Ryan Hall's RW Blog on Jax, etc....

Flagpole Willy wrote:

Hmm. Guess old Flagpole Willy knows a thing or two after all.

Flagpole, you're the smartest man in, umm, Ohio. I say you should mount the highest point in Ohio & dispense wisdom to the adoring, needy masses from on high!

scotth wrote:

Flagpole Willy wrote:

Hmm. Guess old Flagpole Willy knows a thing or two after all.

Flagpole, you're the smartest man in, umm, Ohio. I say you should mount the highest point in Ohio & dispense wisdom to the adoring, needy masses from on high!

Well Scott, after people ripping me for saying the HARD TRUTH following Hall's race at GRR, and then straight from the man himself comes the SAME EXACT CRITICISM, I think I get to say this. I love how NON-ELITE runners like to tell me that because I'm a NON-ELITE runner that I know nothing (which means that they think they do) but then the very elite runner I was commenting on had PRECISELY the same criticisms of himself that I mentioned.

I think Ryan Hall knows himself better than anyone else, and seeing how I was SPOT ON as they say in England, it shows that with regard to this topic, I knew what I was talking about, and the few (and really, there were just a few) who disagreed with me knew nothing.

you and zat0pek should form a society together, the society of non-elite runners who love themselves openly and honestly, and aren't ashamed to tell everyone else.

My friend, unlike you, I found no reason (and rarely ever do on this forum about performances) to find anything to criticize in Hall's comments. I thought to remain mum on the other Hall thread but thought a little balance was in order: I found his comments to be innocuous, refreshing & honest. I added, most of the comments seemed to be like those about 'slowish' times from championship races where the 'experts' seem offended the race didn't play out like they wanted.

Hall's comments and race aren't worth the time & effort you took to formulate the strident criticism you originally offered and defended repeatedly.

scotth wrote:

My friend, unlike you, I found no reason (and rarely ever do on this forum about performances) to find anything to criticize in Hall's comments. I thought to remain mum on the other Hall thread but thought a little balance was in order: I found his comments to be innocuous, refreshing & honest. I added, most of the comments seemed to be like those about 'slowish' times from championship races where the 'experts' seem offended the race didn't play out like they wanted.

Hall's comments and race aren't worth the time & effort you took to formulate the strident criticism you originally offered and defended repeatedly.

Well, my Zingerman's-loving friend, I respectfully disagree. All I have to do is look at Ryan Hall's most recent blog post where it sounds as if I wrote it to know that I was correct in my criticisms of him. Like I said earlier, if he truly gets a handle on this weakness of his (he's admitting its a weakness by saying he "needs to learn") then the sky's the limit for him.

By the way, I'm thinking of running a race in May (Memorial Day) not TOO far from your neck of the woods. Some people you know in the Toledo Road Runners usually run in this race. Maybe we will run into each other?

JUST GO AWAY!!!

How do you always find yourself right?? Are you ever wrong?? Wow...talk about a man with problems, I feel sorry for your wife, kids, parents, kids kids, and all letsrun messageboarders.

my thoughts exactly scott. the whole reason i started this thread was to show a counterpoint to fpw's constant bashing on the other one.

willy, you didn't criticize, you straight up bashed hall for his post race comments. some examples:

Bring the best in the world to Jax and see how fast they run...prob not much better than meb.

I also hope he runs to his potential in london...though we all know it won't shut your yapper up.

uh, yeah, that must be why he finished in front of all but how many people???

semantics maybe, but since i was sitting on him, i know he held pace for over two miles, with the key mistake being going so hard up the first bridge. shoot, meb's face looked horrible going up the bridge that's how hard it was. he backs off just a bit on the bridge and they all make it to 9-10k on pace. further, he didn't lose the lead two until around halfway

``.....Just because Hall deserves some slamming (and he does)%% sorry FPW, now were you CRITICIZING or BASHING???

