RE: 'The Road to Beijing': 3 hour marathoner wants to make British Olympic Marathon team in 2008

Perhaps if the people, who clearly spend so much time on this website slating Alex, spent that time training they might improve their own times and ability, instead of trying to make themselves feel better by attacking others.

I always thought that true sportsmen supported their fellow athletes instead of undermining them?

And as for comparing this personal challenge to the god awful US show "Faking it"?? Seriously, grow up.

Quote from the THE ROAD TO BEIJING web site

"The Documentary also will attempt to explain the decline in British men's Marathon running after the glory years of the 60's through to the 90's where British runners like Ron Hill, Bill Adcocks, Mike Gratton, Steve Jones and Richard Nerurkar dominated the sport. Britain has the likes of Jon Brown (4th in the last two Olympics, but is his best behind him?) Dan Robinson and Peter Riley who are all top runners in their own right but not in the same class as the runners of prior generations or the African runners who now dominate the sport. I do not agree with the argument that you have to be born in the heart of Africa's rift valley to be a top runner today."

I don't get the thinking behind judging people like Pete Riley if the project is about doing somthing good.

2:14:31 Peter Riley (ENG)6.07.79 12 London 23 Apr 2006

Wait and see his career as a whole before deciding his class!

Dan Robinson and Peter Riley who are all top runners in their own right but not in the same class as the runners of prior generations

harsh, but true

Can I just say your attitude is amazing.. Here is a guy who has set aside years of his life to train towards a goal. He has sacrificed years to achieve something that many wouldn't even dream of trying... And yes he is documenting the whole thing, but who the hell cares?? In any other industry people document their experiences

From reading some of the posts here all I can gather is that people are jealous of his efforts and wish it was them trying instead...

You talk about his lack of respect - Why? All he is doing in highlighting the plight of runners.. He is harming no one in his quest. I agree there are many people chasing the same goal but why your problem with him making a documentary about it?? It affects no one. He has funded it himself and I think it is actually fascinating, if not inspiring documentary, whether he makes it or not...

And why is this not possible? And how do you know this guy does not have talent? - You talk about if he doesn't make it then he will give people the idea that all it takes is hard work to achieve their Olympic dream! Of course an extraordinary talent is needed to achieve these great feats but I guess until you try you never know. Is it such a bad thought to leave people thinking that hard work is the key to achieving your goal? You make it sound like a negative...

This guy does not think he is special - Why not show some encouragement and support to an ordinary guy that is trying to an extra ordinary thing...

Good luck to him

?

Quite right wrote:

slight difference between world number 1 rowing team and some guy ranked about 200th in the Uk at half marathon.

I have to say going to the olympics or even fronting up and being ballsy enough to even try and achieve the dream is more than most will ever even think about.

Just cos you're ranked 200th does not mean you can't be in the top 10 in a year, the guys in the top 10 that actually believed they could do it, went out and dedicated themselves whole heartedly to their goals and that is why they are there, they certainly don't sit around talking trash about it - they get on with it.

And on the issue of throwing up or being Redgrave or Pinsent, doesn't make any difference if you are a runner ranked 200th or a rower ranked number one, when you push yourself you do pass out/throw up/soil yourself etc... if you aren't then you're not pushing yourself. My guess is a guy aiming to run the marathon at the olympics is pushing himself pretty hard.

Also on the 75,000 pound front - why? Well it costs money to live and train as hard he will have to, he will need to go to altitude camp, physio, physiologists, training kit, travel to and from training, 5,000 calories a day - you do the maths! Plus with this money, as a sponsor, you are involved in the story not just a result and this story will be an interesting one even if he doesn't make it.

