Deena --PLEASE RETIRE

run until you can't run anymore...and enjoy it!

Just watched the womens race on Universal Sports. Deena was never with the leaders. She was off the lead at the 1 mile mark. She is no longer competitive.

I agree 100% with the OP and flagpole's suggestion (having a baby ASAP). In addition, her excuses are endless and irrelevant.

Obvious to all wrote:

Deena WAS my favorite athlete but has turned into a bundle of excuses. She had a great career, but it is OVER, She needs to retire now. I don't even want to hear her excuses this time around. Please DO NOT run New York.

How 'bout you STFU instead, tough guy... While you're at it though, when should Joan Benoit Samuelson retire? I thought running was forever?

Joannie has retired. When is the last time you have witnessed Joannie saying "I still feel like I can run an AR" or "I have never been in better shape"?

Joannie does the opposite. She says things like "I am no longer competitive" or "I am just happy to be running".

This is why Joannie is a legend. I don't know if Deena is intentionally being dishonest or if she is just trying to convince herself but she is no longer competitive. Any focus on Deena takes away from the current competitors.

runn wrote:

What is the matter with you guys? She's a pro athlete. She can continue as long as she wants. She is a great ambassador for the sport and win or lose, fast or slow, she is a classy person and a great role model.

The beauty of this sport is that the great ones can continue on into "old age" and run races and talk to people, mix with fans, etc.

Let up.

<<<<< That.

Joanie actually still gets paid to go to a lot of races and she seeks American age group records (she broke the 50-plus NYC record last fall). She's not retired.

Nobody is telling her to stop running.

But it's time for Deena to stop talking up her readiness to "win London" and the like. It's clear her top level racing days are over. It looks foolish and it's fundamentally dishonest to say you are in the best shape ever and then not even be in the race after two miles.

Keep doing that and soon enough you will become a trivial joke.

Weary wrote:

Joanie actually still gets paid to go to a lot of races and she seeks American age group records (she broke the 50-plus NYC record last fall). She's not retired.

And you view that as the same as what Deena is doing?

If so, we can end this discussion because we have no common ground.

take a real close look wrote:

Weary wrote:

Joanie actually still gets paid to go to a lot of races and she seeks American age group records (she broke the 50-plus NYC record last fall). She's not retired.

And you view that as the same as what Deena is doing?

If so, we can end this discussion because we have no common ground.

Good. Let's do that. Your macho platitudes are pretty disgusting to read.

everyone on letsrun has hopped on the kara goucher train. i don't understand this. she hasn't accomplished ANYTHING in the marathon yet. too many people are drawn in by the money and glitz of training under salazar to actually wait until results happen to pass judgement.

deena kastor is america's best female marathoner. she is also not dishonest or chasing the money. if you ever talked to her for more than a minute you'd realize that you could not be farther from the truth.

this is why letsrun is laughed at by the majority of the serious running community. anyone with a keyboard is an expert.

learn your facts. wrote:

deena kastor is america's best female marathoner. she is also not dishonest or chasing the money. if you ever talked to her for more than a minute you'd realize that you could not be farther from the truth.

If the best American female marathoner cannot run a mile with the leaders in the London marathon, that is sad.

Or maybe, just maybe, she is NOT our best marathoner anymore.

Are we talking about an "elite" who didn't even come within 3 min of the winner of the 50 and over division?

London Appear wrote:

douglas burke wrote:

Would she have gotten an appearance fee?

as mentioned in another thread, you have to finish London to get your appearance fee

If you don't finish, you'll usually only be entitled to half of the agreed upon fee. If you run below a certain time standard, it'll be cut down, but by a lesser amount.

if she enjoys the lifestyle, she should continue doing it as long as she can make more money running than in a "real" job

the real question is should her sponsors drop her?

learn your facts. wrote:

everyone on letsrun has hopped on the kara goucher train. i don't understand this. she hasn't accomplished ANYTHING in the marathon yet.

uhh...running the fastest marathon debut of any american woman ever doesn't count as an accomplishment?

Yes Exactly! since when does a runner "have" to retire? I thought running is forever. Though she may not be "elite" at this point in her career, she still can run like crazy. Gees- 2:36 marathon...thats still amazing. and she could always move into age group competition and shoot for Joan Benoit-Samuelsons records. Thats the beauty of our sport. NEVER give up. NEVER retire. The runners life is always beginning with every step you take. It always bugs me when world class runners cant run as fast anymore and they hang it up instead of continueing on with Masters competition. Just go for it man! Shes still the greatest woman marathon in US History no matter what she runs.

I don't think that Deena should retire, but she really needs to stop with the pre-race BS followed by post-race excuses. It's annoying when everytime she says she's out to break records, and every time she's not even close.

Count the # of excuses she made for today's performance:

http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=470576.html

this is a disgraceful and disrespectful thread.