Pull a "Glenn Randall" (GR)

Nice article but how can it not cover the Tri-Suit?

kcb wrote:

This has been a great thread, with the various opinions. GR is obviously a serious athlete, with real credentials. I ran Boston on Monday (it was as hot as advertised). The only thing I question about GR's performance was the ridiculous tri suit he was wearing.

Some people follow fashion trends, some people set them. Maybe on a hot day, extra material would provide better evaporative cooling when dousing one's selve with water. Perhaps not the prevailing wisdom, but certainly a theory worth testing.

slow pokes wrote: Hot marathons can be great, just have to run smart

"I will continue to think about what exactly went wrong, and intend to learn from it." -- Glenn Randall

God I hope so. His race plan for Monday was extremely flawed.

"I felt I) should've let loose a little more. I was physically holding back"

How did this guy get into an Ivy League School? Does his father work for GW Bush as well?

I liked: " had a rough last 20 miles."

Saul Wellingood wrote:

"I felt I) should've let loose a little more. I was physically holding back"

How did this guy get into an Ivy League School? Does his father work for GW Bush as well?

No, his father is a superintendent of schools in a small town in Western Colorado, and I believe holds a doctorate.

He too was a very tough, unorthodox competitor in his day. The acorn did not fall far from the oak.

Hunter Orange Skully wrote:

Glenn's own words on the subject:

http://glennrandall.blogspot.com/2012/04/i-have-sign-in-my-bedroom.html

Hopefully that puts this all to rest. The dude has an unconventional approach to racing. Without his performance, this race would have been pretty boring. A slow major marathon in an age when we expect records and 2:03s every time. So more power to Glenn for giving us all something to talk about.

Finally, just respect the dude for having the balls to jump into running after a few years of skiing professionally. Maybe he doesn't race smart, but he races with guts, and that's something in and of itself.

Can we stop confusing guts with stupidity?

Are the young kids that sprint the first 400m of local 5k to then walk the rest of the race running with guts and balls.....Please.

Running with guts is taking a risk that you know could back fire but that you also believe you can get away with. If he believed he could get away with that move from that field on that day he is an idiot pure and simple.

The only ballsy move he made was to be willing to act as an idiot on national tv. I guess some may be impressed with that, but as far as respect is concerned......Please

helllooo wrote:

I liked: " had a rough last 20 miles."

Haha, agreed, that was awesome. Dude is nuts.

GR opens his blog post with a Pre quote:

“Some people race to see who's the fastest. I race to see who has the most guts."

He then goes on to reason that because he trained on downhills and because it was in the 80s a couple days in Colorado he was well prepared to race well at Boston in hot weather.

GR then mentions that he thought perhaps he should have gone out faster, and since (he had a rough last 20 miles) that it just wasn’t his day in that cramps slowed him down.

GR writes about his positive split: “I have working theories as to what went wrong” Really? I wonder.

Did he actually believe that he was going to run a sub 2:10 and that going out at faster than this pace was his best strategy? Did he think he could place in the top 3? We’re talking about an Ivy League grad who studied physics, got a high GPA, and has run cross country and track at the DI level (and, mind you, performed a lot better than most). His mom was an Olympian and he missed Footlocker in hs running by one place.

The guy is a talent, but if he is truly this delusional in his racing tactics he is wasting his ability. I think that is why people are giving him a hard time. Perhaps he should focus more on another one of Pre’s quotes:

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

Sometimes "your best" means learning how to pace yourself at the start of a marathon in hot conditions. The real marathon racing that takes guts is in the last 20 miles and not the first 6.

Time to let Mr. Randall move on to his next fast start. He's given us the thrill that we apparently needed as we wait for the Olympic Trials. If I'm deciding between Randall's start and a homoerotic snowball fight I'm giving the nod to Glenn. Just sayin.

man, you guys who are trying to defend this moron are total idiots. what a flaming douche!

How bout a homoerotic snowball fight, where one guy starts throwing much faster than the world class snowball warriers.

Running Patrol wrote:

Can we stop confusing guts with stupidity?

+1

People on here are too stupid themselves to realize the way he raced has little to do with intelligence. By the way he writes and what I've read about him, I'd imagine he's at least smarter than 99% of the letsrun crowd.

You know what was Gutsy, Wesley Korir moving from 6th to 1st in the last 10k of the race, the only 10k that actually matters.

I read his blog and I'm not impressed..he has ALOT of learning to do..

lizlemon wrote:

man, you guys who are trying to defend this moron are total idiots. what a flaming douche!

You must be that guy from Runnersworld.

Funny. If a guy with a PR of 2:55 or so (hardly fast but easily in the top 10% of open men's fields these days) goes out in 19:00 for the first 5K and 1:25 for the half and fades to 3:05 or thereabouts, no one calls him a douche or an idiot or a poser or whatever; if they notice at all, they may chide him for being overzealous and reckless and costing himself a shot at a much faster time. But if someone of Randall's ability does this, and in a high-profile televised race to boot, it becomes a front-page story on a prominent, albeit often misguided, Web site, and commands an interview. Whatever mentality is behind this is far more moronic than Glenn Randall's poor racing strategy. dean moriarty is right, and if most of you are as bored as you appear to be you should undertake a high-caliber crack cocaine or methdone habit to spice things up.

Brian123 wrote:

I read his blog and I'm not impressed..he has ALOT of learning to do..

As do you. I'm sure there are plenty of things in life you need to learn a lot more about.

Saul, I just think people expect alot more from a 2:20-marathoner than at 2:55, including pace judgement.