Halfway right on expected pace - finished over 3 hours. Stomach issues? Injury? Kudos to her for finishing the race, but sort of strange not to see a DNF given the slow down.
Emily Venters ended up in a similar boat, and she must have a story to tell. She went through halfway in 1:13:46 and presumably stopped soon after. It took her 47 minutes to get from 20K to 25K. But she kept going, often running a quick pace. (She posted a watch shot that indicated her moving time was about 2:31:35.) She eventually finished the race off with a 5:36 mile and ran 3:26:32 in her debut.
“A really hard day,” she wrote in an Instagram story. “A few med tent stops. No bottles. But no matter what, I was going to cross the fu**** line. And we did. Only up from here.” Venters is a childhood cancer survivor. When she was three years old, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of blood cancer. And she ran the race to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
It was a dumb decision to run the marathon. She threw away nearly 12 months of training, and now it’s going to be hard to rebuild what she had. She should’ve focused on a World Championship run in the 10,000m instead. The marathon pulled her off course and she got caught up in the hype and missed her window when she was at her absolute best. And it was a dumb decision to finish the marathon on Sunday.
It was a dumb decision to run the marathon. She threw away nearly 12 months of training, and now it’s going to be hard to rebuild what she had. She should’ve focused on a World Championship run in the 10,000m instead. The marathon pulled her off course and she got caught up in the hype and missed her window when she was at her absolute best. And it was a dumb decision to finish the marathon on Sunday.
Terrible take.
She had little to zero chance of making Worlds. I'm glad more people are moving to the marathon before they are old. Plus I think marathon training can make you better at the 10k anyway.
Jonathan writes about her marathon in his final takes here:
Of all the rough debuts in Chicago, Venters' was the roughest. Venters, the 2023 NCAA 5000 3rd placer whose collegiate career spanned from 2017 through 2023 with stops at Boise State, Colorado and Utah, hit halfway in 1:13:46, but stopped at a medical station for 20 minutes at mile 15 because she felt dizzy and lightheaded.
"They drew my blood and said my sodium was low," Venters wrote in a text message to Race Results Weekly's David Monti. "Made me drink Gatorade and then I begged to keep going."
Monti reported that by the time Venters returned to the course, the organizers had assumed she had dropped out, so they removed her personal fluids from the aid stations.
"(I) was dodging people," Venters said. "I had to stop to get a Coke because I needed something...Then I stopped because someone sprayed Biofreeze and it went into my eye...(I) then stopped at 24.5 [miles] because I felt something weird with my heart and I cramped so damn bad. But I was going to do ANYTHING to finish."
You can read Monti's entire account of the saga on this X thread.
It's pretty wild that two professional runners decided to keep going and finish in 2:51 and 3:26. Either Taye and Venters' appearance fees were tied to finishing the race, or both of them really wanted to finish their debut marathons.
It's pretty wild that two professional runners decided to keep going and finish in 2:51 and 3:26. Either Taye and Venters' appearance fees were tied to finishing the race, or both of them really wanted to finish their debut marathons.
Or...
Maybe she just finished the race because she was raising money for a charity and people pledged money based on her finishing the race.
Contrary to popular belief, there are still people in this world with integrity and courage.
It was a dumb decision to run the marathon. She threw away nearly 12 months of training, and now it’s going to be hard to rebuild what she had. She should’ve focused on a World Championship run in the 10,000m instead. The marathon pulled her off course and she got caught up in the hype and missed her window when she was at her absolute best. And it was a dumb decision to finish the marathon on Sunday.
Terrible take.
She had little to zero chance of making Worlds. I'm glad more people are moving to the marathon before they are old. Plus I think marathon training can make you better at the 10k anyway.
Jonathan writes about her marathon in his final takes here:
Of all the rough debuts in Chicago, Venters' was the roughest. Venters, the 2023 NCAA 5000 3rd placer whose collegiate career spanned from 2017 through 2023 with stops at Boise State, Colorado and Utah, hit halfway in 1:13:46, but stopped at a medical station for 20 minutes at mile 15 because she felt dizzy and lightheaded.
