Hansons Brooks Future

The workout may be nothing, but within the context of

cumulative fatigue it is something. I have nothing but

respect for every one of them.

And best wishes for Trent Briney.

Trent is running for McMillan Elite.

Sorry Stop Riley, I stand corrected. I did not try to mislead on the time, but I was certain that Don had run a sub 2:14 and am still looking.

But......my point about Don being better is not as far off as you believe. Don did not have a team of similar ability athletes to run with on a daily basis. To dig deeper, if the Hanson's have helped Kyle, Chad, Mike, so much, then what would Don and Mark Messler have done? Mark Messler ran 2:15 plus in the 1983 Boston Marathon training on his own. Don was a sub 2:15 (or faster?) on his own. With Clint running for the Hanson's for so long and not breaking 2:14, I'd take Don in a heartbeat if he had the same training advantages/facilities/partners/etc...

Also Don's Grandma time was not done with a Chicago, NY, Olympic Trials type of field. Without the field in Alamba to run with, Trent does not run a sub 2:13. Don's 92' OT race, although a poor performance for his ability, was done in warm & windy weather, I was there. I'd take cold/cooler and windy over warm and windy any day of the week.

I don't think you are wrong on Don not competing in the WC Marathons or even the Pan Am Games, but back then guys like Steve Spence would not turn down the invitation. Meb, Hall, Ritz, Culpepper, Brown, etc....did not run in any of the WC Marathons, that I am aware of, but they were certainly qualified to do so. The big reason for that, $$$$$!

As of the post, I stand corrected on Don's time and I was wrong, but as far as a better runner than Clint, sorry, because of my above explanations, I would take Don from 10k to the marathon in a head to head battle against any of them except Brian. Take care.

This same thread comes up every 3 or 4 months. If it weren't for the personal attacks, it would be humorous.

2 Brothers start a program for elite distance runners when no one else in the country was doing this. Here we are a decade later and they and their athletes are being ripped apart. Hansons are great for the sport. They have never ruined an Olympic Medalist. What male or female has left Hansons and then made an Olympic Team? This is a tough sport and if you came out of college without being a national champion in a d1 school, then you are a huge underdog to make an Olympic Team. If you were never in the top 10 in a d1 national meet, then your odds are even worse. Having said this, I think it is admirable that lesser athletes continue to have opportunities to try to live the dream. But these athletes and their coaches need to realize that the problem is rather simple. YOU ARE NOT TALENTED ENOUGH.

These message boards are a chance for the fans to vent, but they are ridiculous.

Can you imagine how our heroes of the past would have been handled if this message board were available 30 years ago.

Greg Meyer never made an Olympic team. He should switch coaches. Same with Dick Beardsley. Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar were both ranked #1 in the World in the marathon and neither came close to winning an Olympic Medal, they should both find new coaches and move to altitude immediately. Why has Frank Shorter never won at Boston? Craig Virgin can never do it in the Olympics. Why did Joannie only win one medal? She was a bust in 1988 and 1992. Dump Sev. The list is endless.

No harm done, you're certainly entitled to your opinion and it is all just speculation at this point anyway, which makes for interesting conversation.

There are a lot of "What if's" in your explanations though. You have to remember there are a lot of people who wouldn't, or couldn't thrive in a group training environment. It's simply not for everybody. I'm not saying Mark or Don fall into that category, but that might be why they never sought out any groups to train with. That might have been just as big of an advantage for Don, doing things his way and not having/letting training partners effect the way he trained.

Also the Trials in Alabama were far from ideal, and don't forget how slow the lead pack (aside from Sell) went through half way (1:07+, I'd have to check) I could argue that Trent's same effort spread more evenly over a Chicago would have been sub 2:12, 2:11, but again it's all speculation.

The only facts we have to go on are the black and white results, which show Don matching up pretty evenly with 6 or 7 of the Hanson's (aside from Sell). We'll never know who was better, but it's fun to wonder what if.

Donnie would have kicked the shit out of those pampered little wannabees. Let us not forget that Donnie was only the second best kid out of CLHS in that time period. I believe that today's runners are soft. They need underwater treadmills or regular massage or they whine about the weather or the fact that they weren't born at altitude or that Ritz is making more money than them. This board is a perfect example of all the crying that goes on in the year 2009.

Well they taught me that you can push yourself pretty hard and meeting all those dudes was a very good thing for me most of them are all good friends. I also would have never learned how hard it is to make money as a runner.

Would these 3 milers be about half marathon pace for them? I'd like to build up to this workout, maybe alternate with a normal tempo run.

They are done. Over. Finished.

I actually see more people running with their singlets on that don't run for them than anybody else.

What are they up to now?

Anyone remember Brian Sell and his legendary 140 mile weeks?

Who is this Brian Sell? 140 mile weeks? That's crazy talk.