Paul Chelimo: "“I’m Willing to Die in a Race"

Well that's idiotic. Imagine thinking running laps around a track is so important that you'd die for it. Just goes to show what a warped perspective some elite athletes have of life.

I'd file this under the 'harmless bragging' category. IMO, this sort of tough talk should be reserved for Alberto Salazar, who (rather than simply talking about it), actually raced hard enough to (1) be administered his last rights, and (2) prematurely end his career by going too hard.

And then he topped it all off by surviving something like 8 minutes without oxygen while having a heart attack.

If Chelimo can accomplish even one of these tasks of self-destruction I would be fully impressed.

Beavus wrote:

Man I hope Lomong and True wipe the floor with this guy (maybe even Derrick will come back to the 10k since he’s got a year to get fit for it)

Haha. Ben True?!

Yeah right, no chance. Never had a chance. Overrated but a nice guy.

Letsrun wants him to be great, but he never was/will be.

A younger me would have loved hearing him say that to sound hardcore. But I'm old enough now to know how not-cool it is to romanticize death.

antinoqe wrote:

Didn't Yuki Kawauchi say the same thing

Yeah, but Yuki does not blow races

Maybe his attitude is what T&F needs but it's not this guy. They need a real WINNER to talk the talk and walk the walk. The guys you named have one thing in common that is more important than their showmanship. First and foremost they WON.

Comparing him to Floyd Mayweather Jr is a little ridiculous, remember Floyd has never lost.

Chelimo just loves to talk. He's is extremely talented and motivated, but he races like a 9th grade boy. Pushing, shoving, bragging, showing his frustration at losing in public. That usatf championship against lining and woody lost him all of my respect. Not to mention tanning his body through Edris and Farah in the Zurich final several years ago.

LetsRun.com wrote:

Writeup of some of his top comments from his appearance on the LRC podcast:

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2020/08/paul-chelimos-rise-to-the-top-im-willing-to-die-in-a-race/

PC has clearly been living in the US too long with this classic overly-emotional nonsense.

You'd be willing to die in a race? Really? Like end your life for running? Must have a pretty freaking awful life if a running race is supposedly worth more than the life it is part of.

I mean I understand the notion of what he's saying but comments like this just annoy me and always have. Meh.

one of my favorite tshirts says something like "once in your life, train with the will to die" It's a a quote from an mma guy named enson inoue.

I think middle distance runners come closest to this.

round and round wrote:

Beavus wrote:

Man I hope Lomong and True wipe the floor with this guy (maybe even Derrick will come back to the 10k since he’s got a year to get fit for it)

Haha. Ben True?!

Yeah right, no chance. Never had a chance. Overrated but a nice guy.

Letsrun wants him to be great, but he never was/will be.

True was 6th in a world XC. That makes him great in my book.