"They drew my blood and said my sodium was low," Venters wrote in a text message to Race Results Weekly's David Monti. "Made me drink Gatorade and then I begged to keep going."
Monti reported that by the time Venters returned to the course, the organizers had assumed she had dropped out, so they removed her personal fluids from the aid stations.
"(I) was dodging people," Venters said. "I had to stop to get a Coke because I needed something...Then I stopped because someone sprayed Biofreeze and it went into my eye...(I) then stopped at 24.5 [miles] because I felt something weird with my heart and I cramped so damn bad. But I was going to do ANYTHING to finish."
You can read Monti's entire account of the saga on this X thread.
It's pretty wild that two professional runners decided to keep going and finish in 2:51 and 3:26. Either Taye and Venters' appearance fees were tied to finishing the race, or both of them really wanted to finish their debut marathons.
She’s talented enough to make a 10K team, especially with how thin the U.S. depth is right now at that distance. Running sub-15 indoors shows her ceiling is legit, but marathon training completely disrupted that rhythm. You can’t just flip from 5K/10K speed and efficiency to marathon mileage and expect to bounce back in a few months, it’s a totally different physiological demand. She basically traded a year of building track sharpness and tactical racing skill for a marathon experiment that doesn’t move her career forward. If she had doubled down on the 10K, refined her closing speed, and raced selectively, she could’ve been right there in contention next summer. Instead, she’s starting over.
She had little to zero chance of making Worlds. I'm glad more people are moving to the marathon before they are old. Plus I think marathon training can make you better at the 10k anyway.
Jonathan writes about her marathon in his final takes here:
She’s talented enough to make a 10K team, especially with how thin the U.S. depth is right now at that distance. Running sub-15 indoors shows her ceiling is legit, but marathon training completely disrupted that rhythm. You can’t just flip from 5K/10K speed and efficiency to marathon mileage and expect to bounce back in a few months, it’s a totally different physiological demand. She basically traded a year of building track sharpness and tactical racing skill for a marathon experiment that doesn’t move her career forward. If she had doubled down on the 10K, refined her closing speed, and raced selectively, she could’ve been right there in contention next summer. Instead, she’s starting over.
Honestly, I couldn’t agree more. People just hate when truth is spoken. It’s human nature. She should have held off on the marathon.
Halfway right on expected pace - finished over 3 hours. Stomach issues? Injury? Kudos to her for finishing the race, but sort of strange not to see a DNF given the slow down.
It was a dumb decision to run the marathon. She threw away nearly 12 months of training, and now it’s going to be hard to rebuild what she had. She should’ve focused on a World Championship run in the 10,000m instead. The marathon pulled her off course and she got caught up in the hype and missed her window when she was at her absolute best. And it was a dumb decision to finish the marathon on Sunday.
Terrible take.
She had little to zero chance of making Worlds. I'm glad more people are moving to the marathon before they are old. Plus I think marathon training can make you better at the 10k anyway.
Jonathan writes about her marathon in his final takes here:
Of all the rough debuts in Chicago, Venters' was the roughest. Venters, the 2023 NCAA 5000 3rd placer whose collegiate career spanned from 2017 through 2023 with stops at Boise State, Colorado and Utah, hit halfway in 1:13:46, but stopped at a medical station for 20 minutes at mile 15 because she felt dizzy and lightheaded.
"They drew my blood and said my sodium was low," Venters wrote in a text message to Race Results Weekly's David Monti. "Made me drink Gatorade and then I begged to keep going."
Monti reported that by the time Venters returned to the course, the organizers had assumed she had dropped out, so they removed her personal fluids from the aid stations.
"(I) was dodging people," Venters said. "I had to stop to get a Coke because I needed something...Then I stopped because someone sprayed Biofreeze and it went into my eye...(I) then stopped at 24.5 [miles] because I felt something weird with my heart and I cramped so damn bad. But I was going to do ANYTHING to finish."
