Should I lead the first half of Olympic Trials then drop?

It's up to you, but if you do it lead the pack. that way its guaranteed you'll show up in the broadcast, otherwise they can dismiss you.

100% do it. Back in the day we ran in the Indiana Intercollegiates against Indiana and I told my teammates that I was going to stay with Bob Kennedy as long as I could. I was side by side with him for 1K (3:00) before I faded. It was awesome.

I’m in a similar position (2:16 qualifying time) and have talked to friends about the idea of doing this, but with a different purpose in mind.

Right now no US men have the 2:08:10 Olympic qualifying standard, so there’s a real possibility the US sends less than 3 (potentially 0) men to the Olympics.

What if you lead the first half of the race to rabbit and set up the lead group to go for the time? If conditions are hot it will be very difficult, but if conditions are decent there’d be a shot and even in bad conditions the elites might as well try.

This would actually be for a good cause and you could still accomplish your goal of getting the attention.

Oh please please please do this. Dramatic exit is a must.

I saws this thread title and before I even read your post, my immediate reaciton was "Yes."

Then I read your post and was like, "Yes!"

Why can't you wear a Letsrun singlet from start to finish? Wejo wore won in the Trials. At the marathon trials, it was so hot we wrote Letsrun.com on there in a permanent marker on a white singlet we bought at walmart or something. At the Track trials, he wore our famous yellow singlet.

I remember one year at some USATF meet I thought if I started a USATF club named Letsrun.com, it would fly. Is that still the case?

Do it, but not for the media attention.

Think swimmers.

Katie Ledecky set 400m p.b. enroute, 800m freestyle Olympic gold, 2012.

Highly motived male and female swimmers every year at state championship meet split 1st 200y of 500y freestyle only a couple seconds slower than 200y freestyle p.b.

I forgot.

Do not drop out.

Is this true?

Sage did run the Trials while in college. I think it was the week between conference and regionals in xc. So I don't doubt he was in the lead pack - Probably only went 10k. But I don't remember hearing he was leading it.

I was in NYC watching the race but don't remember seeing him so I must not have been in the first 10k. Can we get some sort of proof?

I still remember when the announcer at Boston said of Yuki Kawauchi (who was surging ahead of the lead pack off and on) something like, "give that man a piano to carry on his back", clearly thinking he was doing it for his moment on TV. It made me laugh at the time... and then he won the race!

Go with the leaders. Don't put the lead pack on a pedestal. Bekele will spank them all anyway

Do it and stay in the race and see what happens. In marathons after you push past the wall your energy comes back. Go for it and and don't look at your Garmin for pacing. Run!

You mean like the idiot in the mens WC marathon?

Question: How would you feel if your actions accidentally tripped up one of the potential Olympians. This has happened before at some of the most prestigious races in the world resulting in injury and loss of revenue to the athletes.

Have you been smoking waffle soles, man?

There is like 200’ish (?) runners on city roads. This guy isn’t going to ruin anyone’s race but his own. That said, it will be totally worth it!

I personally think this site needs to make this cat a bright yellow letsrun.com speed suit to wear 💪💯

Why wear a letsrun singlet when you can just write "UNVAXXED" across a wife beater?

Also, I'd be very disappointed if you didn't stop and take a selfie before bowing out.

It wasn’t that long ago that the only Brit who ran under 2:16 one year was a woman.

The coverage of the race is so poor that the only way you’ll get on tv is to treat it as a 10k.

I recall the last trials, Martin Hehir was picking off runners and I believe came in 6th. He wasn’t on television for a second.

I remember in 2012 OTs a woman just jogged in last place waving, whooping, pumping her fist, and generally hamming it up for the crowd for the whole 26.2. So what you propose would not be the most ridiculous behavior at an OT marathon. Honestly there have probably been enough goofballs wasting their entry like that or in similar ways that you would not be in the top-10 all time, in part because running all out for at least some of the distance is not "wasting" your entry in my view, even if the pace is unsustainable for you -- it's not really THAT different from one who goes out hard believing he can qualify and blows up just the same. You at least get the, I guess you'd call it, plausible deniability of the 0.0001 percent chance that actually you've been running below your potential and could actually sustain the pace.