IAAF Officials didn't know Mombasa was hot when they awarded the World Champs to Kenya

Did you get an answer? Do you think Helmut was around in the early 60s when Mexico City got the Olympics and some official said that the altitude would not be a factor?

Malmo--I had no idea that you are so funny!

Post of the year right here.

Awarding the meet to Kenya & Mombasa has to go down as one of the dumbest decisions in global sports. It wasn't a contest, it was a war of attrition and duress. Geesh.

Funny post! But, why is it that some of these people get find themselves in a position to make these decisions? How does that happen?

[quote]malmo wrote: humidzschlangerhotzengedrippenz...

Image:

I'm laughing. I'm crying.

Dan R

Hey Dude,

It was the greatest Cross Country meet ever. If you we'rent ready you DNF'ed. There's a million websites with weather info on Mombasa. If the coaches didn't acclimate tough shit. The place was packed to the rafters. It was a dream meet. Everybody imaginable showed up. How many cross anmd track meet have you been to, and people lament about where are the fans, where are the athletes, where are the sponsors. Well, at Monbasa 2007 everyone came, over 100,000. The meet was packed. It was the meet we've been looking for for decades. The meet of the century.

first off, high heat and humidity is part of running. I've raced in 104 degrees before. Deal with it. The fact that Tadesse could and Bekele couldn't says something about Tadesse's sisu. Also, Kenya is more or less on the equator. It is the same temperature there year round. It is not summer when the north has summer. Please don't assume that the whole world is like the northern hemisphere!

Nothing gets past you, does it?

JEH wrote:

Funny post! But, why is it that some of these people get find themselves in a position to make these decisions? How does that happen?

And why aren't people like Malmo in such a position? Hmmm!

P.S. They really knew, the statement was just of the CYA variety.

i see wrote:

.... Also, Kenya is more or less on the equator. It is the same temperature there year round. It is not summer when the north has summer. Please don't assume that the whole world is like the northern hemisphere!

So, it's very hot and very humid all year round. I think I've got it!

scotth wrote:

Awarding the meet to Kenya & Mombasa has to go down as one of the dumbest decisions in global sports. It wasn't a contest, it was a war of attrition and duress. Geesh.

Well said. Having a race in warm weather is one thing, but the conditions in Mombasa were flat out dangerous.

scotth wrote:

It wasn't a contest, it was a war of attrition and duress. Geesh.

Hmm...and distance running itself has NOTHING to do with being a war of attrition and duress, huh? Based on your comments, I guess distance running isn't a real "contest" in your opinion.

(and funny post by Malmo, but geez.....he seems a little obsessed with the issue of the race having been run in extreme conditions {how many threads has he started about it?} . For those that don't like running in extreme conditions, there is always indoor track, right?! )

i see wrote:

first off, high heat and humidity is part of running. I've raced in 104 degrees before. Deal with it.

Post your results fantasy boy.

That was the greatest African Continental Championships ever held, hands down.

malmo wrote:

Dear Helmut,

Helmut, zeez ball ist zee vurld, unt zeez flashenlightengerbobbinmachiner ist zee sun. Zucken here Hulmut, zoo kan zee zat zee vurld eez zee on tilt, zo ven zee vurld goze roundz zee sun zee rays from zee flashenlightengerbobbinmachiner eez zumtimez unt direkt untopz ofz zee Kenya and zumtimez eez nicht untopz of zee Kenya. March unt Septemberz hast zee sun direktz untopz ofz zee Kenya. Ven deez ist zee case, eez zehr heist unt humidzschlangerhotzengedrippenz unt eez nicht zehr gut timez fur zee Grassenhillerspielerchampionshippenzeevurlder.

Regardz,

Herr malmo

Image:

http://i11.tinypic.com/2ztfugw.jpg

Malmo, you're killing me. I'm dying of laughter here. Second that motion for post of the year.

Malmo,

This is, quite simply, brilliant.

.......and the WINNER for best comedy on LetsRun...malmo!!

Now that some of the participants are home, and getting to talk with them about the race, it seems pretty obvious that two things are quite clear (1) attendance and interest were incredible, and (2) the conditions were not what many would like to race in for the purpose of determining the best cross-country runners in the world. Maybe it is a generation gab thing for some of us who like sport at its purist; not unlike comparing a real boxing match with one of these things you now see on TV where the participants are out to see what damage they can do, no holds barred (sorry, my lack of interest prevents me from even knowing what it is called). Awarding the event to Kenya was not so bad, but why not just make it an altitude event? Seems most of the better runners around the world are doing some training under real or simulated altitude conditions; they had a perfect chance to see if they learned anything. Let's hope that this great event won't prompt an exodus from altitude training to heat training, in preparation for all future championships. Maybe next year we can have three training groups in a world-wide research project: 1 group trains under normal sea-level conditions all year; group 2 at altitude and group 3 in the heat. Wanna start placing bets? (By the way, my point is that I agree with malmo)