Webb moving up to the Marathon

Readit wrote:

The 1500 is one of the marquee events in T&F, and our best milers are very well paid. There's plenty of money in the 1500 if you're competitive.

The 1950's called ....

I don't think top milers are usually naturals at the marathon. But Webb has always had great 10k speed and has a ton of talent and the work ethic, so maybe it will work.

Realistically, I think his odds of success are likely better in the 5k to half-marathon range.

I would personally love to see him back at a top competitive level at any distance.

Is Webb moving soon? Eventually in 2013-14? The article's not clear.

Webb should have moved up to the 5000 , four years ago.

Now it would make sense to for him to jump to the marathon.

Gotta give the guy credit for re inventing himself , hope it is enough to feed his family and continue to run as a pro.

And a bit of humor just hope if he does get to race the 2016 oly marathon that he does not drop a sub 4 around mile 11.

Well, neither is webb. It's just an aspiration, not a concrete plan.

I still can't get over the anecdote from that article this summer that reported he loses his temper over board games. That's sad.

Anyone want to do an extrapolation from 1:43 to 27:34 and see what his marathon time would be?

twilight comparison wrote:

Well, neither is webb. It's just an aspiration, not a concrete plan.

You don't know Webb wasn't clear on his moving up time table. The author did not recite a specific "marathon"-containing quote from Webb. And there weren't any obvious follow-up questions by the author on it either. Were you a bug in the room?

wewte wrote:

If he lacks the mental stability to run a mile or 5k, I wonder what the marathon will do to him.

This

Racing the mile is too much of a challenge for his mind, can't imagine how horribly he'll blow up in the marathon. 14th mile surge, anyone?

red glare wrote:

wewte wrote:

If he lacks the mental stability to run a mile or 5k, I wonder what the marathon will do to him.

This

Racing the mile is too much of a challenge for his mind, can't imagine how horribly he'll blow up in the marathon. 14th mile surge, anyone?

Yea. Two Nat'l championships in the 1500 - incl. over Lagat, & 7th in the world, & 3:46 AR & Grand Prix victories. But too much of a challenge. And finding areas he could've improved doesn't override he did lots of conquering.

red glare wrote:

wewte wrote:

If he lacks the mental stability to run a mile or 5k, I wonder what the marathon will do to him.

This

Racing the mile is too much of a challenge for his mind, can't imagine how horribly he'll blow up in the marathon. 14th mile surge, anyone?

This happened only one time didn't it?

Nutella1 wrote:

If an American wins the Olympic Marathon he can probably make 5x the money from that than if he wins the 1500. FACT.

Almost nobody watched the Olympic Marathon. FACT. Many people watched the Olympic 1500. FACT.

Who is coach Webb? He says he is moving up. He moves back to West Coast. But he doesn't say who is coaching him????

Dearest ttc:

Exactly, because winning US national championships in the 1500 is the stuff of immortals.

Signed,

Jason Pyrah, Andy Downin, Jason Lunn (Webb was 10th when I won it)

P.S. AR = pacing, not racing

P.P.S. Webb rarely won in the Golden/Diamond League, if ever.

P.P.P.S. Webb always folded like a cheap tent in a tornado on the biggest stage.

Twitter Hound wrote:

Who is coach Webb? He says he is moving up. He moves back to West Coast. But he doesn't say who is coaching him????

Salazar. The reality is that he's going to take the place of the retired Goucher as Rupp's pace bitch.

does it matter who? wrote:

Twitter Hound wrote:

Who is coach Webb? He says he is moving up. He moves back to West Coast. But he doesn't say who is coaching him????

Salazar. The reality is that he's going to take the place of the retired Goucher as Rupp's pace bitch.

You really think that's going to happen? People don't go back to coaches they leave and no one has ever gone back to Salazar. If he really is going up to the marathon then he'll be with Schumacher.

But if Webb's moves ever had any element of common sense in them he would have gone to Cook a long time ago.

[quote]lksjc wrote:

Again to Carthage did a bad job of explaining Rod Dixon's achievement. He didn't just break 4 for the mile and 2:10 for the marathon. He ran 3:53.62 when the world record was 3:51 and 2:08:59 when the world record was 2:08.18. I seriously doubt we're ever going to see another Rod Dixon type, a guy who can get that damn close to the mile and marathon records.

/quote]

We've already seen him -- Haile Gebrselassie.

1500 -- 3:33.73

marathon -- 2:03:59 (WR)

tsebhi wrote:

[quote]lksjc wrote:

Again to Carthage did a bad job of explaining Rod Dixon's achievement. He didn't just break 4 for the mile and 2:10 for the marathon. He ran 3:53.62 when the world record was 3:51 and 2:08:59 when the world record was 2:08.18. I seriously doubt we're ever going to see another Rod Dixon type, a guy who can get that damn close to the mile and marathon records.

/quote]

We've already seen him -- Haile Gebrselassie.

1500 -- 3:33.73

marathon -- 2:03:59 (WR)

Geb is way ahead of Dixon in running history but the comparison is about milers moving up. Geb ran 3:33.73 when the WR was(as it is today) 3:26.00. That's a 5/10 guy moving down.

FWIW, the McMillan calculator converts his mile AR to 2:07:58.

GPS Jawn wrote:

He's tired of success of the short stuff eluding him. Moving back to Oregon.

http://www.armorytrack.com/News/Post/alan-webb-the-next-chapter

This is his best move in years for 2 main reasons:

1.) He thrives on sustained pace races ideal for marathon running. He never had the gears for being a world or Olympic champion caliber track runner on that last lap of a race.

2.)It is where the money is at in distance running.

I can see Webb running at least 2:07. Maybe even NY or Boston title shots. The Olympic Marathon title...not a chance.

God and I should coach Webb!