All in all he has my vote and some of my cash. Where do I sign

I don't have an attitude, I have my thoughts about what he is doing which i am certainly entitled to and firstI don't have a problem with what he is doing... get in better shape fine, make a documentary about it fine... my personal opinion is just this is not someone that I think is extremely noble or even particularly drivenhe says it is his life long dream to be in the olympic marathon? what? then where has he been for the last 20 years... take someone like KK. that guy has put in 20 years, battling injury and in the beginning a lack of funds all to realize the dream of running fast. There are countless others out there, I know guys who put in 100 mpw for 15 years in the hope of breaking 2:20, they started their quest as 14 year olds... driven from the beginning. those are the guys with the love and the guys who are the inspiration... this guy may become another i don't know but a couple of years doesn't impress me... so he said i want to make a documentary about this. good for him but giving people the impression you have a shot at the olympics when you are not even close is misleading. maybe he will get closer, then he can utter the olympics word but at this point he is just another guy running his heart out to try and improve on a 75 minute marathon. I route for him and all others, but not for him any more than the others.and i'm not going to continue to repeat myself, he very well be the 1 in however many people that has the ability to run a 2:15... but all I'm saying are the odds aren't with him. The odds are better that someone who has a demonstrated talent and drive will hit this goal. best of luck to himyou guys must realize you are just as, if not more reactionary than any of us who don't jump on this guy's nuts. I don't have a problem with him or his documentary, all I'm saying is I don't consider it some holier than thou crusade that I will be a big fan of, jeez.this guy said it well----------------------------------------I dont think anyone says (or should say) what you are doing is 'bad' for running - just maybe the way you have stated '2.30 this race, 2.20 6 months later, 2.15 London '08' shows incredible naivity abotu hard the sport is once the initial improvements have been made. I think the concern is that non-runners will think this can be done in this time scale, and therefore our current guys are ropey as they havent done this (unrealistic) thing.theres plenty of guys out there who already run sub 2.30. why not take the investment and make th efilm about one of them, who at least have a fair chance of actually making it?I think it bothers some people that you are seeking funding to star in your own film, which seems self-promoting, rather than concentrating the film on a genuine contender who may actually achieve this incredibly hard achievement? I think you need to remember that the vast majority of distance guys are quiet, modest types who may secretly habour ambitions such as yours but don't go around publicising them because of the high chance of failure. I think maybe where you have 'offended' anyone is in your bold assertion that maybe you can do this, when theres plenty of guys doing all they can and are significantly faster than you at the moment, but know that they'll never get anywhere near 2.15.I wish you luck with your running, you've obviously improved a lot since you started and 75 mins is a solid performance for a half given your background. I hope you continue to train and improve when the cameras stop rolling.

I am a twenty one year old university student and am training for the London Marathon this year. Alex is a complete inspiration to me. Any time I feel that I can’t go on I am reminded of what he is trying to achieve and I get that little boost you need!

How anyone can demean his determination is frankly baffling and to suggest that he is undermining current marathon runners is also absurd! If he does it, which he may not, it will not affect current athletes who as dedicated professionals would be the first to give him a pat on the back, so to speak! How can you not get behind him? What he is trying to do for the sport is truly great!

I have never heard of any of the British male runners above, like the majority of my piers, but we have had many conversations about marathon running as a sport recently and that is all because of Alex. Surely this is a good thing for your sport?

Hi,

I would like to thank all of you that support Alex's aspirations..You have clearly demostrated open-mindedness,in which we are appreciative of.

You clearly love running and that put's wind in my sale.To the pessimists, well, I don't really know what to say but I guess you probably train alone, because you know everything.

'Love your neighbour as you would be like to be loved' - a verse from the bible somewhere, and maybe the world will be a better place, without all this anger.

Thank you all

Jasyn

PS- A qoute I remember from my teenage years - 'It's better to have tried, than not to have tried at all.'

Dear all, I have a dream... 2 years ago I was an overweight beer swilling layabout, I could barely get out of my chair, I then decided to do something about it. Despite the fact I couldn't even ride a bike I decided that I would ride in the 2008 Tour De France. I set myself a simple schedule,

1. Learn to the ride the bike

2. Ride an amateur roadrace

3. Sign a professional contract

4. Ride the Dauphin Libre

5. Ride the Tour de France for a professional team.

...after all Britain hardly has any good cycylists these days...

Sounds crazy doesn't it.

Just because the marathon is amss participation event peopl seem to think it is the 'easiest way' to compete against the best and make a national team, if this guy was trying t make a rowing team, or a swimming team, or a ski team and was what can best be described as 'recreational' in them he would be laughed out of town, the marathon if anything is tougher, takes more long term training, unfortuantely for him he culdn't have picked a harder event!

Hmm, this guy only has a shot if he looses atleast 15 pounds, doing the miles and the hard work outs can only take you to a certain level, in this shape he's never going to run 5:20 miles at low oxygen cost.

And to the guys who are saying he has no talent, i'm not sure about this, there are skinny guys who have logged dozens of hard 100mile weeks and are stucked at his level.

As i posted, loosing 15-20 pounds will bring a huge improvement, then although he seems to be already working on his stride, i would say there is also quite some room for improvement in this area.If he is serious and doesnt overtrain i wouldnt be surprised to see him running low 2:20s.

Some of you guys need to get over yourselves.

Go down the street and ask people who Dan Robinson, John Brown or Huw Lobb are. They won't have a clue. We know and respect what they do because we have an interest in the sport and an understanding of what they put in. No-one else cares about that level of marathon running. The fact this thread is 8 pages long says people in the sport do care about what this guy is doing whether they hate it or love it. If this documentary gets off the ground people will know who John Brown, Pete Riley, and those boys are. He'll have raised their image and public understanding of what they do. If he does have 'disrespect' for their talent and the work they put in his own show will make that clear for all to see when they blow him away over 26.2M.