``Hey brother, I enjoy a Patti Dillon (hard for me to think of her with that name) post as much as the next guy, but it doesn't make her right%% but it sure gives her a heck of a lot more experience with the subject matter you're trying to address so sternly. willy, you've likely never even been close to that kind of stage and pressure. it takes time to learn what to expect and how to handle and approach each race. i believe hall's done this. leave the kid be!

dude-

I don't feel criticism was warranted and don't find his comments to be a 'weakness' as you infer.

(Over Memorial Day weekend, I might be bike racing in Frankenmuth. I rarely run races any more. I attend my share and see TRRC members at a few...do you refer to a race on Grosse Ile? They run a trail thru the woods at one point.

You mention Zingerman's...we have a restaurant here in Fenton that gets its bread from Z's- some 40 miles away. It's called the French Laundry and is Very popular.)

sorry, the cut and paste doesn't seem to work too well here. i'll try that again.

"I now no longer believe he has an chance of mixing it up with best in the world"

.................... Bring the best in the world to Jax and see how fast they run...prob not much better than meb.

"as soon as the spotlight hits him hard, he'll wilt."

......... I sure hope he runs to his potential in london...shame that it won't be enough to shut your yapper up.

"Basically he said, "it was getting hard, so I quit."

............... uh, yeah, that must be why he finished in front of all but how many people???

"Hall took his shot all right...a little past 1 mile of a 9+ mile race. He quit after that"

............. semantics maybe, but since i was sitting on him, i know he held pace for over two miles, with the key mistake being going so hard up the first bridge. shoot, meb's face looked horrible going up the bridge that's how hard it was. he backs off just a bit on the bridge and they all make it to 9-10k on pace. further, he didn't lose the lead two until around halfway

".....Just because Hall deserves some slamming (and he does)"

.............sorry FPW, now were you CRITICIZING or BASHING???

"Hey brother, I enjoy a Patti Dillon (hard for me to think of her with that name) post as much as the next guy, but it doesn't make her right"

..........but it sure gives her a heck of a lot more experience with the subject matter you're trying to address so sternly. willy, you've likely never even been close to that kind of stage and pressure. it takes time to learn what to expect and how to handle and approach each race. i believe hall's done this. leave the kid be!

Flagpole, no, you don't know a thing or two after all because any idiot with a brain can say he needs to have a variety of plans for a race to fall back on. That's called mental preparation and I was taught that in high school. This was one race where he didn't do that, which he's consequently learned from. What he didn't say was that he will never compete on an international level for the rest of his career and that he'll constantly "wuss out" now, something that you certainly see in your omniscient mind. On another note, you never responded to the other poster who found some of Geb's quotes, which obviously point to his wussiness:

"I have never prepared better for a race than I did for the London Marathon,” he says. “My small races before London were great. I was not even thinking of winning or losing. I was thinking only of the time.”

But when he woke up in the morning before the race, he knew that months of rigorous preparations would be ruined because of the weather.

“I always hate running on wet surfaces,” he says. “When I saw that it had rained, I knew this was not going to be my day. I wanted to stop running in the final 3-4kms. I only finished because I would have had to walk to the finish line anyway due to road closures."

My all-time favorite quote from flagpole was

"you have to show the heart of a lion at all times, never show weakness...do you see geb or bekele talking about how they didnt have it, even if they didnt that day."

about five minutes later a guy posts geb quotes about he didnt mentally have it that day.

My all-time flagpole willy doesnt know shit example.

Only in your warped mind could you consider that that post was anything other than a complete repudiation of everything you posted.

Oh, so that's what you said earlier? Let's revisit that initial quote:

So, he now has, overnight, developed the heart of a champion? You never suggested he had to change, you made it abundantly clear that this courage that you attibute to Ritz is either there or it isn't. Hall, in your opinion, does not have it. There are only absolutes here. "Ryan Hall won't be able to..." No qualifiers about his abilities once he learns to follow your advice. Spare us your deluded spewing.

