Abdirahman quietly goes to work

The new data still fits. I just overlooked one data point, nothing more and nothing less. I still contend five years is still a pretty long time for a record to stand, in the context of that era with all those amazing runners.

Not again wrote:

Please read and heed:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=1787789

Um, heed what exactly?

memories wrote:

I still contend five years is still a pretty long time for a record to stand, in the context of that era with all those amazing runners.

What do you have to support that?

Oh, I guess the frequency with which it was broken or closely approached after that with no less able runners on the scene. It took one year for the record to be broken again, and that record was broken just two years after that. Virgin went well under the 79 mark in 80, AlSal and Nenow came close or went under the record in 81 & 82, others did so in 84 and 85 and Nenow set the loooong-standing record in 86. 15 years isn't close to 5, but then neither are 1-2 years. I get a sense of the basic whys behind 15 years, but not of those behind the 5 years.

memories wrote:

Oh, I guess the frequency with which it was broken or closely approached after that with no less able runners on the scene. It took one year for the record to be broken again, and that record was broken just two years after that. Virgin went well under the 79 mark in 80, AlSal and Nenow came close or went under the record in 81 & 82, others did so in 84 and 85 and Nenow set the loooong-standing record in 86. 15 years isn't close to 5, but then neither are 1-2 years. I get a sense of the basic whys behind 15 years, but not of those behind the 5 years.

Are you able to write in English?

Are you a f***ing idiot or what?

1972 the first American to break 28:00 was shorter 27:52

1974 prefontaine broke that record 2 years later 27:43

1975 pre died in 1975. shorter missed pre's record 27:45

1976 bjorklund missed pre's AR by 6s 27:49

the professional era begins

1979: virgin breaks pre's record at nationals 27:39

1980: virgin lowers own record to 27:29

1982: salazar lowers AR ro 27:25

no one within 10s of the record for 4 years

1986: Nenow 27:20.56

no one within 10s of the record for 15 years

2001: Meb runs 27:20

only meb and abdi (once each) come within 10s of the record in 6 years

No, I can't read it, either, but I can speak it a little bit.

glass half full wrote:

Are you able to write in English?

Thanks for the info, tits. I guess the professional era isn't all it's cracked up to be, at least not among US runners.

doug225550 wrote:

i believe bruce bickford was the last american man ranked #1 in the 10k by track and field news, i am unsure of the year, but it was in the 1980's.

1985

I believe that was that the year that Bickford and Nenow took turns and left the then world's best in ruin. 2737 for Bickford and 2740 for Nenow. The Stockholm crowd was into it. Mamede was a very close third. Or was that race in 86? I know Bick was the world leader in 85. Hodgie, can you help me? Also, do you have a favorite Bickford story?

Thanks

letsrun cancer bug wrote:

He was going quietly about his work until Malmo blabbed it all over Letsrun

what the heck does "quietly about his work" mean? it's not like he did this race in secret, the startlists with his name have been up for awhile and the results were posted within hours of the race and you could watch it on wcsn.com.

He probably means "quietly" because this is the only thread about his run, which should be considered a pretty good time. I think it's funny that he ran 27:22 last year, and nobody even cared, especially since that's a good deal faster than Webb,Ritz, Fam, etc.

it probably refers to the fact that unlike most Americans, an Abdi sub 27:45 does not cause premature ejaculations among college boys across the country.

well an abdi sub 27:45 at this point in the season shouldnt be a big deal considering how he ran 27:22 at this meet last year and he is very experienced at this event.

with little fanfare.

Contrast this with the week(s)-long speculation and hype surrounding any race that Sell or Cabada or Hall or Ritz or Goucher or Rupp or Webb might be rumored to be running. Abdi just goes about his business with dignity and class, doesn't need to bump his gums to the media, doesn't need to pop his jersey, doesn't wank around with a camera and youtube, doesn't have a coach whose main job seems to be getting write-ups in running periodicals. Reminds me a lot of old school (i.e. real) badasses like Steve Jones.

miniscule facts wrote:

Oops, I missed that. Why did he run so slow this year then?

I believe he's a marathoner now. Not sure if he was then.

He was a marathoner then. He's a BETTER marathoner now, though. If he's smart then we won't see much of a track season from him this year before his build-up for the OT marathon.

hare wrote:

well an abdi sub 27:45 at this point in the season shouldnt be a big deal considering how he ran 27:22 at this meet last year and he is very experienced at this event.

Judas Johnson....this sums up the attitude on this board in spades.

Rupp runs 27:33 and everybody praise him as the next coming

Hall runs 2:08 and same thing

Abdi runs BOTH within 8 months of each other and barely gets a mention.

....I wonder why this is????

give props to abdi for running in such a stacked race, hopefully other americans will follow his lead and run some golden league meets, especially the brussells 10k. sure they wont win, but competing against the high level of competition will help make them the best runners they can be.