BTC RACES A LOT. Evan Jager has run NINE steeplechases in the last 4.5 months

I wouldn't say BTC races a lot, but the narrative of them only running time trials on HS tracks has gone so overboard.

When I say "a lot," I should clarify that "a lot" is in the professional context, not like a high schooler who might race 25-30 times in a year.

Perhaps "a lot" is relative, but...

If you took the total number of races from Schumacher coached individuals since 2005, during the outdoor season, you'd probably find that their average number of races is almost as high or even higher than most distance elites in their given events. This is particularly true of July, August and September races going all the way back to Tegenkamp and Solinsky.

Maybe you should place Evan Jager’s races in context. Evan was trying to get used to the steeplechase again and then if you are including rounds in championships like the US championships and World Championships then the narrative is different from your statistic standing by itself.

…and he has 1 Diamond league point

Using Jager as an example is cherrypicking. After years of injuries, Jager had to re-establish his career or possibly get dropped by Nike. He had to race a lot this season. He was very race rusty and it showed early in the season. Also, with the World Championships being in mid-July, earlier than usual, there is more season left than is typical. He did very well at the WCs but he's very close to the end of his career. No races for the uninjured Cranny and Mo Ahmed after the WCs.

Cranny has raced two DL since WC and will be racing again in Europe.

You are spreading fake news that the ill informed read and repeat as truth.

Jerry gets his athletes ready for the big meets better than any other US distance coach.

The people who complain about BTC not racing indoors and early outdoors are probably ex runners that did race a lot during that calendar period only to underperform later in the year when it matters most.

FWIW, Cranny ran at Monaco and Lausanne.

6 of the 9 were two meets with multiple heats.

And Jerry has never heard of nandrolone.

People love to make excuses, but no one wants to see other athletes racing the way BTC does. Put Jakob on the BTC plan and he's skipping world indoors, hiding in Norway all year while his brothers pace him in time trials, then showing up to Worlds and failing to medal in both events. Afterwards he might run one Diamond League race and then call it a season.

I will support BTC when they stop skipping global championships to run time trials and start racing the Diamond League enough to qualify for the final. I'm tired of watching 26:30 men/30:15 women crush B-level athletes in crappy domestic meets.

*I would include more examples from other BTC members especially if you are making a statement about the entire team.

*The main point is that fans don’t often see them on a somewhat regular basis competing in meaningful races. This is crucial for developing a following with fans who are not quite following the sport regularly. For us who do, record attempts and rabbited efforts with the sole purpose of achieving world standards is getting old. It’s not on them (more so the qualifying system in general) but the exhibition nature is just not satisfying as a spectator. Imagine if Tom Brady played two regular season games and just the playoffs every year? There is a way to compromise where you can achieve your individual goals but still maintain exposure for entertainment purposes. We aren’t there yet in this sport (Thanks Max Seigel).

*Racing doesn’t have to be an all-out effort every time, especially in the indoor season and early spring. Their athletes do cite poor tactics (like Jager himself after worlds) where they can work on these situations then. When it comes to being in large packs, changing paces, positioning, they don’t look comfortable at the world level. You can’t rely on simply being in better shape to overcome these deficiencies.

*Don’t forget that some people are simply jealous of their fitness. “Lack of racing” is code for they are crazy fast right now and we can’t do anything about it.

Let me know when they race as much as world number 1 Jakob

I challenge someone to map out the amount of races that every Schumacher coached athlete has raced from the US Championships to the end of the summer since 2005.

You’d be surprised by what you find. His athletes actually race a considerable amount when it counts most during the summer - which is the job of a good coach.

I’m sorry, but who the f#%* do you think is going to “map out” 17 years’ worth of data on the dozens of athletes coached by Schumacher just to prove your point for you?

Evan has global medals. Plural. So I suspect "poor tactics" is the same as any team sport athlete saying "I played poorly today". It's sport. Sometimes you mess up. But to say BTC as a whole doesn't "look comfortable" at that level is ridiculous.

How many other teams are CONSISTENTLY putting athletes in global finals across multiple events and winning medals? Particularly with North American athletes?

Ignoring the fact that most of the team came through the NCAA (aka raced every week) - basically every single member of BTC has made at least one major team or is a multi-time Olympian. That means they've navigated the qualifying standards and in the case of the US athletes (almost the entire team), have successfully raced at one of the most competitive national trials. So to claim they "can't race" is insane.

People criticising Grant Fisher for coming 4th clearly don't realize how fine the margins are at that level, and just how difficult it is to win a medal.

Examples:

Men (year joined BTC):

Moh Ahmed (2014)

2016 Olympics - 4th in 5000m final, also raced the 10,00

2019 World Champs - Bronze in 5,000

2021 Olympics - Silver in 5000

Evan Jager (2009)

2016 Olympics - Silver in 3000 SC

2017 World Championships - Bronze in 3000 SC

Women:
Emily Infield (2012)

2015 World Championships - Bronze in 10,000

2016 Olympics - 11th in 10,000

Courtney Frerichs (2016)

2017 World Championships - Silver in 3000 SC

2021 Olympics - Silver in 3000 SC

Show me another group that is consistently winning medals across a similar time frame? Do you think people like McSweyn will retire saying "ya, I never won a medal, but look how many Diamond Leagues races I did"?

Do you think people like McSweyn will retire saying “Man, I wish I would have run more time trials in Australia instead of racing against the world’s best and making money in the Diamond League”?

You want another group consistently winning medals over a long period? Heard of NOP? Farah, Rupp, and Centro all made global finals for years and they also raced the Diamond League frequently. Stop pretending that it’s impossible to race the circuit and still compete well in global championships.

Huh? Cranny ran sub 4 in Monaco and 8:29 in Lausanne. Ahmed was injured off and on this season. If you’re going to be biased, at least base your slant on actual facts. (Not on a junk narrative you’ve made up in your mind.)

Schumacher has coached athletes to just 3 non-steeple medals in 15 years. And not a single global champion. That's been with the backing of the most powerful brand in the sport and the pick of the best that the NCAA has had to offer. I'm surprised more questions aren't asked about that kind of performance.