CJ Albertson misses olympic marathon standard by 4 sec running solo in Fresno,CA

Dude needs vaporflys

I generally like CJ but claiming that "I was more than physically capable" (to run faster) is pointless.

If he was, he would of, but he didn't.

I looked at his Strava track and CJ ran nearly perfectly even splits with 25 of 26 miles between 4:55 and 5:05 and one split of 5:09. He had a steady heart rate of around 170 bpm which is likely right at his limit for the marathon distance.

The race was in good conditions- 48F, 0 wind on what appears to be a mostly flat course. The race had a few more turns than I'd prefer for a TT marathon, but CJ obviously knew that going in. He actually closed with 5:03 and 4:57 miles for miles 25 and 26 on a gradual uphill and then kicked it in at 4:40 pace for the last 1/4 mile so I don't think he left any time in his finish.

CJ has an all-time pr of 2:10:22 from 2022 Boston and a record eligible PR of 2:10:52 from 2022 Grandma's. Running 2:11:3x at a low key marathon with a number of turns is actually faster than what I'd predict from CJ's prs on more well known coursrs.

It seems to me that CJ ran a good race on a fair course and came up just a tiny bit outside his goal time.

Wish him the best at the Trials-

Dude needs to make better choices in general.

He should have gone to Berlin

It’s pretty hard to understand his commentary on it. He ran well the last mile-plus, but nothing outrageous to indicate he saved too much. It wasn’t a blip at all - he ran 12 straight miles at 5:00+ from miles 13-25. The first 12 miles he had two of those and they 5:00 and 5:01. So he couldn’t hold the pace and he had numerous chances to claw back to the pace he wanted.

Got to think he could have raced faster given he was able to throw down 6mi at 6:07/mi later in the afternoon… oh and then 13/5 double the next day at 6:35/mi

CJ is basically the not quite as fast American version of Yuki.

CJ is not likely to finish top 3 at the trials, but there is a non-zero chance.

guy is great for the sport and i really enjoy following his training/racing, even if it feels completely crazy at times.

Worse marathoners than CJ have made Top 3.

Those runs seem like more of a frustration outburst than beneficial training.

6:07-6:35 miles are not throwing down for hopeful Olympians.

If CJ wants to make the OLY team his focus should be on being able to run 3-4 miles @4:40- 4:45 pace AFTER 16-20 miles of 5:00 flat work. That's what it will take. Mantz is a virtual lock barring injury. I'd take Rupp against the rest of the field for 2nd. 3rd seems to be up for grabs.

CJ is a mystery to me because he does super impressive training runs (questionably too impressive) that indicate he should be able to run faster than 2:10, yet always comes up short. He definitely has a lot of talent but his training seems a bit erratic.

Wait why do you say he has a "record eligible PR" of 2:10:52 from Grandma's? What is different about Grandma's compared to Boston as both are point to point and net downhill?

Obviously Boston is usually a harder/slower course, but the real issue is if there is a big tailwind day on a point to point course like those two (or even CIM for that matter).

what is it about washed up Ivy League runners that makes them love using the word “as”?

he'll do like either 8 x 1k in 2:50 or 20 miles at 5:04 pace. Impressive? Yes, but it's not wonder he's not running times close to Conner Mantz...because he's not training like him

I like CJ. He was a big dog in CA high school when I was coming up in the sport and then kind of faded while in college before coming back as the undisputed king of Strava. From what I gathered/remember from interviews, he likes training this way and I think he gains a lot of confidence/gets excited by big training days. A more traditional approach may just not interest him and that's an important factor of effective training too. He's relatively consistent around the 2:10-2:12 mark, which is a pretty frustrating place that a lot of American guys are stuck at but he's probably someone who can suffer better than those other types of guys and that should be useful in the trials.

Because that is how IAAF lists his Grandma's and Boston marathon performances in his personal best page.

2:10:52 Duluth, MN- no asterisk

2:10:22 Boston, MA asterisk

Asterisk= Not record eligible

worldathletics.org

CJ ALBERTSON | Profile | World Athletics

CJ ALBERTSON, United States - 50 Kilometres, Marathon, 10,000 Metres, 5 Kilometres

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I agree. I live in CJ's part of the country and have run a few of the local marathons that he has won. I don't know him personally but I love the fact that he races so often and doesn't hold anything back. Perhaps he's not optimizing his own performance, but unless he really has the talent to be a 2:05 or better guy--and there's no evidence for this--doing things his way is good for the sport.

I believe that's a mistake - Grandma's would be ineligible

Trials top 10

1. Rupp

2. Mantz

3. Panning

I May be wrong on the order but the above will be top 3

4. Mekonen

5. Young

6. Chelenga

7. Futzum

8. Kibet

9. McDonald

10. McDonald