What happens (to Sell) if the Olympic Marathon is a sit and kick race?

50:30 isn't 5:20 pace if that is what you thinking. 50:30 is 5:03 pace, which isn't a complete jog when it comes to a marathon (2:12:20 or so). I could easily see it going though at that pace.

why does everyone think Sell cant kick at the end of a marathon? The guy is a beast! He is so strong and will definitely be able to fight the pain as well as anyone that last mile. he may get owned in a 400 or a mile but that has no effect on the kick at the end of 26 miles.

10k speed has been proven to have no effect on closing speed in a marathon.

Former teammate wrote:

Here is what I meant. From 40k to the finish the fastest closers in order of their fastes finish in any marathon have been.

1. Khalid

2. Hall

3. Sell

4. Culpepper

5. Abdi

6. Meb

7. Gilmore

8. Ritz

I will give Ritz a pass since he has only run 1 marathon.

Excellent call. It proved to be right on. Khalid still closed well. Hall was a beast. Ritz was given a pass. And Sell was better than all of the 10k guys in the last 10k.

in the beginning, there was...

2-4 mile warm up, 6 x 80-100m strides

15-20 x 80-150m hill repeats, fast, jog down recovery

2-4 mile cool down

total: 8 mile workout

not in the beginning, but later, there was...

2-4 mile warm up, 6 x 80-100m strides

1 x 2 mile @ goal M race pace, 1 minute rest,

10 x 150m hill sprints, jog down recovery,

1 x 3 mile @ goal M race pace, 1 minute rest,

10 x 150m hill sprints, jog down recovery,

1 x 2 mile @ goal M race pace, 1 minute rest,

2-4 mile cool down

total: 16 mile workout

&

2-4 mile warm up, 6 x 80-100m strides

1 x 3 mile @ goal M race pace, 1 minute rest

6 x 200m @ 30-32 sec w/ 200m jog

1 x 3 mile @ goal M race pace, 1 minute rest

6 x 200m @ 30-32 sec w/ 200m jog

2-4 mile cool down

total: 13-14 mile workout

yeah, he's 29 and will be 30(?) next summer, but that doesn't mean the 'old man' can't reLEGate some speed once in a while

it will be a bad race,run in bad conditions and an African will win,probably followed by a SE Asian and another African.

Now I know most of you have never been to Beijing but it is a

dump, bad air,bad roads ,bad everything. China is grey ,with

coloured neon in some places but overall grey.

It is no use speculating what Hall or Sell or Ritz will do,

they will run bravely to the best of their ability but they are too far off world pace to run really well in such atrocious conditions.

Radcliffe might get away with it because she is the best by

a couple of minutes but I fear that the conditions will do for her as they did in Athens. I see the Japanese girls doing well again but I would attribute the womens race to a Chinese who is as yet unknown to us.

Wasn't Athens hot and somewhat bad air? - European, African/American, Brazilian.

China will host a wonderful Olympic Games. The government has the power to shut all factories and limit exhaust before the games, if need be, to make the air "clean". This will happen.

It will be hot. It has been hot before, some Olympic races have been pretty fast in hot conditions.

This will not be a "big city$$" marathon, no pack of 10 Kenyans controlling the pace. Look at past Olympic marathon results. I think Ryan Hall is going to be one of the favorites for a medal.

Sell ran in the World University Games half marathon in Beijing in 2001. He took 4th. He knows what it is like and how to prepare. Athens was hot and hilly in 04. The Americans did very well.

no I don't think the air was too bad for the mens race, just hot and hilly. Baldini likes it hot,doesn't mind hills.

Beijing will be different take my word for it.

I think a lot of athletes will have to seriously reflect

on the composition of in-race drinks, apparently one particular brand was affected by prolonged exposure to sunlight causing severe stomach cramps, well so the rumours that reached me on the grape-vine said anyway.

I read an article recently about this in one of the English language EU/international papers. The govt. guy in charge of Bejing (dunno if that's a mayor or what over there) said the air is going to be great, they will start limiting or stopping people driving cars in the city, shut down factories in preparation, etc. They have done trials in the past and stopping the polution output has an almost immediate effect on the daily air polution levels.

He seemed to be to be wildy optimistic and full of propaganda doublespeak, but China cares a lot about their image and they are going to improve things for sure for the games.

Neb wrote:

i don't think sell will let it be a sit and kick race.

Sell won't? What about Hall? He seems to like the "run from the front" approach (which is awesome) and I don't see any reason why he'd change strategies for the Olympics. Radcliffe is the same. Assuming they aren't flattened by the heat and humidity (big if) then the races could be quite... exciting.