Except for a very few at the top end marathon running is badly paid, not paid at all or usually costs money. If you want £75000 a year go and do something different. Or come up with a new idea as this guy has. He's not asking for money to make the team. He's asking for it to make a documentary. Understand the difference. Or bitch about everyone else earning £75000 a year in a job who doesn't work as hard as a marathon runner too.

Of the 45000 people accepted for London most people will have unrealistic ambitions. For 10,000 it is to be dumb enough to think they'll even start. Many of them will have got their place at the expense of a club runner. Look at the results and see people's split times and you can see most are setting off at a pace they have no hope of sustaining. Unrealistic goals are all around you. Most of the hundreds of people playing football on Hackney Marshes have unreal views on how good they are. The pubs are full of people who know more about football than their team's manager. Letsrun posters don't get to decide what people are allowed to aim for.

Of course u are entitled to your views/ opinions..

What in your opinion is 'particularly driven' If this isn't then god help us all! Here is a guy who has taken years of his life off to have the chance to represent his country...

I have had a few life time ambitions - to be a pro sportsman, maybe in a band and to earn a shed load of $$$ but in reality I am too lazy, not focused/ determined enough to do them ( along with the majority of the population), and I haven't achieved any of them..

Wouldn't it be even more of an achievement if he does this after a few years of dedication - Its seems that you champion the cause of the runner who has pounded the terrain for mile after mile (and quite rightly so)with no recognition, but do not want to entertain the thought of an 'average Joe' who has put his life for a few years on hold to achieve his goal??

I also don't think he wants any more support than anyone else out there who is trying to achieve their dream - To an outsider it seems as if he is using his brain as well as his body by setting up the website to document it.. And if people want to sponsor him, great their choice... You don't ask you don't get.

If he does it then Mission accomplished and if he doesn't he can go sit behind a desk for the next 30 years working. But if he has inspired just 1 person to continue running then that cannot be a bad thing, and as the quote at the end of his website says,

''It is not the critic that counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."

You are totatally wrong:

"Most of the hundreds of people playing football on Hackney Marshes have unreal views on how good they are. The pubs are full of people who know more about football than their team's manager. Letsrun posters don't get to decide what people are allowed to aim for.'

That is sucha stupid statement, it is apples and oranges, running is clear cut, your time is where you are, theer are no hard luck stries like you get in football, 'the scout wasn't there', "I had no service' etc... with running, you run the time, you are in.

Th ONLY reason anyone would be interested in this story is becasue this country is sadly obsessed with nobodies hopeless attempts at being somebodies, see Big Brother, X Factor etc... sadly this diverts press, publicity, money etc... away from the people who should get it, the poeple wwoking their buns off and are truly gifted.

YOU are totally wrong - people do not and should not get money simply for working their buns off. Life doesn't work like that. It never has and it never will.

Thats not my point, my point is the guys who achieve the best times and who excell in their chosen field should get more credit and more support/publicity than a chancer with no chance. If he said he was trying to run 2.25 he would get more respect on this board and he might actually have a chance of achieveing it, he is only claiming to have a chance of 2.15 for the publicity and the chance of financial reward, if you look at his actual achievements, times, performances, his claims are paper thin.

I would have more respect for him if he made a film about the tope guys and incorporated his attempts to train/live like them, becaue perform,ance wise he is in another universe.

Better go thats Man United on the phone asking if I'm available for Saturday, Christiano has picked up a knock, better get the dubbin out.

But surely There is no point setting a target unless that target is almost impossible to achieve.... It pushes you to your absolute limits?

So after the doccumentary what next? A book? 4mins on Richard and Judy? To the 21 year old uni student who doesn't know who the top British guys are. You prove the point this guy is making. The media attention on Alex and similar self promoters detracts from a real understanding of the sport. Get reading some books college boy!! and stop playing on the bloody internet!

and i don't know why you quoted that thing to me from his website... or why you would quote that to anyone on this websiteyou don't think i know that it is not the critic that matters but the person in there busting his ass and failing...this is a runner's message board, nearly all of us know that and live by it... i work my 8 to 6 job everyday but everyday at 4:30am you can find me heading out the door to get the day's mileage or workout in and there are guys posting on here who do the same thing except they have kids, harder jobs and run even more milesNo no no no hit the nail on the head.

time2run wrote:

But surely There is no point setting a target unless that target is almost impossible to achieve.... It pushes you to your absolute limits?