Is Cabral Blue Collar Now?

I get the impression that the people of this thread are seeing Cabral's financial background and dismissing him as "blue collar". I doubt there are many "blue collar" towns anywhere in CT to begin with let alone the one he calls home. But why should that change how he goes about his business. He is "blue collar" because he works his ass off to get what he wants. Ive heard he runs like 120 miles a week, studies at princeton, flys all over the nation to race and is usually always in the think of things. When you watch him race you see a kid not afraid to mix it up. He will do what if necessary for him to win or place well in races but there is always that fight to win. He shakes his fellow runners hands and doesnt make excuses. So he works hard, runs tough, doesnt make excuses, and has a healthy dose of humility....he sounds like a blue collar guy to me.

Cabral isn't a blue collar runner by any definition of the word. Was he unheralded in high school? No, he was a Foot Locker Finalist. Did he go to an unknown college? No, he went to Princeton. Is he a working stiff? No. Is he from a blue collar area? No.

I don't think working hard makes you a blue collar runner, because everyone works hard at that level.

Brian Sell was hardcore blue collar, but people here have given good enough reasoning to see Cabral as blue collar!

Don Rocks ! He works his a** off, in highschool he had a great mentor, Peter Oviatt. I raced against him in a local 2mile track race in Williamantic, CT. his senoir year. I led the first lap9 (I was known for that )I was 43 then. Don passed me and said " good job". he then rolled on in to win by a huge margin.

Whatever you want to call him, he is a champion!!!

This is very well stated but I take issue with the second sentence. The entire stretch of 395 is blue collar at best. We won't even get into most of route 6 and 66. Not all of Connecticut is Fairfield county or a burb of Hartford (but Glastonbury is.)

I think we should take a moment and determine what exactly is meant by "Blue Collar runner." Everyone is arguing whether or not Cabral is "Blue Collar" with different definitions, which is useless, in my opinion. So what the heck is a Blue Collar runner? Someone who comes from a working class family? Someone who trains "old school," i.e. doesn't use an altitude tent, etc.

wooharrier wrote:

..... but it's not the best running school out there. .....He decided to put in the work by himself, that the hours put in were more important than a big name coach or program.

Really? He had some very talented guys to train with during his four years. Check the 4x1 mile roster from their Penn Relays win (and add in another 3:58 guy who was injured this spring).

Can you be blue collar with a trust fund? Change it to "a hard worker", and I think we could probably end the thread right now.

Trustme wrote:

Can you be blue collar with a trust fund? Change it to "a hard worker", and I think we could probably end the thread right now.

Trust fund? You obviously have no idea what you are talking about.

Blue collar kid who attends Princeton. Come on!!!

He's a super nice kid. I know having met him a couple of times when he was younger. But not blue collar.

what you want to say about this guy, whose potential you could see at the oxy steeple when he was champing at the bit to go past huling and others on the last lap, is that he is an underdog, because princeton is no athletic factory, but he's certainly had plenty of advantages and is no working class guy supporting himself, so he's not a blue collar runner. another thing you think about with the blue collar tag is that it is someone who overcomes a lack of short sprint speed, relative to distance runners, to become very good, someone like brian sell. cabral is not blue collar in that sense, because he has excellent 1500m/kicking speed. I see him rising to become one of the best steeplers we've ever had, probably going under 8:10 in the next few years, but he's no jager.

Cabral worked full time summers between semesters while running over 100 miles per week and didn't break 60 in the 400 until his junior year in high school. Is there anything else you want to be wrong about?

jjjjjjjj wrote:

what you want to say about this guy, whose potential you could see at the oxy steeple when he was champing at the bit to go past huling and others on the last lap, is that he is an underdog, because princeton is no athletic factory, but he's certainly had plenty of advantages and is no working class guy supporting himself, so he's not a blue collar runner. another thing you think about with the blue collar tag is that it is someone who overcomes a lack of short sprint speed, relative to distance runners, to become very good, someone like brian sell. cabral is not blue collar in that sense, because he has excellent 1500m/kicking speed. I see him rising to become one of the best steeplers we've ever had, probably going under 8:10 in the next few years, but he's no jager.