Oh, and did you see where my quote about your dreary existence in the asshole of America was selected as the Lets Run quote of the day? It proves that everything I said about you was right on.

I love how at least one of you learned in High School what Hall hadn't prior to his GRR run. Well, bully for you. The fact is that prior to the GRR Hall hadn't learned to have different plans (by his own admission) depending on how the race was unfolding, and this is EXACTLY WHAT I SAID IN THAT OTHER THREAD, so Hall and I agree 100% then. Since that's the case, it is impossible for any of you who disagree with me to be right and impossible for me to be wrong on this issue. I don't have the time today to argue this point as I had two businesses to run with a busy day today, so if you want to reply, go ahead, but be assured I probably won't respond. I'm so clearly in the right here that I don't need to respond more.

Now, Hall says he's learned on one point and is still trying to learn on another point. Hopefully he'll be there with both things and do world-beating things.

Regarding ever being wrong, sure I'm wrong, and I ALWAYS ADMIT it when so (Webb defeating Ritz, Florida beating OSU), but at the same time, I always admit when I'm RIGHT too, especially if I've taken heat for it (picking Aish to run his debut marathon in 2:19, saying Webb wasn't washed up after his freshman year at Michigan, saying Ritz would win in Belfast, and NOW, EXACTLY DIAGNOSING Hall's problem which he lays out in his blog. It's like I wrote it for him. I could NOT have been more right on this topic. I think it is you Gass (or whatever it is) who can't admit being wrong.

hahahahahaha. and you DO know that the race was set up (ala WWF style) for ritz to win it. of course you did flaggy, cos' you're all knowing, right? just ask luke kipkosgei if they were allowed to beat ritz. NO.

Flagpole Willy wrote:

saying Ritz would win in Belfast,

T. Rex, good grief brother, you only read what you want to read (which is the case for most people here).In that other thread, I wrote the following things:"I don't expect to see him on any major podiums though, unless he finds a way to change that horrible attitude of his. Maybe he will. I hope he will." -- key thing is UNLESS HE FINDS A WAY TO CHAGE THAT HORRIBLE ATTITUDE."Hopefully he has learned something here." -- key thing is that I LEFT THE DOOR OPEN FOR HIM TO LEARN SOMETHING."Like I said earlier, maybe he didn't even know he had that wussy attitude until he said it. Sometimes you don't fully realize what you think until you say it out loud. Hopefully he will attack this problem of his..." -- key thing is HOPEFULLY HE WILL ATTACK THAT PROBLEM OF HIS, and by at least admitting he has had the problem I said he did, he's taken the right step."...unless he changes his attitude" -- key thing is again I'VE LEFT THE DOOR OPEN FOR HIM TO CHANGE."His TALENT is not changeable. His attitude is." key thing is that I DIDN'T SAY HIS ATTITUDE WAS NOT CHANGEABLE AS YOU JUST SAID I DID.It's been a long time since I've been as right on a subject as I am on this one -- and this time I have proof right from the horse's mouth -- Hall himself.Business meetings the rest of the day. Have fun trying to worm your way out of this one T. Rex. You're so wrong that I really won't reply -- not tomorrow, not ever, so you should save yourself the work.

Shut up FPW. Jesus christ.

It doesn't exactly take a f***ing genius to offer the brilliant suggestion that it is BETTER to be excited about a run than to NOT be excited. I'm glad your faith has been renewed in Ryan Hall after he too came to that brilliant conclusion. He shall have a brilliant career.

" is inches,

Therefore, 15" is 15 inches, not feet.

Flagpole rocks!

But his heart is sensitive...

Be gentle, brothers!

I've been scamming over this website lately and thought I would never say anything until now. But let me ask, do you guys really care about what kind of fish or how long it was? I mean you guys argue over the most stupid crap. None of you guys can probably run a sub 16min 5k so how about quit giving your 2 cents on his training !!![quote]The biscuit is my half wrote: