It's Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts (and in Maine, which used to be the same state as Massachusetts). The Boston Marathon is always held on Patriots Day, which is always a Monday. So lots of people in Massachusetts have the day off, and many choose to watch the race.
,,since its a long weekend, don't they have the saturday or sunday off too...so doesn't fully answer the question
It's Patriots Day, a state holiday in Massachusetts (and in Maine, which used to be the same state as Massachusetts). The Boston Marathon is always held on Patriots Day, which is always a Monday. So lots of people in Massachusetts have the day off, and many choose to watch the race.
,,since its a long weekend, don't they have the saturday or sunday off too...so doesn't fully answer the question
At the first Olympics, representatives from the BAA were impressed with the Pheidippides story and the way the Greeks organized the marathon around the legend. The story reminded them of Paul Revere’s ride during the American revolution. Patriots Day is the third Monday in April, a holiday commemorating Paul Revere’s ride. So they organized the first marathon on the day that honors Boston’s messenger in a war of independence, just like the marathon itself was honoring the Greek messenger during a war.
ONLY on letsrun.com will the greatest marathoner the world has ever seen, by FAR, gets dissed by a bunch of athletes here who couldn't run 30 minutes off his marathon PR. Sad.
The explanation for his of performance could be quite simple. He's off the peds because he doesn't want to join the growing list of Kenyan distance runners who are being busted.
I can't believe he did not review the course or change his training to get ready for Boston. Probably too many interviews and runs for the camera as well.
Huge upset today that not many saw coming, especially by such a margin! What happened today! Thoughts?
Is this your first time following marathon runners, especially at Boston? I think it has been proven over the years there is no runaway favorite when it comes to Boston. Definitely not a huge upset when the previous winner beats you. Even in the “amazing" Letsrun interview, I knew it wasn’t going to be Kipchoge’s day. He seemed very lackluster about the whole event. I doubt he is done for good, but the guy has had a long and amazing career.
He has won 15/18 marathons entered. Run faster than any human in history. A class individual. He had a bad day at the office. It happens or I guess no one here has raced. It’s not age or hubris or the course. He came to Boston and had all his time taken up the past few days with interviews and commitments. He was running against other worthy champions who wanted to beat him more than anything. Maybe he lost some focus and that’s all you need when others like Chebet line up against you. I have no doubt he will win NY in the fall if he runs it. That’s just who he is. Let’s enjoy him while we can. There won’t be another like him for some time.
These are the exact same conditions as London, when Kipchoge also had a very tough day. The cooler weather and the wet, humid conditions have thrown him off his game twice now. I think it’s crazy to ignore the role the conditions likely played. Notice that during his pre-race interviews, he was wearing a heavy down puffy the whole time while most of the crowd was clad in long sleeve t-shirts or light windbreakers. But he is certainly not done and will pop off another great marathon just like he did last year in Berlin (after everyone said “stick a fork in him” post London). He’s an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime talent and deserves all the respect in the world. A tough day in Boston does not mean he’s washed up. Onward and upward!
He is a class act though. You can't stay on top forever and today just was a rough day. Did you read his statement:
I live for the moments where I get to challenge the limits. It’s never guaranteed, it’s never easy. Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn’t the day to push the barrier to a greater height. I want to congratulate my competitors and thank everyone in Boston and from home for the incredible support I am so humbled to receive. In sports, you win and you lose and there is always tomorrow to set a new challenge. Excited for what’s ahead.
ONLY on letsrun.com will the greatest marathoner the world has ever seen, by FAR, gets dissed by a bunch of athletes here who couldn't run 30 minutes off his marathon PR. Sad.
I agree with you that people are out of touch with reality if they start digging this guy's grave already. He is only one year out from the WR for goodness sake.
But this isn't "ONLY on Letsrun" at all. All sports fan-bases are insane and off-base in this way. NBA fans write things like "Lebron sucks and always has!" on their message boards. People are just bad at saying what they mean in terms that don't make them seem like idiots (e.g. Lebron, despite his own type of greatness, is not as tough a competitor as Jordan and Kobe were, in my opinion).
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Has the sixth-place finisher of a World Major Marathon ever had a seven-minute positive split? Despite blowing up, you have to give him credit for hanging in there and snagging sixth place.
Has the sixth-place finisher of a World Major Marathon ever had a seven-minute positive split? Despite blowing up, you have to give him credit for hanging in there and snagging sixth place.
Definitely props.
The guy comin' through 59:51 last year in Berlin at HM got 3rd or 4th or so in 2:06/07. That was awesome, too.
