Ben Saarel: Sorest loser at NCAA's?

nice response to your own post, OP. weak

I really respect some people on this board. Others are obviously just immature brat wannabes. It's really sad when you think about it, because most of us distance runners--especially those who were kind of geeky and nerdy in high school and so lucky that we were good at running--are naturally introverted, a bit or very shy, and not so outspoken and critical of other runners in our "real" lives. But when some of you get on this board, you turn into different people. If you met Ben Saarel after his race, I know almost all of you would tell him that he's doing great for his freshman year (All-American in cross country, for God's sake), and that you know how he feels and wish him well. So why do you have to be so obnoxious and critical behind your anonymous names? Have some respect for other people, especially successful runners, because most of you only WISH you could be half as good as Saarel. Maybe that's the real problem here: envy.

Absolutely comical people think he's plateauing or peaking too early. Have the people who made these statements actually ran in college? Do you remember what it was like at the end of your freshman year after running 3 straight seasons with only a small break after cross?

High school to college is a huge transition and Saarel ran well all year.

"I don't actually think that's true, but the results kind a' say so. I've been good at cross country this year, ya' know, but i think, uh, um sorry, that........ That um............ I'll be better at track in the future. I'll be good at both cross country and track."

Saarel finished 3rd in the indoor 3k. Not bad for a freshman.!

come on dude wrote:

You're a freshman and you ran stupid! Get over it!! Also, he should probly get screened for asperger's

...obviously the first thing on everyone's mind...

Wish the mods would delete this thread, this kind of abuse doesn't belong on letsrun, or anywhere for that matter.

I think he's a very interesting runner. He has a lot of leg speed and endurance, but he's sort of a tweener. Meaning he doesn't seem like a perfect fit for 1500, 5K or 10K. He might have the perfect mix of it all for the 3K. Which he happened to do well in indoors. But it also seems like he's lost a little bit of leg speed. His dream mile race last year was a 4:02 with an awesome last 200. This 1500 was around the same pace, but he seemed to run out of gears.

blargh wrote:

I think he's a very interesting runner. He has a lot of leg speed and endurance, but he's sort of a tweener. Meaning he doesn't seem like a perfect fit for 1500, 5K or 10K. He might have the perfect mix of it all for the 3K. Which he happened to do well in indoors. But it also seems like he's lost a little bit of leg speed. His dream mile race last year was a 4:02 with an awesome last 200. This 1500 was around the same pace, but he seemed to run out of gears.

Good point. Right after his Dream Mile win in 4:02, Saarel told the interviewer that he sees himself more as a 5K/10K guy. At those distances, his closing 400 speed is excellent, but in a championship 1500 EVERY good runner has his speed. He ran so well in the NCAA Cross Country Championship, that I figured he would focus on 5K/10K. I don't want to be one of the guys on this board who arm chair coach and second guess guys who are much better than I ever was, but in my opinion Saarel would probably do better in the 5K. We'll see what happens, but as a former Utah high school runner myself, I wish him the best. Here's his post Dream Mile interview. Of course he's a lot more animated and positive after a big win than after a very disappointing loss, but aren't we all?

Here's a good interview where Saarel talks about needing to work on some "gears" that he didn't have in the 3K. This is why I think he just might be a better 5K runner.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Ben+Saarel+Huskey&Form=VQFRVP#view=detail&mid=4DC9EDD729D10F934BF54DC9EDD729D10F934BF5

What exactly is screening for Asperger's going to do?

The whole autism spectrum is also known as "individual variation of being a human".

So let's get this straight. The OP is at home because he hasn't qualified for any championship, and is watching the meet, dreaming of what it would be like to be a talented runner. A Freshman, who has already been a 2x All-American, runs a poor race (which he admitted), is extremely disappointed because he knows how much work he put into the season, and comes off looking upset in a post-race interview that takes place right after his race. Then the OP feels that the kid is a poor loser and makes a medical analysis because of what he sees in a short interview. Maybe the OP deals with disappointment better because he has become so accustomed to being disappointed.

He also just kinda finished running. You ever tried giving an interview post-race? SUCKS.

Great job everyone. We have destroyed the OP. Makes me happy that there are plenty of level headed, knowledgable, thoughtful people on here.

Highlight of the thread was whoever said saarel was plateaued and the oregon frosh would go on to have a better career. All this literally based on a single 1500 prelim. My brain is still recovering from reading that.

Cheers!

Really weak interview. Just no character or fortitude.

Guys like this get into university?