Teg only ran 13:27, Ritz 13:23

From this thread we can ascertain the following:

1) Ritz is faster than Teg at 5k and Teg is faster than Ritz at 2 miles - which makes Ritz better than Teg.

2) Runners are not able to perform in temperatures colder than 55 degrees

3) We can no longer contribute to a thread without bringing up Global Warming

4) The Kenyans are still faster than the Americans but are less likely to finish

And finally,

5) Track & Field sucks without EPO

People have no idea about running on this site. It's really quite pathetic.

close, but no cigar wrote:

And this to Malmo: does anyone ever just have a bad race, or is there always an excuse for it? Seems like every single time someone has a little bit off an off race you talk about the weather, jet leg, time of the year, time of the day, time of the month, whatever. An 8:07 2-miler/13:04 5k guy goes 13:27 when he is fit, ready, and coming off a 1500 pr.....then HE HAD A BAD DAY...... PERIOD.

Sure people have bad days, but when they do that's not good enough for the infantile vultures here. As far as weather and the other factors listed, you'd better start paying attention to them for the good of your own running. The circumstantial conditions are everything when it comes to high performance racing. Do you really believe that runners are just wind-up dolls who set PRs every time out? I suppose that's how your running is?

Fast performances are the result of talent, training, opportunity and contingencies -- for everyone, including yourself.

I was amazing to me that anyone would think this race was going to be done in under 13:00 -- especially ridiculous to think Tegenkamp was going to do it in Lausanne. Lausanne is at least 10 seconds slow on a good day and probably 15 seconds slow today.

Difference from PR

-17.8 1 13:10.21 (12:52.40, 27:14)) SOI, Edwin KEN

-9.9 2 13:10.68 (13:00.77, 26:35) KOGO, Micah KEN

NA 3 13:12.37 Menjo, Josphat KEN

-16.5 4 13:17.60 (13:01.06)KOSGEI, Shadrack KEN

-7.1 5 13:23.71 (13:16.61) RITZENHEIN, Dathan USA

-22.1 6 13:27.05 (13:04.90) TEGENKAMP, Matt USA

-21.8 7 13:30.60 (13:08.81, 27:03.2) MASAI, Moses KEN

NA 8 13:32.14 (3:35.52, 1st 5k) MAATAOUI, Ali MAR

-49.4 9 13:42.39 (12:52.99) CHEBII, Abraham KEN

-16.1 10 13:42.41 (13:26.30) KIPLAGAT, Bernard KEN

Which is why I predicted 13:20 for Teg and 13:26 for Ritz.

I saw where the race was, looked at the weather forecast,

and took into consideration that they were just coming off a mini-peak for U.S. Nationals.

Quite right, Malmo, track fans just can't look at a race from a month ago and say runner x is going to run y time because of it. Doesn't work that way.

Solid performances by the Americans today. To expect these guys to run a pr every race is pretty foolish.

Teg and Ritz are both capable or nearly capable physically to run under 13 in the near future. Teg has run 13:04 and Ritz's 8:11 2 mile converts to 13:04 as well.

We want these guys to be their sharpest in August, NOT early July. The World Championships will be tactical so don't look for prs there either.

I don't think either of them have run their fastest yet so we have good things to look forward to.

TMI wrote:

...track fans just can't look at a race from a month ago and say runner x is going to run y time because of it. Doesn't work that way.

But they will try again and again. They come up with these ridiculous "predictions," then blame the runners when that prediction is wrong.

ps--And claiming that an unusual cold snap is evidence that global climate change is a myth is like claiming cigarettes aren't bad for you because you know of a friend's uncle who smoked a pack a day until he was 95. Or that a brief spike in the stock market means the end of a recession.

Running in Europe is tough. Especially I think for an American. Every race is like the Super Bowl. You have to be on top of your game every race. Most of the Europeans and Kenyans live and train in Europe in the summer, while the Americans travel there just to race. So, think of the difference. Traveling 6-10 hours and going from hotel to hotel, or traveling a couple of hours (at the most) and then being able to head back to your training base before the next race.

Nothing is more amazing than running well in Europe. It is an adrenalin high. But then nothing is worse (at times) than running bad in Europe. All the meet directors go to each others meets, and if you run bad, they may not want to have you show up to their meet.

Just ask some of the pole vaulters. Some have what they call a European personal best, and an American Personal Best. Europe is much a much tougher place to vault. A nineteen foot jump in Europe is more highly regarded than a nineteen foot jump in the states.

it's the hype that everyone gives these guys that sets the expectation for them to set the world on fire everytime they run (although i don't feel they ran very well at all). also, one great race does not make the man. too many people look at the outlier (13:04 for teg) and not at the mean, and then use that to predict sub-13. i'm guessing kennedy, in his heyday, ran 13:05-13:15 for his races in europe. of course he popped some good ones, which would be his outliers.

At this point if Teg and Ritz make the finals that would be ok with me. I don't expect any more than that. Against the Africans a 13:27 is a dud.

as far as ritz making the final, there is only a final in the 10k at worlds, isn't there?

TMI wrote:

Which is why I predicted 13:20 for Teg and 13:26 for Ritz.

I saw where the race was, looked at the weather forecast,

and took into consideration that they were just coming off a mini-peak for U.S. Nationals.

Quite right, Malmo, track fans just can't look at a race from a month ago and say runner x is going to run y time because of it. Doesn't work that way.

I must apologize TMI. I kind of ridiculed your predictions because i didn't think the weather was bad enough to make that much of a difference. I was wrong, you were right.

Yes you are right. Teg making the finals would be the best result for him. Right now he is baked. A 13:27 is not even the "B" standard time. I think he needs a sub 13:20 quick just to get in condition to make a WC final.

This just in wrote:

Or do you think that maybe--just MAYBE--Teg might be feeling the effects of a recent 1500 PR? Oh, that's right: it has been a few days now, hasn't it? Gotta be completely removed from the collective LetsRun selective memory by now, I suppose.

are you serious? Do you really think it takes more than 8 days to recover from a 1500? Have you ever even raced a 1500?

The altitude of Lausanne is given as 1936 feet by Track & Field News' Big Yellow Book. That's worth a few seconds over 5000m.

Thanks, but no biggie.

Malmo brings up a good point about contingencies, not just for the elites, but for us mortals, too.

Teg and Ritz had Nationals a few weeks ago, which was both a big expenditure of physical as well as emotional energy;

this was their first race of the season in Europe, so they had to deal with travel, new time zone, new food; the weather, although not horrible, wasn't the best; the meet was at 2200 ft.; and it's a WC summer. That's a lot of factors.

I can remember when I set my 10k road PR back in the early 90s. At the time, I thought it was a fluke, but when I examined my life at the time, I was primed for a great race. No work stress, no life stress, no pressure since I decided the day before to do the race, my training was going well, I was fresh and great weather. Oila! PR.

I also believe that our distance runners are paid way too much in base salary. You got these other guys on small stipends fighting for that prize money. I still beleive that is a big reason we went a decade without anyone wanting to go to Europe. You'd mke more running the Falmouth Road Race (American money) than 13:15 in Europe!

TEG IS NO MOTTRAM. HE JUST PROVED THAT.

He is just one of many talented but inconsistent US distance runners.

Most of you guys are idiots.....

It's a shame this board doesn't require registration....

Although it would take months for all you halfwit retards to get banned.

actually, according to the teg and ritz haters, micah kogo had the worst race of all. he has run 26:35 for 10k, and "only ran 13:10" for 5k. this is the equivalent of ritz running 13:35 for 5k