You can read Monti's entire account of the saga on this X thread.
It's pretty wild that two professional runners decided to keep going and finish in 2:51 and 3:26. Either Taye and Venters' appearance fees were tied to finishing the race, or both of them really wanted to finish their debut marathons.
I completely disagree with you. For elite runners, once you train seriously for the marathon, it’s even harder to go back to peak 5K or 10K form. The physiological adaptations are extreme highvolume weeks of 120 to 140 miles teach the body to burn fat efficiently, conserve glycogen, and rely almost entirely on slow-twitch muscle fibers. That’s perfect for 26 miles but dulls the fast twitch reactivity needed for shorter races. The neuromuscular system becomes wired for rhythm and economy, not speed and power, so the stride loses that crisp pop required to handle surges or close hard in the final lap. On top of that, the lactate threshold curve flattens, meaning elites can hold marathon pace forever but struggle to hit and sustain VO₂max intensity. Mentally, marathoners become masters of patience and pacing, but the 5K and 10K demand aggression and pain tolerance at much higher effort levels. For most elites, it can take six months to a year of dedicated work, short intervals, explosive strides, hill sprints, and reduced mileage to truly get that edge back. The marathon builds a machine built to last; the 5K and 10K require a fighter built to burn. Emily had a shot at that 10k team and for some reason she was convinced to run a marathon too early in her career.
She had little to zero chance of making Worlds. I'm glad more people are moving to the marathon before they are old. Plus I think marathon training can make you better at the 10k anyway.
Jonathan writes about her marathon in his final takes here:
I completely disagree with you. For elite runners, once you train seriously for the marathon, it’s even harder to go back to peak 5K or 10K form. The physiological adaptations are extreme highvolume weeks of 120 to 140 miles teach the body to burn fat efficiently, conserve glycogen, and rely almost entirely on slow-twitch muscle fibers. That’s perfect for 26 miles but dulls the fast twitch reactivity needed for shorter races. The neuromuscular system becomes wired for rhythm and economy, not speed and power, so the stride loses that crisp pop required to handle surges or close hard in the final lap. On top of that, the lactate threshold curve flattens, meaning elites can hold marathon pace forever but struggle to hit and sustain VO₂max intensity. Mentally, marathoners become masters of patience and pacing, but the 5K and 10K demand aggression and pain tolerance at much higher effort levels. For most elites, it can take six months to a year of dedicated work, short intervals, explosive strides, hill sprints, and reduced mileage to truly get that edge back. The marathon builds a machine built to last; the 5K and 10K require a fighter built to burn. Emily had a shot at that 10k team and for some reason she was convinced to run a marathon too early in her career.
So glad Galen Rupp didn't know this at the Rio Olympics when he took 5th in the 10,000 and 8 days later won bronze in the marathon.
I completely disagree with you. For elite runners, once you train seriously for the marathon, it’s even harder to go back to peak 5K or 10K form. The physiological adaptations are extreme highvolume weeks of 120 to 140 miles teach the body to burn fat efficiently, conserve glycogen, and rely almost entirely on slow-twitch muscle fibers. That’s perfect for 26 miles but dulls the fast twitch reactivity needed for shorter races. The neuromuscular system becomes wired for rhythm and economy, not speed and power, so the stride loses that crisp pop required to handle surges or close hard in the final lap. On top of that, the lactate threshold curve flattens, meaning elites can hold marathon pace forever but struggle to hit and sustain VO₂max intensity. Mentally, marathoners become masters of patience and pacing, but the 5K and 10K demand aggression and pain tolerance at much higher effort levels. For most elites, it can take six months to a year of dedicated work, short intervals, explosive strides, hill sprints, and reduced mileage to truly get that edge back. The marathon builds a machine built to last; the 5K and 10K require a fighter built to burn. Emily had a shot at that 10k team and for some reason she was convinced to run a marathon too early in her career.
