Moses quote on the front page

i think you may be misinterpreting what he said. i don't think he's defining "fun" the same way you are. competing and winning gave him joy. from watching him compete, you can tell he was having fun. i'm not sure there's much wrong with saying hurdle practice wasn't all that fun to do. like many athletes, if they're not competing at the highest level, it's just not fun or interesting - so why do it?

chuck d wrote:

like many athletes, if they're not competing at the highest level, it's just not fun or interesting - so why do it?

And for Edwin, his highest level was very very high. He revolutionized the event, running 13 steps all the way when others would go to 14 (and have to lead with the right) or a stutter-stepping, decelerating 15 steps, which made world-class athletes look like high schoolers. Which sums up his dominance from 1976 through the mid-80s. He did have challengers at the end of his career, due in part to his age/injuries and in part to the event catching up to the 10-year lead he had after Montreal -- he was really ahead of his time.

Edwin was the ultimate perfectionist. He took the most deliberate approach to every aspect of training and racing to make sure he was at his best. I was in the trainers tent at the warm up track at IAAFs in Rome in 1987, doing some light stretching in the shade before the call into the stadium. He came in, about 2 hours before his qualifying heat, and took his spikes out of his bag to examine and clean meticulously with a tongue depresser (wooden stick). he was completely absorbed in the details of inspecting his shoes, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings and the fact that he was running for the world championship. At least that's what I thought at the time, that he was the ultimate in concentration and attention to detail. It was almost time for me to heed the final call over to the check-in at the little concrete bunker that led to the holding area under the stands at the 1960 Olympic Stadium (the new track for Worlds '87 was in the old stadium along the river), but I was momentarily distracted by the sight of Edwin and how undistractable -- focused -- he appeared.

couldnt he hurdle off one leg only? because that isnt perfect preparation and attention to detail if true

and i think it's quite clear that he loved competing and winning, that's vey different to running or jogging for fun - i love competing but i can't imagine running without the end product of a race

moses was a class act nonetheless - to go that long unbeaten in an event where a lot of things can go horribly wrong (particularly if he could only hurdle off one leg so would have to change from 13s to 15s, causing stutterstepping that would make some of kerron clement's look smooth!)

so a guy who was undefeated for ten years needed to learn to hurdle on more than one leg for you to admit that his preparation and attention to detail were perfect? typical ridiculous letsrun criticism. seems pretty obvious to me he focused on all the right things.

rambling thoughts wrote:

couldnt he hurdle off one leg only? because that isnt perfect preparation and attention to detail if true

Think about it... we have two legs and Moses ran 13 steps b/w hurdles. It's impossible to take exactly 13 steps b/w hurdles and lead with the same leg every time.

placido wrote:

rambling thoughts wrote:

couldnt he hurdle off one leg only? because that isnt perfect preparation and attention to detail if true

Think about it... we have two legs and Moses ran 13 steps b/w hurdles. It's impossible to take exactly 13 steps b/w hurdles and lead with the same leg every time.

Obviously you have never hurdled. It is entirely possible indeed.

Your mistake is that you're counting the touchdown off of the previous hurdle as a step. That is never counted as a step.

Odd number of steps = same leg each time

Even number of steps = alternating legs

Oh my.

13 steps in the 400 hurdles means 13 steps and then the jump is 14. You want to lead with the left leg so you can run the inside of the turn. If you lead with the right, you risk having the trail leg (left foot) inside the hurdle, not over it, which is a violation (DQ). So with the left leg lead and 13 steps in between jumps, you always lead with inside leg near the lane line and have the rest of the hurdle for the trail leg.

In the 110 highs, it's three steps and jump.

BisonHurdler wrote:

placido wrote:

Think about it... we have two legs and Moses ran 13 steps b/w hurdles. It's impossible to take exactly 13 steps b/w hurdles and lead with the same leg every time.

Obviously you have never hurdled. It is entirely possible indeed.

Your mistake is that you're counting the touchdown off of the previous hurdle as a step. That is never counted as a step.

Odd number of steps = same leg each time

Even number of steps = alternating legs

yep, I've never hurdled and, I now see, I spoke completely out of my ass on this one! My apologies.

At least I now understand it correctly, so thanks for clarifying!

dtbrooklyn wrote:

"I have run over 26,000 miles in my life, none of it was run for fun, and running for fun is not even a concept for me.

I seriously doubt he ran 25 miles a week for 20 years. I mean come on that's almost 4 miles a day.

