie.

(And, again, I like Allie and wanted her to do well!)

No-Being a successful pro funner is about running fast. She is not growing the sport

I was a big fan of Allie O but after this pathetic excuse to not race I feel like I've been duped for the past 5+ years. She is a CLOWN just doing everything for clicks.

It's the final of the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS and she is a pro runner. Put your spikes on and try to win!

What type of lesson does this teach to younger runners? To run away if you are scared? Quitting is ok?

Time to get a real job, Allie.

UNSUBSCRIBED.

"Why I DNS Nationals final" - soon on Youtube.

My translation = I ran all out and barely made the final, despite the relative ease of qualifying (only a few women were eliminated - unlike the 1500 heats), running slower than my recent opening solo effort in Portland. The prospect of being smoked in the final, possibly finishing a distant last place, overwhelmed me to the point of quitting/scratching.

I was just reallly reallllyyy stressedddddddd

It’s her job. You want her to find another funding source for running full-time, like maybe a corporate job or something?

I think we are seeing in real time the effects of social media overuse in her training and racing. She has attached her value as a runner to engagement and "likes". Saying it's "her job" is just an excuse. It's not like it's the only way to support yourself. She has a degree, no one is stopping her from using it besides herself. I would argue the structure of a more traditional job would benefit her training and general mental health. I think most people a getting sick of the influencer genre.

Don't be an idiot. I don't like her explanation either, and I think it was poorly phrased. But it's not exactly a secret that she has a long history of ED going back to high school and certainly at Boise State. Trying to choose my words carefully here, but it's a mental illness (if that's the correct term) and a years-long struggle for people I've known with them. To me this sounds like a mental setback of some kind for her.

Let's give her some grace, shall we? She wasn't making the team and she was the last qualifier. Yeah, it sucks if she took another woman's potential spot in the final, but I don't get too worked up about it. Not like taking an Olympic spot and scratching at the last minute (ahem, a few more famous runners in the last two cycles).

Also, I don't know if Roche is a good coach or not, but isn't there a long thread bashing him? Take it there. I have followed Allie O for years and (a) she is pretty broken, and (b) generally she is healthy, a proper weight and running decently. If anything, kudos to him for seeming to help her by doing more cross-training and focusing on general health, speed and strength.

Remind me of Simone biles. Steeple is an event where if you’re scared or having extreme anxiety, you could really hurt yourself while racing. While she should have come into usa’s with better preparation, I don’t blame her for pulling out yesterday if she was feeling so petrified.

It's true that Roche has gotten her relatively healthy (physically and mentally), and able to race again after having some very significant, serious struggles. He's good for her in that sense, and they is not small matter. I'm just not sure he is the guy to coach her to success in track, especially the steeple. However, is there a track coach who could help her in the other ways Roche has helped her?

if every runner in the final fell and drowned in the steeple pit she was never gonna make the team

I like watching Allie and Spencer’s videos and I’m a fan . But it frustrates me to see a runner not compete in a race like this. I would have loved to be able to compete in a national championship but I don’t have anywhere enough talent. Allie seemed unfocused, first being injured , then trying trail racing . Maybe if she concentrated on one thing at a time.

I dunno if there's anything wrong with her but she's just not quite at that level. Probably because she is clean, competing against 75% of the field being dirty in some way or another.

David Roche hyper emotional mentality is the problem here. Read her Instagram post.

It seems like now her income as a professional runner comes from Oiselle and youtube.

I would guess Oiselle would understand if she did not feel like competing.

And deciding not to run a national championship final will make interesting content for one or more additional youtube videos.

Running as a sport is based on going out there and racing against others, yourself and/or the clock. Not sure how Allie is growing the sport by sending the message that you should not compete if you don't feel like it.

Running is a relatively mentally difficult sport to do, and a big part of running is having the will to compete.

Allie's post was odd for sure. If she wasn't injured or sick sometimes you just have to step up to the line and show up. I believe she is fooling herself in that she knows she wasn't going to be competitive and she didn't want to deal with not succeeding so she flaked.