Pre was a pioneer in American distance running. Pre was also authentic, and his racing style was indicative of his personality. He also, was instrumental in growing the sport world wide, and had a true passion to compete against the best. Marco is NOWHERE near anything Pre embodied and stood for. Marco is a great talent, and I look forward to seeing him evolve, but he ain't in the conversation with Pre. He's gotta a lot of work to do yet.
Marco needs guidance. The act was clever at first, but whoever is encouraging the constant “I’m the best, I’m above everyone, I’m not scared” routine is doing him no favors and actively hurting his image. At some point results have to match the talk, and right now they don’t. Has he actually won anything that justifies this posture? No. Confidence in this sport is earned, not declared. Until then, the formula is simple: stop talking, run fast, and let the performances speak.
He gets plenty of guidance . He goes his own way, all that will ultimately matter is what he runs and who he beats. Myself and a track savant friend on here would probably kind of hope he would lighten up on the vulgarities, but …. By the way ? You ever hear NBA or formers’ podcasts? Not for the church going faithful lol
it is exponentially harder to win anything today than 50 plus years ago
he has run 3:33 7:34 and 13:05
and did not win any of those lol
he was third at outdoor 5k losing to two non Americans I believe
it’s kind of hard out there
all this said? If he cared what I thought? I would absolutely tell him to dial it down a few notches
What do I know?
Being a Pre fan means understanding what actually mattered. Steve Prefontaine didn’t earn credibility by winning every race, he earned it by who he raced and who he beat. He lined up against Olympic champions and world medalists (Ryun, Wottle, Gammoudi, Stewart, Shorter) and beat them head-to-head. And the idea that the sport is “deeper now” doesn’t really hold. It was deep then too fewer races, fewer opportunities, no pacing lights, no super shoes, no global circuit designed to chase times. You had to race, often against the same killers, over and over. Running 3:33, 7:34, and 13:05 is fast. But constantly declaring yourself “the best” without wins or hardware isn’t a depth issue, it’s a self-awareness issue. Pre talked big after proving he belonged by racing anyone, anywhere. That’s the difference. One earned his voice. The other is letting the qatar visa check online talk run ahead of the resume!
I agree. Marco shows that same fearless, commanding energy. Athletes like Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Sifan Hassan give off a similar vibe, dominating the race with confidence and determination.
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