Feb 15th--Why not have Galen go for the Mile WR at Millrose instead of Boston? Hurts the sport?

Hey he's on drugs people. He's no el guerouj

Hey he's on drugs people. He's no el guerouj

I'm wishing that the Wanamaker mile winning time is faster than Rupp's attempt in Boston. It probably won't happen since the Wanamaker would be more strategic, but I can dream, can't I?

You have to remember that Rupp probably has AR/WR clauses in his contract that could make this a very nice payday for him. Much better than winning Millrose (or losing it).

What about the sport? Should the best American distance runner in a generation suffer financially this year with no Olympics/worlds or should he figure out a way to make this a successful financial year?

Also, track conditions are only part of the equation. The armory has one of the worst warm up areas I've ever seen. The streets around there are hilly, crowded and potentially icy with stops to cross traffic frequently. All of that contributes to BU providing a much better overall experience for prepping for a race (and cooling down and post race workout).

Les wrote:

You don't want strong competition, i.e. people as good as you are, in a record attempt race because a) you could get caught up in trying to win the race which is rarely the same as running as fast as you can and most importantly b) nothing's worse than setting a record and LOSING -- in other words you might end up setting SOMEONE ELSE up to set the record.

Cram beats Aouita for first ever sub 3:30

El G holds off Ngeny as they both break Morceli's mile record

These were the best races ever - top two breaking the world record.

Good thing Cram and El Guerrouj were OK with having strong competition in their world record attempts.

I didn't match the links right.

That first link was El G's 3:26.00, which he won by a large margin.

The second was Cram vs. Aouita.

Here is the El G/Ngeney race. (I hope)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XvCsj7eJKKA

I also wanted to note that in both of those races the front runner held off the closing chaser and won the race.

In other words, leading didn't cause them to sacrifice themselves and lose.

So if Rupp is good enough, he can beat a stacked field AND get the record.

And it would be more memorable for the entire track community.

I agree!

Don't forget that Solinsky upset Rupp in his big videotaped event to set the American Record in the 10k. They won't want that happening again. As for Rupp's wallet and his legacy, what good is his record run if he finishes 2nd place to somebody like Kiprop by doing it at a bigger meet? Rupp has many good reasons to do it under his own personal control. They may not be good for the sport and competition, but they make sense for his interests.

rupp is on THE LIGHTNESS ......simples

so is farah

CAN overtrain all day long ,

do any crazy pre ,post workout

and nervous system will

not getted f***ed up or tired.

legs will just keep on going like light

little ballons on ze end of a stringgg......

muscles ,joints ,lactic acid build up should be

okay for elite athlete ,it is the risk of burnout,

the nerves going.

rupp is on THE LIGHTNESS ......simples

so is farah

CAN overtrain all day long ,

do any crazy pre ,post workout

and nervous system will

not getted f***ed up or tired.

legs will just keep on going like light

little ballons on ze end of a stringgg......

muscles ,joints ,lactic acid build up should be

okay for elite athlete ,it is the risk of burnout,

the nerves going.

rupp is on THE LIGHTNESS ......simples

so is farah

CAN overtrain all day long ,

do any crazy pre ,post workout

and nervous system will

not getted f***ed up or tired.

legs will just keep on going like light

little ballons on ze end of a stringgg......

muscles ,joints ,lactic acid build up should be

okay for elite athlete ,it is the risk of burnout,

the nerves going.

The NOP likes to control every aspect of the race when going for a certain time, but they are also adept racers.

One is set up to run as fast as possible; the other is to win the race, time be damned.

Now, if they were interested in taking track and field to the new level, which I think they are based on all this flotrack coverage, then they would understand the necessity to combine record attempts at high profile meets.

The thing about it is, if you're going after a record and will be running faster than everyone anyway (minus pace setters), does it really matter if it's at a low key meet or high profile? No, at the QOD today proves that notion.

At the end of the day, it's the same reason Rupp wears a mask -- they don't care about what you think; they just want to set records and win medals.

Good examples but those races were the exceptions. Most world records are solo time trials with no real competition. Nearly all Coe/Ovett world records were not real competitions. El G's 1500 record was not a real competition. Geb and Paul Tergat had great battles in the Olympics but certainly not in his world record races. Bekele had no real competition in his world records, not that there was anyone at the time who could keep up with him anyway. As as already been mentioned, Rupp's 2010 American record attempt ended in the worst possible way for him. I think Cram in '85 and El G in 1999 were pretty nigh unbeatable and were supremely confident even if the races ended up pretty close. If you're not the acknowledged master of your event though, I can imagine that serious competition could hurt your record attempt. Even if you're multiple gold medalist Mo Farah I imagine if he went for some fast times this summer you'll not find top Ethiopians in his race. It's just very hard to run for place and time simultaneously.

Unfortunate but True wrote:

World Records are rarely set in competitive events due to a variety of factors like jostling, race tactics, etc...World Records or American Records are generally carefully orchestrated events where the athlete attempting the record is shepherded and protected by the pacers until about 60-70% of the race is complete. Since WR's and AR's are not easy to accomplish almost everything has to go right on the record attempt day. To run the WR/AR attempt at Milrose would likely hurt Galen's chances of setting the record.

Bayi seemed to run okay in a competitive race.

oh ya and so did the rest of the field.

toro wrote:Good thing Cram and El Guerrouj were OK with having strong competition in their world record attempts.

the cram 3'29 race wasn't specifically set up for him

cruz was the big draw & it was he, who promoter was expecting a fast time from, but he wasn't in top shape in '85

Hardloper wrote:Galen needs to run without anyone else interfering him. As ventolin points out every time you pass in lane 2 you lose 1.46385737573638584 seconds and he won't squeeze out the AR in that case.

exactly

rupp will get jostled running in millrose & almost certainly spend lotta time running wide in lane on the bends

i congratulate you on your time estimation as i did reckon millrose woud cost him close to 1.5s because of this compared to boston

( running ~ 0.5m wide in 6 bends upto 1200m = ~ 10m extra distance )

hmm. I guess indoors would most likely leave him outside on the first lap.

If Boston is faster, obv go there. It seems strange they would make a slower track somewhere like NYC that can afford it.

If Galen breaks El G world record I'll know for sure he is dirty. El G was a running God in my eyes,who focused and trained for the 1500m/mile a big part of his career. Galen is not, he is a 10,000m runner. It is the same as Wilson Kipsang going after Bekele's 10,000m WR in my eyes!Sorry to be so critical but I don't trust the guy, his coach or group!

Hey j wrote:

Hey he's on drugs people. He's no el guerouj