Chris Solinsky leaving Portland - accepts coaching gig at William and Mary

He had a great career. I think it was lot more than anyone expected. The marathon world is too fast for him. He can probably 2:10 if everything goes right but that is not enough anymore.

It is really too bad but it was a catastrophic injury. Most likely impacted he fluidity in his stride, he is probably favoring the weak hamstring. Picture looks really bad.

He could probably run 2:11-2:12 marathon, but that would just be for fun and he would not place in any major event. Plus the training he would have to do to run a 2:12 would be a serious commitment. He had a great although short career, with a great PR at both 5 & 10000m.

quickrunner789 wrote:

Chris Solinsky has accepted an assistant coaching position at William and Mary and will be heading east! His wife just posted about it on Facebook.

How much would a gig like this pay? Could you even eat?

Felt guilty about doping so stopped cheating and realised there was no way to be competitive without it. Just like teg the only way to explain such a deterioration in performance. No way that particular injury on its own would make you go from 1255 to struggling to break 14. Sad state of affairs the sport is in.Good luck to a former doper!

Amazed? Look at Webb. Look at Salazar 1982-1986.Its a pretty short shelf life at that level... Especially with those hamstring injuries.

Tegenkamp had a solid long career with a few unbelievable years. If you wanna look at a performance that came out of nowhere look at Ritz 5K. I can't remember another time he broke 13:10. Now dats a doper if we are at it.

DOP wrote:

Felt guilty about doping so stopped cheating and realised there was no way to be competitive without it. Just like teg the only way to explain such a deterioration in performance. No way that particular injury on its own would make you go from 1255 to struggling to break 14. Sad state of affairs the sport is in.Good luck to a former doper!

Don't forget that he ran 13:20 last year. I don't know if the hamstring is degenerating or what, but it certainly makes more sense to blame the injury than assuming that the guy doped his way to success than developed a conscience for some reason.

Are you really comparing the fitness longevity of golf and distance running? You can be a great golfer and be 60

I always hoped Solinsky could return to battle Rupp. Good luck to him coaching

Hopeful Runner wrote:

I always hoped Solinsky could return to battle Rupp. Good luck to him coaching

He can't sniff Ruppie's jock. Never could, even when he was beating him. Not that he'd want to...anything to get back to the former glory. It was inevitable that Rupp would surpass him. Better talent + better dope = faster.

They're all doped. Ask Lance, he knows the truth.

I think Rojo's "it completely amazes me" (paraphrase) is clearly hinting at doping -- he's baffled, he can't even fathom that kind of regression...the guy must have been cheating in 2010. That's the subtext.

joho wrote:

I actually have no idea. That was kinda my original question. Was there something negative between Byrne and Chris? Having a former AR stud as an assisistant would at least help recruiting one would think.

I really don't know of any backstory about Chris's college days or anything about Byrne. Maybe there is nothing there and I read too much into your post.

The article above says he is postponing his marathon debut also. That injury really did a number on him. I hate to see that.

He is not just a former AR-holder but also this ...

"Solinsky was born in Junction City, Wisconsin and he attended high school at Stevens Point Area Senior High (SPASH). Solinsky dominated the competition after his freshman year, winning the state cross country title three times. He won 11 state medals, eight state titles, led the nation in time on six different occasions, and earned four 1st Team All-American awards.

He broke Wisconsin high school state records in the indoor 1600 m, the indoor 2-mile, and the outdoor 3200 m. He also broke state meet records in cross country and the outdoor 3200 m. He is the 2nd athlete in Wisconsin state history to ever win 3 straight 3200 meter championships (Ben Porter is the first). As a Junior Chris finished Runner up to Bobby Lockhart from Virginia in both the Nike Indoor Championships 2 Mile and the Adidas Outdoor Classic 2 Mile Championships.

His winning time of 14:41 at the 2002 Foot Locker National Cross Country Championships gave him a 21-second winning margin,[1] the largest margin of victory in the history of the meet. He finished his high school career with personal records of 4:03.80 (1600 m) and 8:43.24 (3200 m)."

He has the most impressive list of honors won besides Ritz of any American HS male in the last 15 years. Certainly within the top-20 greatest HSers of all time and close to the top-10.

Doper for life wrote:

Tegenkamp had a solid long career with a few unbelievable years. If you wanna look at a performance that came out of nowhere look at Ritz 5K. I can't remember another time he broke 13:10. Now dats a doper if we are at it.

In 2001 he ran 13:44, nearly the fastest an American HSer has ever run in history. (behind only Lindgren)

Then, in 2002, he ran 13:27, the fastest a college freshman has EVER run.

Wouldn't you expect this person to set an AR at 5k or 10k?

Bleu wrote:

Can't imagine he will be payed more than $30-40,000. I believe the salaries are available from LR in an earlier thread. I think they are even in spread sheet format.

Ugh! Welcome to the real world.

Or paid.

newname wrote:

Doper for life wrote:

Tegenkamp had a solid long career with a few unbelievable years. If you wanna look at a performance that came out of nowhere look at Ritz 5K. I can't remember another time he broke 13:10. Now dats a doper if we are at it.

In 2001 he ran 13:44, nearly the fastest an American HSer has ever run in history. (behind only Lindgren)

Then, in 2002, he ran 13:27, the fastest a college freshman has EVER run.

Wouldn't you expect this person to set an AR at 5k or 10k?

Exactly. Ritz was always able to run a good 5K time, the problem was he jumped at the marathon way early.

Solinsky and his wife (they met at Wisconsin) are both from the Midwest. That having been said, he and the post-collegiate pro stable left Wisconsin with Schumacher when the Nike arrangement/opportunity opened up. With no traces of Nuttycombe or Schumacher, and Schumacher still out West with the Nike arrangement, it might be slightly awkward for Solinsky to assume some lowly coaching job at his old alma mater. Plus--although I can't say they don't have winters where he's going--those Wisconsin winters were always present in his training gripes (safety, inconvenience, etc.) It is a very interesting move to say the least. I am supposing that the William and Mary crowd and environs is intelligent, preppy, sophisticated. So, maybe Solinsky is cashing in his reputation to get gentrified. Or not.

Come on where are you? Spell checking the brothers? "without!"

Weather is much better in the winter. School is excellent, the best in the state. Money is not very good but with the wife working they will be fine.

Did the W&M coach who coached the two excellent females this past yr leave or still on staff?

Good luck to him. His AR 10k was one of the greatest races I've ever seen.