WEBB HAS TO BE THE MOST UNDER-RATED RUNNER OF ALL-TIME. Man, people are arguing seconds in an 800M... If he would have run 1:46.7, would we be complaining as much? 1:45.78? Where does it end?
Great 800 opener from Webb. Plain and simple.
WEBB HAS TO BE THE MOST UNDER-RATED RUNNER OF ALL-TIME. Man, people are arguing seconds in an 800M... If he would have run 1:46.7, would we be complaining as much? 1:45.78? Where does it end?
Great 800 opener from Webb. Plain and simple.
Chemistry man wrote:
Let's see: American record holder in two miles; 13:10 5k; 27:34 10k; oh, by the way, 3:48 mile. I suppose it matters who's doing the rating, but those are worthy of great respect.
Exactly! Webb goes from God status to washed up faster than anyone I've ever seen. Stember is washed up. Webb is way younger and way better. How could anyone rip Webb with those times? 1:47 800 when he's just in a strength training phase? Holy crap! Can't set a PR or American Record in every race.
I'm mildly disappointed. He's focusing on speed and finished 3rd in a time he ran in HS. Sure it's April and he's just starting, but still.
yeah,if he ran a 1:45 now everybody would be bashing Webb for peaking too early, but if he runs ANY slower he gets criticism for sucking and not living up to standards. Instead of bashing him, support him. EL G and Bekele are honored like Gods and supported in their countries,but Webb and most other American athletes just get ripped on when ever they dont set American records. SO just chill out everybody.
If a great runner finished third in a very minor race, and there were no message boards, would it still be the end of the world?
Its great to see 2 GSAC grads in the same race as Alan Webb
The Rocket wrote:
Its great to see 2 GSAC grads in the same race as Alan Webb
re-phrase that--2 gsac alum, 1 gsac grad. shaw transferred to vanguard but never graduated. ramirez graduated from APU.
i agree, pretty cool to see 2 NAIA types racing top 800m competition in the US at a prestigious meet like mt sac. its cool that shaw (mt sac alum) was able to run on his home course in front of a home crowd in the 8 and 4x4.
off the top of my head, NAIA had a strong presence at the meet. aside from the obvious (apu's excellent 4x4), derek scott in the mile, OBU woman running 2:09 800, cheromei winning steeple, ball 9:11 steeple, simon frasier, etc.
Webb's run was a solid performance for this time of the year. In fact, if he would've run 1:45, there'd be more cause for worry, because unless he has much better speed than he and his coach realized, which I strongly doubt because they work a lot on speed at the end of every track season, he would be peaking too soon. I think getting 3rd by tenths of a second isn't bad, especially if it's low 1:47's. You figure he has two more months of getting race sharp for the 1500, then another month or two of peaking to really get that speed down. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll be able to drop 2 seconds off this run by the end of July/beggining of August, running 1:45.xx. That'd be great for him, because he has the strength, and now with some fresh speed/leg turnover, he should be able to roll with just about anyone come mid-summer.
And referring to the performances of the Raczko training group, I think they all had solid performances (Lukezic, Burley, Webb). Lukezic wasn't trying to run fast, just trying to get in a good, tactical race and win it. It's early in the track season guys, don't start jumping the gun and wetting your pants yet.
From an Yahoo article on the race:
On Sunday, he opted for the 800 in hopes of increasing the early speed in the 1500 if he hopes to medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He hit the homestretch lost in the pack, then made his move, passing one runner, another and yet another as he charged down the stretch and closed the distance between the only two men ahead of him.
Webb crossed the finish line, arms and legs pumping faster than anyone else's. But he also crossed it too late. Perhaps reserving too much energy for his finishing kick, he finished third behind someone named Lachlan Renshaw and someone else named Duane Solomon.
Cheerfully, Webb made his way to the interview tent looking a little like the high school boy whose record-breaking feat made the front page of the New York Times. The thinning hair and scraggly beard made him look all of 24. But he exuded the same optimism he radiated after he broke Ryun's record.
"I wanted to be closer to the front from the start, but I just didn't get out well," Webb said. "My first 100 meters wasn't very good. So I relaxed as much as I could. I was happy with the way I closed in the last 100 and 200. I caught a lot of people. … I guess it was pretty good."
Webb was majorly boxed in during this race. He was still gaining on the leaders as he crossed the finish line. He had made his move a second earlier he would have won.
I hope Flotrack puts up the race.
Webb went to bed at 11:45 last night. At 7:30 he ate bacon and eggs for breakfast.
converts to 1:43.38 in July
ttc wrote:
I'm mildly disappointed.
You're disapointed? Go figure.
It's very early. By July he'll be at 1:45 or faster while Solomon and Renshaw will be lucky to be under 1:46. He's doing a lot of base work. Get off his back.
Get real, man wrote:
It's very early. By July he'll be at 1:45 or faster while Solomon and Renshaw will be lucky to be under 1:46. He's doing a lot of base work. Get off his back.
Well said!
I was at Mt. SAC and watched the race from the back stretch. Webb was badly boxed in and near the back of the pack and on the second lap with just over 200m to go was still a good 20m behind the leaders. He had a pretty impressive kick and passed quite a few other runners and had he started his kick a little earlier probably would have won. With the amount of energy he had left for that kick i'm sure he could have run a faster time 1:46 or faster. Does it really matter at this point though? Of course not, what matters is what he does in the important races later in the season. If anything the way he finished that race and not looking tired at the finish I think says a lot about his current fitness etc. anyways just my 2 cents..
cmon wrote:
yeah,if he ran a 1:45 now everybody would be bashing Webb for peaking too early, but if he runs ANY slower he gets criticism for sucking and not living up to standards. Instead of bashing him, support him. EL G and Bekele are honored like Gods and supported in their countries,but Webb and most other American athletes just get ripped on when ever they dont set American records. SO just chill out everybody.
Shame on you barking americans , you are like dogs.
Give to mr.Webb or anybody else a freedom to race when he want´s without expections of new records every time!!!
He propably would have won if he wouldn´t get boxed, by the way.
Try to understand it and live with that you yeallowers.
Renshaw will be lucky to be under 1:46??
The kid is only 19 years old and was injured most of the Australian summer. Hed ran 1:47.00 at the WJ last year. It was he first race in the US and he beat everyone that turned up to run. No need to drag down his performance, he ran well, just off his PR and most importantly, he won. Put him in a fast race in Europe later this year and he may well run 1:45. But for now, he'll just have to settle with a 1 and 0 again Webb.
Bernard lagat has run the 800 several times over his career in Europe and his best time is still 146. I believe he has more speed than thast, but the fact remains he ran in races where he lost, and didn't run a world beater of a time.