Another meltdown for Rosa

So NJ kids have no experience running in mud? Give me a break.

The fifth place finisher from desert Utah didn't seem to have a problem with it.

And none of these guys who passed on Foot Locker had a clue that conditions might be cold and muddy in Portland in December? They chose their race.

He suffered a bruised hip on thanksgiving, didn't run a few days this week and was clearly limping during the race and at the postrace activities not to mention He consistently beat runner- up cheserek this season by convincing margins so i'd call that bad luck more than choking.

glory days wrote:

He suffered a bruised hip on thanksgiving, didn't run a few days this week and was clearly limping during the race and at the postrace activities not to mention He consistently beat runner- up cheserek this season by convincing margins so i'd call that bad luck more than choking.

So that is Rosa's lame excuse for 73rd, and what is Elkaim's excuse for 71st? Cheserek is so fresh off the boat that he didn't understand that everyone with balls runs Footlocker, otherwise he'd been at Footlocker. Great racers rise to the occasion, girly boys choose NXN because they're chokers and want weak fields.

Wild animals wrote:

Off-topic, but ... this really happened at a trail race in NH:

http://www.whitemountainmilers.com/eric-and-the-bear-photo-from-loon-mountain-race-featured-in-runners-world-online-digest

That looks like a baby bear, crazy stupid to go anywhere near it, risking an enraged mother come bursting out of the woods and tearing you to shreds.

I'd melt down if I had to run that contrived Nike course as well. What a joke.

glory days wrote:

He suffered a bruised hip on thanksgiving, didn't run a few days this week and was clearly limping during the race and at the postrace activities not to mention He consistently beat runner- up cheserek this season by convincing margins so i'd call that bad luck more than choking.

I've never liked it when runners or coaches come out with this "he would have won but he was injured" stuff. Avoiding injury through wise training is part of competition. Anyone can hammer out miles and workouts but if you miss the biggest race of the year because of it, well, that wasn't too wise. The guys at the front managed to race in the same conditions and they also were healthy. Maybe their workouts were wiser or maybe they just got lucky. But injuries and avoiding them are part of the game. No excuses.

you guys who feel good because you come on here and blast high school kids are pretty messed up

that's just sad

how many of us have never had a crappy race

hahaha yes this

Injurious wrote:

I've never liked it when runners or coaches come out with this "he would have won but he was injured" stuff. Avoiding injury through wise training is part of competition. Anyone can hammer out miles and workouts but if you miss the biggest race of the year because of it, well, that wasn't too wise. The guys at the front managed to race in the same conditions and they also were healthy. Maybe their workouts were wiser or maybe they just got lucky. But injuries and avoiding them are part of the game. No excuses.

I don't see anyone saying he would've won, but based on everything else he's done he'd probably be 2nd and challenging for the win. This kid just set the Bowdoin course record. I don't see anything wrong with showing that he didn't really choke, just had bad luck with injury. Anyone can get hurt at any time and it has nothing to do with the "wiseness" of training.

DaveW wrote:

The NXN is a joke and has nothing to do with real running. Cross country was not meant to be a steepechase, it was meant to allow runners and spectators to hit the trails in a natural setting which is mostly what running is all about. It has nothing to do with running through mud and over fake obstructions. Next we will give them 5 pound packs and determine the real national cross country champ.

And I bet you're upset the Montferland 15K (supposed to be a race between Wanjiru and Makau) was cancelled because of black ice conditions. Too bad everyone can't be real men like Karnazes right, and do real men races like Badwater and the Marathon in the South Pole? Why can't we do real running like him?

What a joke. Everyone knows that 70-80 percent of the top boys in the country were at NXN while Foot Locker is for JVs on the boys side now. Example: Morgan Pearson, 2nd at Foot Locker NE, was plowed by Rosa, Elkaim, Cheserek, etc., all season long.

Be There or Be Square wrote:

glory days wrote:

He suffered a bruised hip on thanksgiving, didn't run a few days this week and was clearly limping during the race and at the postrace activities not to mention He consistently beat runner- up cheserek this season by convincing margins so i'd call that bad luck more than choking.

So that is Rosa's lame excuse for 73rd, and what is Elkaim's excuse for 71st? Cheserek is so fresh off the boat that he didn't understand that everyone with balls runs Footlocker, otherwise he'd been at Footlocker. Great racers rise to the occasion, girly boys choose NXN because they're chokers and want weak fields.

Cross country is in fact a track meet on grass and trails. Training for cross country involves crossing creeks, fences and other barriers as necessary to complete a long training run, but it is not what cross country competition is all about.

Jumping artificial fences, hills and other barriers that are set up by officials is not cross country. However, they made a track event for that called the Steeplechase.

Since when was the best distance runner a steeplechase runner?

glory days wrote:

So that is Rosa's lame excuse for 73rd, and what is Elkaim's excuse for 71st? Cheserek is so fresh off the boat that he didn't understand that everyone with balls runs Footlocker, otherwise he'd been at Footlocker. Great racers rise to the occasion, girly boys choose NXN because they're chokers and want weak fields.

OMG are u talking about slave ships? UR RACIST!!!

DaveW wrote:

Cross country is in fact a track meet on grass and trails. Training for cross country involves crossing creeks, fences and other barriers as necessary to complete a long training run, but it is not what cross country competition is all about.

Jumping artificial fences, hills and other barriers that are set up by officials is not cross country. However, they made a track event for that called the Steeplechase.

Since when was the best distance runner a steeplechase runner?

Wow so they must get it wrong when they make the courses every year at the World Cross Country Championships...

No, crossing creeks is not part of cross country. Running through a large jumble of rocks is not cross country. Even spending a long time in thin windy trails is not cross country. Those would be called "trail running" and "ultra running" and even the "XTERRA" stuff which are stupid things only the US does.

Even ultra's and mountain races and cross country in other countries are nothing like what we have here. Think about what comrades, the greatest ultramarathon is like, or the 100k World championships, or this past mountain world championships or world cross country. There's no stupid rocks or stupid trails or anything. That's something we do and not anyone else. Cross Country is a spectator sport on grass with some artificial barriers so it's fair and not simply a case of who can get to a narrow trail first or who doesn't fall navigating through a damn creek or jumble of jagged rocks.

As to your Steeple/Cross reference, I'm sorry I forgot that the Kenyans weren't the masters of both Cross Country and Steeplechase. Oh wait, do they always win steeple and the team races at Cross Country? Think before you post. And as for individuals it's hard to compare a 3000m race to a 12K race so the point is that the nationality is the master of yes both events: that's not a coincidence.

However I'll humor you a little bit more. Shaheen had a 9th place, 4th place, and 5th place finish in the short course and is the World Record Holder in the steeple chase. He's also had a 13th and 8th place finish in the long course. Not too shabby right? He's one of the best runners in the world for both cross country and steeple.

-2

let a kid be a kid please without this kind of negative scrutiny

NJ H.S. athletes male and female historically 'on average' underperform at the post season meets; Jim Rosa would have done much better if the meet had been 2 weeks ago. Having a state with a lot good competition has its pluses and minuses.

The fifth place finisher from desert Utah didn't seem to have a problem with it.

5th place finisher was from Utah? ... Give ME a break. Quite the "HS xc fan" aren't you - a detail guy I'm guessin. You weren't a scorekeeper were you?

But I digress (slightly). You don't understand much about xc and the athletes who compete. I can accept that.

I'm sure Rosa himself would say he choked. To beat the national runner up by large margins both times they races and then to go and finish in the 70's. That's the definition of choking.