Meb says Boston didn't make an offer

God, that proposal to act like a Christian sure brought out the ugly in you

eb white wrote:

This has to be one of the more laughable posts on here. Meb won an Olympic silver against all of those "superfast young East Africans" and won NYC just over a year ago. Gharib, whom he beat in NYC, ran 2:05:27 in London 6 months before NYC and, do you need me to remind you, is the reigning Olympic silver medalist. Does he fit your definition of an "aging past champion" or is he a legit athlete Meb beat in NYC?

Also, Cheruiyot (you know, the guy who was 2nd to Meb in NYC) won Boston in 2008 in 2:07:45 so it's not like he was some washed up bum well past him prime.

Boston should be begging Meb to run there and shame on them for snubbing him.

I hope you are referring to your own post as laughable because you have posted some of the most contorted contrived attempts at logic this board has ever seen. How he ran in the past year (not "just over a year ago," let alone years ago) plus his age are factors that have diminished his stock at major marathons. Looks to me like he didn't get a "reasonable offer" from London, Paris, or Rotterdam, either. But no, those races are all unreasonable for passing on him, especially Boston with its ridiculous ploy of bringing in 14 guys who have run over a minute faster than Meb has for the distance. Some nerve they have, going with faster runners!

Wow, I am just catching up on the news and this is just crazy. Nike should stand up for this guy or something. Boston Marathon should have been thrilled that Meb wanted to run their race vs the plenty of other spring marathons who would have happily paid him to run their races. Man what is this world coming to>>>>>

Laughable wrote:

Boston Marathon should have been thrilled that Meb wanted to run their race vs the plenty of other spring marathons who would have happily paid him to run their races.

So why don't they pay him to run their races? Why wouldn't Meb and his agent have been in touch with multiple spring marathons to get the best possible offer?

Do you recall Paul Tergat, the former world record holder. I believe he had over 5 minutes on Meb at the distance yet he beat him in the 2004 Olympics. Also, if you recall in 2005 Paul won the race in 2:09:26 and Meb's NYC victory was a time of 2:09:15. That is about 11 seconds faster then the winning time of the former world record holder. Boston is pure competition and Meb is a fierce competitor not a time trial guy. Put Meb in a race against any 2:05 guy and he will destroy them just as he did in Athens and NYC. That is a fact not an opinion.

Maybe he will run his 2:06 in London next year! That's something to get excited about.

Someone said it best earlier. Maybe he had offers but there is deadlines on offers too. Sounds like his heart was to win Boston not chase appearance fee elsewhere. So if Boston sounded very interested why not sit it out and continue discussions until Boston made an offer. Do you seriously think Meb didin't get offers elsewhere? I am sure he and his agent took a calculated risk giving Boston's discussions but didn't back up their liking for Meb by making an offer.

Further convolution (or is it convulsion?) from you. The OG marathon and its equalizing conditions (hey, Tergat was faster than Baldini, too, but we're not crying over Baldini's exclusion from any race now) have nothing to do with this. Meb beating Runner X with PR Y at a race long ago means little regarding what he could do in a spring marathon in 2011 after the 2010 he had, including the training interruption due to illness. Your mythology surrounding Meb is asinine, where was that "fierce competitor" in 2010? 2008? Now you're just trolling, you can't be that idiotic.

Finishing 5th in Boston and 6th in NYC just in 2010 isn't good enough to get you an invite in Boston. Is that your argument? Furthermore, getting ill in Dec., Four months out would hardly be considered interruption.

It looks like in 2009 it was Bedford who gave Meb his chance to race not our good old US Boston Marathon. What does that tell you about Boston's history with Meb. I am just speculating but I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the first time they refused him an invite.

No. I was referring to Precious Boy's ridiculous post that Boston only need concern itself with 2:05 types, which necessarily should exclude the likes of Meb.

Now that you have added to the laughable posts, I can include yours as well. Just to be clear, you have absolutely no idea if London, Paris or Rotterdam did or did not make Meb a "reasonable offer." That is pure speculation on your part.

You also claim that how someone ran in the past year is an enormous determinant of someone's stock at major marathons. That sounds reasonable. However, last year in Boston, Hall ran 2:08:41 and Meb was a whopping 45 second behind him. Edge to Hall but not by much. He then ran a comfortable 61-minute 1/2 in October (hello, that is very recent) at about the same time Hall was flubbing through his Philly debacle and then announcing his breaking from running. Big edge to Meb over the past 6 months. If you want to go with what someone has done in the past year, it's very arguable that Meb has done more than Hall. However, you want to continue to suck the teat of Hall and find it perfectly reasonable that Boston embraced Hall with a warm hug and told Meb to take a hike. Shame on Boston.

since the BAA has failed to keep track of Kip Litton so how can they keep track of guys like Meb

If I might add, he finished 5th with a quad tear and limited training because of an injury that had him sitting out 3 weeks in Feb of 2010. I recall he went to NYC following the race to the same doctor who treated his stress fracture from 2008. This was in his blog following his Boston race last year.

laughable wrote:

Finishing 5th in Boston and 6th in NYC just in 2010 isn't good enough to get you an invite in Boston. Is that your argument?

Not for the rate that a medalist and former NYC winner demands, apparently.

Furthermore, getting ill in Dec., Four months out would hardly be considered interruption.

Ignorance, pure and simple.

Right, that's wildly speculative because obviously Meb would just pass on any "reasonable offer" made by London, Paris, or Rotterdam.

Meb ran some fine sub-marathon performances prior to the NYC OT. Anything other than marathon performance is a red herring. Add to that Meb's age and it's pretty clear that spending the amount of money on Meb that they are spending on faster guys and expecting Meb to improve on his last performance is not wise at all. But hey, that's why you have built up and sustain a big city marathon and those clowns at JH never have. JH has a reputation for risky decisions and not going with their best options, this simply adds to it. As for teats, I couldn't care less about Hall and figure he'll get smoked in Boston, I'm certainly no fanboy. You, on the other hand, aren't seeing clearly with your Meb myopia. I'm not saying that Meb is a slouch, just that compared with Meb's 2010 and his age, JH has better options. Like 14 guys who have gone over a minute faster than Meb.

Precious Roy wrote:

If Boston can make hobby joggers crank out a sub 3:10 to get in, they can certainly require pros to be at their best to get an invite.

First horseman.

What are you talking about? Meb has run PR after PR in the marathon as he ages. He is still running faster these days then he did in the marathon 8 years ago when debuted in NYC. In fact, he improved his 2006 Boston finish time in 2010. However way you look at it doesn't make sense that Boston would make such a stupid decision to not make meb an offer to run their race.

some idiot wrote:

Why would elite directors offer Meb a ton of cash to finish 3-4 minutes behind the leaders?

Meb could race wherever he wants to, but cannot expect to get the same red carpet that people with recent races in the 2:05-2:07 range get.

Funny, it seems that Ryan Hall can. Nothing near his :59/2:06 PRs for, what, three years now? Not a major win on his resume?

I can't believe this is happening to one of the most dominant US distance runners of this decade. Someone from Boston should apologize to Meb and his fans before this thing ends up making mainstream media. i know Meb would handle it with grace and dignity but it wouldn't be good for the sport. What a setback. I can see if this was a non US marathon but on our home turf. APOLOGIZE already.

Ask any Kenyan or Ethiopian. Its not about the money to run the race. Its about the money to win the race.