Cologne 1983: Moses in lane 5 sets WR 47.02

"so a guy who was undefeated for ten years needed to learn to hurdle on more than one leg for you to admit that his preparation and attention to detail were perfect? typical ridiculous letsrun criticism. seems pretty obvious to me he focused on all the right things."

Look in a dictionary. PERFECT would mean he would take every possible scenario into account and prepare for it

if he could only hurdle off one leg and faces a massive headwind, or clips a hurdle and stumbles, so cannot do 13s and has to change down, if he can only hurdle off one leg he has to either slow dramatically to 15s to get the hurdle on his normal lead leg, or run 14s, in which case he is hurdling on his 'wrong' leg, which would also slow him down.

Obviously Moses could get away with this, and did for a 10 year unbeaten streak. However, PERFECT preparation for a 400 hurdler would mean they could hurdle off both legs equally well.

And as for saying it's "typical ridiculous letsrun criticism", I acknowledged he was a legend just argued with your point that his preparation was perfect. he IS the greatest 400m hurdler ever, but would have been even better, in my opinion, if he had been able to lead with either leg.

If I was coaching a young 400m hurdler the first thing I would get them to do would be to hurdle with a right leg and left leg lead equally efficiently.

Just the same as any footballer (soccer player) should be able to use both feet, any basketballer should be able to use both hands etc etc

Dude, do you really think Edwin Moses couldn't hurdle with either leg? He was able to use the 13 step approach because he was so much better than everyone else. I'm sure before that he switched legs like everyone else. Just because he didn't switch lead legs doesn't mean he couldn't.

"couldnt he hurdle off one leg only? because that isnt perfect preparation and attention to detail if true"

As you can see (if you look) I did originally ask the question as to whether he could or not. I've heard he could only hurdle left leg lead, hence the reason i asked to see if this was true. and IF it is true, then I stick by what I've said, if he could hurdle off both legs then I apologise profusely for my ignorance as it seems to have deeply offended some people, how could i have the temerity to even ask such a question? I shall go and lock myself in solitary confinement and eat only bread and dead rats, and drink only the moisture from the walls. i deserve such punishment for such a heinous crime.

although i will ask a\ couple more questions too . . .

did moses run 13s all the way, or did he change down?

did kevin young (or anybody else) ever run 12 strides between hurdles?

aplogies in advance if anyone takes offence to these questions

I guess the reason he didn't have to switch lead legs was because he didn't slow down, either that or the reason he didn't slow down is because he maintained 13 steps. Either way, he was fast enough, very strong, and had long legs. He certainly ran 4 miles a day or more. he was known for doing longer reps, like 600s, not just sprints.

Who was the last person to defeat Edsin Moses before his 10 year streak, and what college did he run for?

SPORTS PEOPLE;

Edwin Moses Arrested

Published: January 15, 1985

Edwin Moses , the two-time Olympic gold medalist and one of track and field's biggest stars, was arrested in Los Angeles early Sunday on charges of soliciting a female police officer for prostitution and was later released on his own recognizance. The 29-year-old Moses was one of 82 men arrested in a Hollywood prostitution sweep by the police, who said that he had also had a small amount of marijuana in his possession.

At a news conference in Los Angeles yesterday afternoon,

Gordon Baskin , a spokesman for Moses, said that the athlete was guilty of nothing but ''poor judgment.'' Baskin said Moses had told him that he had been merely joking with the female officer before his arrest and had never had any intention of soliciting. As for the marijuana that the police say was found in Moses's car, Baskin said it could have belonged to a number of people - including parking-lot attendants - who had been in the automobile recently.

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Moses was acquitted by a jury of his peers in court but the trial testimony was damning. The bust occurred after Moses left an adult book store at 3am and pulled over to pick an undercover police decoy. Moses never did explain why parking lot attendants hid their pot in his glove compartment.

mike shine maybe? morehouse college

youll raise the wrath of Malmo.

Shine was a Penn State lad and not the one to have beaten Edwin.

Edwin Moses was and is one of the most admired athletes of our time from any sport. Yes he had the run-in in LA which most people know about, but he is nonetheless still an athlete who deserves everyone's respect. He is a gentleman a scholar and one of the greatest athletes whoever walked the planet.

Unfortunately,people like you will continue to dredge up this moment of his life and wave it like a red flag to illustrate his imperfections.

I hope no one judges you while focused on your worst day.