So glad Galen Rupp didn't know this at the Rio Olympics when he took 5th in the 10,000 and 8 days later won bronze in the marathon.
I’m glad you brought up Rupp he’s a great example. In 2012 he earned a silver medal training specifically for the 10,000 m and 5,000 m, showing just how sharp he was at both distances before ever moving up. By 2016, his marathon success in Rio came after years of mastering his track potential first. Rupp’s path proves that developing full 5K and 10K range and efficiency lays the foundation for a strong marathon career later not the other way around. And Rupps first marathon was the OT’s ( 29 years old ) and second was the Olympics at age 30!
You all don’t think she’s already embarrassed by this performance? Add on the peanut gallery essentially with the Told Ya So attitude , So we’re dumb to jump to the Marathon.
At least we have an athlete being honest and transparent about want went wrong and not immediately making excuses and blaming the Coach.
She had little to zero chance of making Worlds. I'm glad more people are moving to the marathon before they are old. Plus I think marathon training can make you better at the 10k anyway.
Jonathan writes about her marathon in his final takes here:
She’s talented enough to make a 10K team, especially with how thin the U.S. depth is right now at that distance. Running sub-15 indoors shows her ceiling is legit, but marathon training completely disrupted that rhythm. You can’t just flip from 5K/10K speed and efficiency to marathon mileage and expect to bounce back in a few months, it’s a totally different physiological demand. She basically traded a year of building track sharpness and tactical racing skill for a marathon experiment that doesn’t move her career forward. If she had doubled down on the 10K, refined her closing speed, and raced selectively, she could’ve been right there in contention next summer. Instead, she’s starting over.
She got caught up work Ed’s marathon training. It was a poor choice to switch to the marathon
You all don’t think she’s already embarrassed by this performance? Add on the peanut gallery essentially with the Told Ya So attitude , So we’re dumb to jump to the Marathon.
At least we have an athlete being honest and transparent about want went wrong and not immediately making excuses and blaming the Coach.
We can’t have it both ways…
She needs better guidance. Marathon was not right for her at this stage
For elite runners, once you train seriously for the marathon, it’s even harder to go back to peak 5K or 10K form. The physiological adaptations are extreme highvolume weeks of 120 to 140 miles teach the body to burn fat efficiently, conserve glycogen, and rely almost entirely on slow-twitch muscle fibers. That’s perfect for 26 miles but dulls the fast twitch reactivity needed for shorter races.
Using this logic, please explain how Sifan Hassan is able to be simultaneously successful from 1500 to the marathon.
She had little to zero chance of making Worlds. I'm glad more people are moving to the marathon before they are old. Plus I think marathon training can make you better at the 10k anyway.
Jonathan writes about her marathon in his final takes here:
I completely disagree with you. For elite runners, once you train seriously for the marathon, it’s even harder to go back to peak 5K or 10K form. The physiological adaptations are extreme highvolume weeks of 120 to 140 miles teach the body to burn fat efficiently, conserve glycogen, and rely almost entirely on slow-twitch muscle fibers. That’s perfect for 26 miles but dulls the fast twitch reactivity needed for shorter races. The neuromuscular system becomes wired for rhythm and economy, not speed and power, so the stride loses that crisp pop required to handle surges or close hard in the final lap. On top of that, the lactate threshold curve flattens, meaning elites can hold marathon pace forever but struggle to hit and sustain VO₂max intensity. Mentally, marathoners become masters of patience and pacing, but the 5K and 10K demand aggression and pain tolerance at much higher effort levels. For most elites, it can take six months to a year of dedicated work, short intervals, explosive strides, hill sprints, and reduced mileage to truly get that edge back. The marathon builds a machine built to last; the 5K and 10K require a fighter built to burn. Emily had a shot at that 10k team and for some reason she was convinced to run a marathon too early in her career.
And then there was Dathan who stepped away from marathon training for a moment and ran the US record in the 5000m, nearly outkicking Kenny B