Chris Barnicle = Greatest performance of the 2016 OTM

Deserving Athlete wrote:

That video of him running shows how hard he was trying to make it to the finish. Good for him! It's a hell of a lot harder to accept that you are going to walk it in vs DNF. He knew his main goal was to finish for his family and nothing was going to stop him. I have a lot more respect for a guy that is running/walking for others and refuses to quit than the cop out of running with the leaders for 13 miles and stepping off the course when it gets tough.

I agree, he was working hard. Lots of stoners in the US, now the running stoners have a patron saint.

west coast best coast wrote:

Deserving Athlete wrote:

That video of him running shows how hard he was trying to make it to the finish. Good for him! It's a hell of a lot harder to accept that you are going to walk it in vs DNF. He knew his main goal was to finish for his family and nothing was going to stop him. I have a lot more respect for a guy that is running/walking for others and refuses to quit than the cop out of running with the leaders for 13 miles and stepping off the course when it gets tough.

I agree, he was working hard. Lots of stoners in the US, now the running stoners have a patron saint.

Yes, and their patron saint runs 3:45.

Heard from a well respected source that Chris is currently in negotiations with a large shoe/clothing company to set up a sponsorship with the intention of gaining traction in the cannabis industry. We may be seeing more out of him in the future as a cannabis athletics representative at road races around the country.

Best of Luck Chris!!

No qualifier here wrote:

"They should have all been forced to take the shuttle to the finish line to wipe the sweat from Barnicle's giant balls."

POTD.

y'all would have fit in well in the Peyton Manning training room at UT circa '95

What will they try next? wrote:

west coast best coast wrote:

I agree, he was working hard. Lots of stoners in the US, now the running stoners have a patron saint.

Yes, and their patron saint runs 3:45.

Well he has run faster, but that 3:45 is still faster than you.

The thing that is wild to me is that Chris ran a

The thing that is wild to me is that Chris ran a sub-2:23 a couple years back.

My serious question:

Do people really fall off like this? Chris obviously doesn't look in peak condition but he doesn't look like anything is "wrong" with him, per se.

Is it really just use it or lose it?

paul2432 wrote:

It's not people, it's WADA and USADA. Either it is performance enhancing or it isn't. If it is then it is reasonable to ban it. You can't have it both ways (legal and beneficial).

Yes, you can. Testosterone:Epitestosterone threshold is 4:1. Most of humanity is 1:1. Enjoy your exogenous T. Many elite can because they very likely won't test positive. Don't come crying to me when it gives you cancer.

There are a large number of things you can get a TUE for with a friendly doctor that improve performance. Go see Dr. Brown in Dallas. That guy hooks elites up to the good stuff.

SortaSlow wrote:

The thing that is wild to me is that Chris ran a sub-2:23 a couple years back.

My serious question:

Do people really fall off like this? Chris obviously doesn't look in peak condition but he doesn't look like anything is "wrong" with him, per se.

Is it really just use it or lose it?

I think most people who stopped running and gained a decent amount of weight would not be able to do what Chris did. He went through 3mi in 16:49, and slowly slid off from there, still coming through the half in 1:25. That's a pretty solid time for a dude more/less off the couch. I saw him a few times during the race and you could tell he had not been running much if at all. Very impressive that he persevered in the heat.

M125 Christopher Barnicle Los Angeles

00:05:32

00:11:11

00:16:49

00:22:51

00:29:05

00:35:28

00:42:00

00:48:25

00:54:50

01:01:34

01:08:24

01:15:32

01:23:32 (13.0)

I ran with Jason Lunn some years back and he mentioned quitting running, taking a finance job and gaining like 30-40lbs the first year off, eating and living the life in Aspen.

coach deez nuts wrote:

What will they try next? wrote:

Really? So everyone who gave their best effort but just had a bad day deserves bashing more than the 4-hour marathoner who markets pot who wanted to stock the aid station with PBR?

I am not really sure how that would work in anyone's brain?

Quitting is much worse than marketing pot or running a 3:45 marathon. PBR is sh*t beer but that is hilarious.

Precisely. The other point to acknowledge is that Barnicle didn't show up in subpar condition and try to douche out in the front of the pack for the camera or his kids or anyone else.

Based on the RW article is appears that Barnicle's marathon was just about having the opportunity to run in the trials and taking it. From his splits It appears he figured he could run the thing, but struggled in the conditions and had to pull the Galloway method to finish. Finishing obviously meant more to him than most of the field. By chance, some of us appreciate that type of effort.

This whole episode also points to how fleeting fitness can be. People competing at a high level, or even a moderately high level, can push their bodies hard for a while, but not forever. For all the Mebs and Deenas out there, there are a lot more Barnicles.

As far as getting out of shape and running a marathon, this comes to mind:

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/2014/11/02/olympian-turned-jogger-kennedy-finishes-marathon-this-time/18388589/

It didn't seem like it was all that easy for him either.

Barnicle does a Canova impression second to none.

Was this a personal best for Mr Barnicle?

Panama Redd wrote:

What will they try next? wrote:

I agree, he was working hard. Lots of stoners in the US, now the running stoners have a patron saint.

Yes, and their patron saint runs 3:45.

Well he has run faster, but that 3:45 is still faster than you.[/quote]

Yes, he ran 28:10 at one time, but not now. He was a stoner then, now this guy says that he is their patron saint. Now, he is a 3:45 guy.

I ran 2:34, but I was only 17 at the time. Good burn though!!

This guy? It was YOU who referred to him as their patron saint

SortaSlow wrote:

The thing that is wild to me is that Chris ran a sub-2:23 a couple years back.

My serious question:

Do people really fall off like this? Chris obviously doesn't look in peak condition but he doesn't look like anything is "wrong" with him, per se.

Is it really just use it or lose it?

Is that really a serious question? He quit competitive running a while back and has very clearly gained at least 20 lbs, likely more. Super talented dude and could probably have run much faster than 2:23 in the marathon, just wasn't able to stay healthy. "Use it or lose it" doesn't apply here.

This whole situation reminds me of a situation I was in with my former band. We had a slight burst of popularity on Myspace in 2008-2009, but like most teenage bands, we fell apart before we had any momentum going.

I remained friends with the guitarist of another much more popular band that played in my hometown like a year and a half after we had broken up. He offered us the opening spot (in front of thousands of people) of their concert, so even though we hadn't so much as practiced together in 18 months, we couldn't pass on the opportunity. So we did one rehearsal gig then went out and gave it our best shot. We probably sounded awful, but the experience was amazing. It was also cool to visit a part of my life I thought I had left behind one last time.

Soleus injuries are BRUTAL. It sounds like Barnicle couldn't be running professionally now even if he wanted to. He pushed his body as far as it could go, and now he's moved on in life. But he had the chance to take the big stage one last time, and he took it. I can't say I blame him.

Anyone hear about the gangbang that went down at Barnie's crib later that night? Heard they even shagged the dog!