WTF: American Matt Richtman 2:07:56 to WIN LA Marathon

kxjzzh wrote:

lesssgooo wrote:

Wow. Very good solo at LA

Tweet:x.com/JoshCox/status/19013080815998202...

Guys, 2:07 is not that fast. Why are we freaking out? It's "fast for an American" I suppose but he's literally 4-5 minutes away from winning a real race.

PCRF-Guy wrote:

Peach Pit wrote:

brooo 2:07:57 in LA? Just watched a news video, it says he took the lead at 16 miles! How much slower is this course than Chicago or something? Super glad there's a literal nobody American stepping up to the plate in the marathon, he might be our 3rd best now (and if he beat Young the next time they raced I wouldn't be surprised).

I put his time into a (crappy, free) marathon time comparison calculator and it says this is equivalent to a 2:06 flat in Chicago. You never know… not everyone is great at flat races but this is a great result for him.
NYC better pay this guy to show up there!

Charlesvdw wrote:

How many mpw ?

Imho mileage is the most important metric, workouts are overrated in marathon training.

bsbsbs wrote:

Whatdidyouexpect wrote:

Huh? that’s some crazy high mileage!

Not for a sub 2:10 marathoner. Most American elites average between 100 and 120. Most East African elites average between 120 and 140. Most Japanese elites average between 140 and 160.

Ghost1 wrote:

Jogger Hobby wrote:

2:07 marathon in 2025, YAWN, we're still a solid 5 mins behind elite competition.

Probably worth 2:06:00 -2:06:40 in Valencia, Sevilla, etc.

Richtmann, cerebral runner (mechanical engineering graduate) not the most talented, but compensates with smart training and optimizing his physical limits.

Not in the same league as Mantz or Young, talent wise, but makes up for it with high running IQ. Can probably thrive in adverse conditions (similar to Yuki Kawauchi). Remember Boston 2018? Yuki beat all the monsters in rainstorm and high winds.

Charlesvdw wrote:

How many mpw ?

Imho mileage is the most important metric, workouts are overrated in marathon training.

Ghost1 wrote:

Jogger Hobby wrote:

2:07 marathon in 2025, YAWN, we're still a solid 5 mins behind elite competition.

Probably worth 2:06:00 -2:06:40 in Valencia, Sevilla, etc.

Richtmann, cerebral runner (mechanical engineering graduate) not the most talented, but compensates with smart training and optimizing his physical limits.

Not in the same league as Mantz or Young, talent wise, but makes up for it with high running IQ. Can probably thrive in adverse conditions (similar to Yuki Kawauchi). Remember Boston 2018? Yuki beat all the monsters in rainstorm and high winds.

this and this wrote:

Not taking anything away from Matt's great run, but what does this mean America is back to?

Does this time mean that another one of America's marathoners has run another 2:07:00 to 2:09:00 time that has been achieved 25 times before by a USA runner? (not counting the 8 sub 2:07:00 times as part of that 25)

Does this mean U.S. marathoners are back to winning larger domestic marathons where none of the other entrants have run under 2:07?

His time was the 14th fastest ever by a US marathoner, and he is currently the 4th fastest US marathoner still competing.

bsbsbs wrote:

Boston might be a logical option? You want him to go run the Boston marathon in one month? I swear 98% of this board has no clue about the sport of distance running.

looking_good wrote:

He is like 9 seconds slower than Conner Mantz's PR. That is so crazy to me. Way to go!

Jonathan Gault wrote:

This is wild. Richtman was at Montana State last year and ran 28:21 for 10k. He was 14th at the NCAA west regional and didn’t qualify for NCAA outdoors.

Debuted with a 2:10:47 at Twin Cities in October. Now he’s a 2:07 guy!

Sub-9:00 guy wrote:

looking_good wrote:

He is like 9 seconds slower than Conner Mantz's PR. That is so crazy to me. Way to go!

Yep. And he did it on a slower course not surrounded by competition the entire way. Great performance. Will be great to see an American run 2:05 soon if it happens.