Let Us Introduce You To The 21 Yr Old Robertson Twins of NZ - Been Living In Kenya For 4 Yrs Training To Be World's Best

Pencil Sharpener wrote:

In that interview they seem lucid, almost disoriented. A bally move, yes, but not a smart one.

Lucid is the OPPOSITE of disoriented, you dipsh!t.

And the word is "ballsy" not "bally"

IAAF reports that they spilt 9.44 for a 100m section of the road course in Yugo. They have been declared new 100m world record holders.

They just finished 61st and 93rd out of 111 finishers at World Cross.

the smartest letsrunner wrote:

Maybe the times were at a Kenyan district meet not picked up by IAAF rankings. There are plenty.

There are not plenty of sub-13:20 5Ks in Kenyan district meets. 3:41 maybe - though I think even that time would garner some attention at 7000 feet - but definitely not 13:16, 13:19.

Maybe they really did split that fast in Belgrade. I thought that course looked challenging, not straight and flat like Carlsbad, but I guess it's possible. However, there's no excuse for a professional to claim that as a PB without immediately qualifying it.

P.Whelan wrote:

I believe the 13:16 & 13:19 refer to splits in the Belgrade Race through history, as they ran slightly faster than that pace for the 6k course, assuming a kick, those are likely splits.

It was a 6k road race, Menjo ran 13:04 pace

1 Josphat MENJO KEN 16:53

2 Eliud KIPCHOGE KEN 16:55

3 Stephen TUM KEN 16:56

4 Saif Saeed SHAHEEN QAT 16:57

5 Jake ROBERSTSON NZL 16:58

6 Lazlo TOTH HUN 17:00

7 Zane ROBERTSON NZL 17:01

8 Boniface KIRUI KEN 17:08

9 Dennis MASAI KEN 17:09

10 Mirko PETROVIC SRB 17:44

It appears to me that Menjo's pace was about 14:07 5k pace, not 13:04 pace. (It was apparently a very slow course, hilly and tortuous.) I would guess that the lead pack stayed intact throughout most of the race, letting it come down to a kick. If that's true, it's a bit difficult to say whether the guys in 5th and 7th place were 13:00 5k guys with a relatively weak kick or 13:30 5k guys with a relatively strong kick.

I think it's great for a couple of kids from New Zealand to experience the different culture of Iten (or wherever they're at), but I wonder about their apparent belief that there's going to be some big financial payoff from their running, and it's troubling that they are claiming 5,000-meter times that aren't readily verifiable, and that seem a bit out of line with their verified track times. (Reporting "altitude-adjusted" or "altitude-corrected" times as actual performances would, of course, be highly inappropriate.)

Lucid means almost the opposite of disoriented

the smartest letsrunner wrote:

Also, they seem to have split FASTER than that pace for a LONGER race.

I don't think it was a split from this race. It's 5834m long, with stairs and twists - it's urban cross country - and the winner would have split about 14:30 for 5k if it was even. (Looks damned good fun actually, I wish they'd open it up to a few more runners....)

Well, these two kids were the first two New Zealanders home at the World Cross (61st and 93) - although 8% behind the winners suggests a level of more like 14min 5k shape. Hopefully someone back home will sponsor them enough for the odd ticket home at Christmas...

Clearly they have run some races where we don't have the results - does anyone know what race the one twin outkicked Shaheen?

pants on fire Bros

350 1500 pr for "little Hicham"

whaaever Maury

dean moriarty wrote:

Clearly they have run some races where we don't have the results - does anyone know what race the one twin outkicked Shaheen?

The Belgrade road/XC race we've been discussing.

You can see that the IAAF report shows Shaheen ahead of J. Robertson. Other accounts online claim that this is an error and their order was reversed.

Regardless, they have not run under 13:20, and I can't believe people are defending them for claiming that they have.

math 101 wrote:

I don't think it was a split from this race. It's 5834m long, with stairs and twists - it's urban cross country - and the winner would have split about 14:30 for 5k if it was even. (Looks damned good fun actually, I wish they'd open it up to a few more runners....)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgrade_Race_Through_History

Here's a youtube video of the race:

As you can see, there were apparently fewer than twenty participants, and the pace for most of the race looked more like a brisk training pace than an all-out race pace. The event seems to be more of a fun run for invited athletes, staged as part of a larger celebration of Belgrade and its history. Some great runners have participated in the race over the years, but it doesn't look as though they are exactly knocking themselves out.

Based on the nic you posted under, you are a total fool. Get some professional help, to help solve your inner anger issues.

They make sub 13:20 5000m splits in a 6km road race look easy in that video. You could clearly see the 5000m finish with the electronic timer just behind the guys sword fighting.

Keep in mind that 13:32 would have placed Robertson in 14th place in the University/Open race at Mt Sac last year, and 5th among NCAA D1 runners. I doubt that either of them could have even qualified for NCAA Indoor 1500 this year.

World class runners?? They might not have scored a point in the NCAAs last year.

In the meantime, they essentially have no life, no education, haven't seen their families for 4 years, and apparently have to depend on Kenyan elites for handouts.

While Nick Willis just got his new Olympic Medal, and David McNeill has competed in the Olympics and is about to be Bernard Lagat's training partner. And I presume that Willis and McNeill both have lives, incomes, and either have college degrees or close to it (not going to bother looking that up).

Can someone explain to me why the Robertson's are to celebrated rather than pitied?

The comma was placed their just for you. Your one uptight, immature, little, language klown.

Ah, coach d, the ever present ray of darkness.

coach d wrote:

(Yet another steaming pile of rank negativity)

Because if they hadn't gone to Kenya, they might be running 14.30 and still not have any career prospects. At least this way they have a 13.32 at worst and no careers prospects.

Not everyone wants or needs to be an academic. Ever heard of a blue collar runner? The Robertsons are the bluest collar runners you will ever meet.

So now we have the rationale that the Race through History was a staged "easy" race by Menjo, Kipchoge, Shaheen 3 of the best runners of the past 5 years, just to make the Robertsons look like they deserved there PBs??

SURE...

No one KNOWS whether they have run sub 13.20 or not, but its certainly not out of the question.

Jake fell over at about the 4km mark and lost about 20 places immediately. He also hurt his calf in the fall.

He still finished one place behind Ben St Lawrence who beat Solinsky and Tegenkamp last week in running 13.10 for 5km in Melbourne.

I used to race the Robertsons in NZ when I was a junior. On occasions when I talked to them they were very humble and friendly and I personally can't see them lying about their PRs. Those IAAF performances listed are not gospel. It is highly probable they missed a local Kenyan meet.