2014 Boston runner-up on Meb: "I thought he was a pacesetter..I lost the title last year to an Eritrean turned American"

Key word: "lost."

Better luck this year! Maybe less excuses ya bitch!

the fact is the mental blunder was a blunder but it wasn't ridiculous. There is no reason any Kenyan should be worried about Meb even if they knew his resume. What Chebet essentially said was..."I didn't think he could hold it." And he happened to be wrong. Meb didn't win the race with his legs, he won it with his head and heart and that doesn't take anything away from his win. but chebet wasn't crazy for thinking Meb couldn't win, neither did any of us.

really...LA?? wrote:

LA has never been as prestigious as Chicago.

LA was more prestigious than Chicago in 1994, when the article you are complaining about was written. Chicago lost in sponsor a few years prior and was left for dead.

Next time you want to make a claim that Chicago has always been bigger do your homework first. That way you won't get owned after you make a silly statement such as "I just can't let this go." Chicago was a minor marathon in the early and mid 1990s.

Whether he believed what he said or not, it showed little class to say it.

Just some guesses wrote:

Why Would A wrote:

Why would be a pace be that far ahead, by himself?

Josphat Boit was with him until they were out of sight. When Boit fell back to the chase pack by himself, maybe he assumed "the other guy" dropped out. Not that he shouldn't have known better.

Thank you for raising the Josphat Boit is the elephant in the room factor. No way Meb won this Boston without training partner & personal escort Josphat Boit. Meb wouldn't have had the courage to break away from this field this early without his own personal Razorback alongside.

Josphat Boit was huge in this race......maybe he still is.

Now, call me delusional....but

Not sure how good my memory is on this - maybe it's in one of the links that someone posted - bit wasn't the Chicago Marathon ('Ameracs's Marathon') actually cancelled one year? They ran a half-marathon instead, which I believe Steve Jones won and John Steinberg was 2nd. Maybe that is what happened in 1987:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_winners_of_the_Chicago_Marathon

I spend much of my time in Kenya working with these runners, I know JB pretty well. First, he was not out to pace Meb, he was out to beat Meb...he may have paced but that was not the plan. Second, I can totally understand how the words on the page (from Chebet) read as arrogant. Trust me when I tell you (which I know you won't, but anyways) there is a chunk that is lost in cultural translation.

i love conspiracy nuts wrote:

At his peak lead, I believe Meb was 86 seconds ahead of 2nd place. According to science of sport, Meb was 81 seconds ahead of 2nd at the 30K mark. Doing the math at 4:55 pace, that means Chebet was 483 yards behind Meb. At the 30K mark, that would put Meb at the intersection with the street just before the city hall parking lots. I could understand the runner not seeing Meb there. But, heartbreak hill is at mile 20.2, it is a pretty straight shot up, and it's over 600 yards. By then, he had to know.

But shame on Chebet (and if this "I didn't know" story is true, his coach) for not knowing that Boston has no pacers. More importantly - that giant timing clock and truck full of reporters. That's hard to miss when you're running.

People who figure out stuff like this make LRC worthwhile!

If you have a runner ahead of you up heartbreak hill it ain't a pacer....

Chewannabet wrote:

.

The more troubling part is where he specifies "Eritrean turned American". I'm also confused as to why he felt the need to say that.

and

brogan1 wrote:

What I find interesting is when he said, "I lost the title last year to an Eritrean turned American...". Why did he specify that? I see no other reason than to respect the talents of other African nations and point out that born and raised Americans cannot truly compete with the top talents of Africa.

I knew everyone would get up in arms about the Eritrean comment. Why is that viewed as beging bad? It's factual and meant as a sign of respect.

Yes, he said it so people can know he lost to a legitimate runner. It's like if you come home from school at age 9 and tell your dad, "I got my ass whipped at the playground today."

It's a lot better if you then add, "But a 130 pound monster" versus "By a 45 pound, 7 year old girl."

It's sort of like making sure it's clear you lost a game of pickup basketball to a bunch of guys from the hood versus losing to the boys from preppy private school.

how many world records had been run in LA by 1994? how many in Chicago?

I think Meb should warm up in a shirt that says "not a pacesetter" this year

That is poor sportmanship

i hope Meb smokes him this year!

LetsRun.com wrote:

Wilson Kwambai Chebet said:

"I lost the title last year to an Eritrean turned American"

No he didn't. He lost to the great tactics and generosity of a natural born American, Ryan Hall.

Leave aside the relative merits of the Chicago Marathon in the early 1990s.

What is indisputable is that the L.A. Marathon has never deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as Boston.

End of topic.

rojo wrote:

Chewannabet wrote:

.

The more troubling part is where he specifies "Eritrean turned American". I'm also confused as to why he felt the need to say that.

and

brogan1 wrote:

What I find interesting is when he said, "I lost the title last year to an Eritrean turned American...". Why did he specify that? I see no other reason than to respect the talents of other African nations and point out that born and raised Americans cannot truly compete with the top talents of Africa.

I knew everyone would get up in arms about the Eritrean comment. Why is that viewed as beging bad?

mmmm... Because it is disparaging to Meb and Americans. Is it not good enough to say he was beat by Meb? Or, if he didn't know his name 'an American'? Why is that more shameful than getting beat by an Eritrean? It isn't like Eritrea is a distance power house like Kenya or Ethiopia.

Aside from not knowing Meb's credentials, might he not have known that BOSTON HAD *NO* RABBITS? WTF?

Wow. A lot of hurt feelings here. *chortle*

Lear UR History wrote:

really...LA?? wrote:

LA has never been as prestigious as Chicago.

LA was more prestigious than Chicago in 1994, when the article you are complaining about was written. Chicago lost in sponsor a few years prior and was left for dead.

Next time you want to make a claim that Chicago has always been bigger do your homework first. That way you won't get owned after you make a silly statement such as "I just can't let this go." Chicago was a minor marathon in the early and mid 1990s.

Your point is irrelevant because the LA Marathon has never been a prestigious marathon other than the '84 Olympic Marathon that spawned the current race.