why american runners are shitty

Truth, I think it might happen sooner than we think. Look at Armstrong and cycling. You have a couple of riders that start competing on the world stage, then a Lemond comes along and shows it's possible, then in a few years you have Armstrong and Leipheimer and Hamilton and Julich. It has to happen on the world stage, and the only track world stage that matters to Americans is the Olympics. Can't see it in 2004, but maybe in 2008. I just want to see it return to the status it had in the 70's, before I die!

Guys back in the 60's and 70's ,and even before then, were just tough as nails. George Young was a coach, AD, husband, father and still put in 100+mile weeks and traveled to races. The guy got a bronze in '68 at mexico city kicking with the kenyans. Jim Ryun, Liqouri, Lingren, Edelen, and the list goes on. These guys busted there tails day in and day out. Young ate what he could eat. His idea of nutrition was if there was hot dog on his plate then he ate it. These guys did not worry about little stuff that nowadays would go to competitive runners heads. Everyone nowadays seems to be a runner, not a racer. That's all good and well to be a runner, but if you plan on making a name for American distance running and sticking it to whomever, then you have to toe the line just like everyone else and just race. We need racers, not just runners. Run your butts off and then when the time comes just run the best way you know how to win and do whatever it takes. That's what these guys did. It's all about who has the most guts, not who has a faster time. Times are irrelevant when it comes to racing. You race to win, not to run a pr. It's just like if you're on the playground when you were a little kid and told a friend that you could beat him from the monkey bars to the basketball court. The other guys time does not matter. Working out is where you get tough. There is no room for little whinny bitches. The world is tough and no one wants your excuses of why you didn't run well or race well. There is not going to be a statement next to your name in the results saying that you were still sore from the 200's thursday. No one cares. I think anyone who reads this message board and has run enough knows how to train right. Sometimes the problem is that we don't train hard enough among other things. I realize I have probably talked too much. But what it takes to be a great runner and better racer is hard work and beliveing in yourself. There is no magic pill, no heart monitor or incredible type of shoe to make you faster. You have to do it yourself. No one is going to hold your hand, so there is no need for complaining of why a workout is not going exactly as planned or how you like it.

Cypher,

You sound like a whiny bitch. It's letsrun.com and not letsrace.com, you moron. And you like to relax by going to a message board that angers you? You probably run 130 miles a week just for the hell of it because you don't have a job and can't make it as a runner professionally. Merry christmas dickhead.