AK-49 wrote:
ttc wrote:In HINDSIGHT, I'd hope Hall would regret it, as a man died from the race that he was celebrating during.
That may be the dumbest statement made by anyone at any time on Letsrun, if not the entire history of the internet.
Agreed. That was the cheapest of cheap shots. Absolutely disgraceful.
wow some really stupid posts!
people always praise pre for the way he ran and got the crowd goign. Thats what hall did. It was insane being right there. EVERYONE WAS GOING NUTS!!!!!! It was so loud, just awesome. And to the idiot who said it disrespected Shay...are you serious? 1)Hall didn't know until way after
2)Shay would have wanted Hall to celebrate
Hey ttc,
You somehow think that Hall was being disrespectful to the other competitors? Yeah like Randy J. with a 1-0 lead or T. Owens. See, one difference is that in those sports you can actually see your competition while celebrating. Hall on the other hand was so far ahead that it was just him and the crowd. See the crowd in running does not move along with the runner the entire last mile of the race, he sees new people moment by moment, ones that never knew how excited Hall was in the previous bit. So he let many sections of crowd see how pumped and excited he was rather than continuing to celebrate in front of the same crowd over and over as in other sports examples you like to cite. So the way I see it, it is different, very different.
crazy streaker wrote:
wow some really stupid posts!
people always praise pre for the way he ran and got the crowd goign. Thats what hall did.
Pre always did it after the race.. I can't think of a single instance where Pre celebrated before finishing.... While racing it was all buisness...That said, Hall is a much better runner..
ttc wrote:
I'm actually glad that he laid off the pedal. Marathons require recovery time and no need to extend it.
That said, I've never been a fan of celebrating before a race is over. Many competitors and family members were devastated by not making the team. Celebrating during the race just isn't appropriate in respect to them. But of course, posters (agree/disagree is fine) will pretendto not understand my view on this. In HINDSIGHT, I'd hope Hall would regret it, as a man died from the race that he was celebrating during.
YOU are an idiot. I doubt the other runners took it as an insult that a guy (who was MILES AHEAD OF THEM) celebrated his qualification to nationals. If they were offended, even their family members, than they need to quit the sport and get rid of their ego.
TWO: Throwing in the Ryan Shay incident...lame and low, your a pathetic human being to put that on Hall...what the f*** do you think he was even aware of what happened? He didn't realize what happened until way after the race, man you're pathetic.
ttc,
How old are you? This is a serious question. I am just wondering.
what what what? wrote:
your a pathetic human being
"you're"
ttc wrote:
That said, I've never been a fan of celebrating before a race is over. Many competitors and family members were devastated by not making the team. Celebrating during the race just isn't appropriate in respect to them.
Hard to imagine three classier guys post-race.
Had AJ Acosta been in Hall's position, he would have mooned the TV cameras at the finish line, tossed lit firecrackers into the crowd, conducted a live chat on DyeStat, letsrun, and trackshark during the last three miles on a Blackberry, and be peeved that a tragedy over-shadowed his victory.
Hall's joy at winning seemed bona fide and well-earned. To deny him that only proves what a dweeb you are. Disrespecting family members ... you've got to be kidding. Your brain must be the size of a pea.
ttc wrote:
In HINDSIGHT, I'd hope Hall would regret it, as a man died from the race that he was celebrating during.
You're a supercilious moron, ttc.
ttc wrote:
I'm actually glad that he laid off the pedal. Marathons require recovery time and no need to extend it.
That said, I've never been a fan of celebrating before a race is over. Many competitors and family members were devastated by not making the team. Celebrating during the race just isn't appropriate in respect to them. But of course, posters (agree/disagree is fine) will pretendto not understand my view on this. In HINDSIGHT, I'd hope Hall would regret it, as a man died from the race that he was celebrating during.
Seagull
What really annoys me is how enthusiastically crowds cheer the winners of marathons. Don't they realize how disrepectful they are being to the guy who finishes second?
To noone in particular.
Didn't Steve Ovett catch flak for excessive celebrating.
Same scenario as Ryan - yes or no?
Let's discuss.
I think his celebration was perfectly appropriate. I also think, though, that it's interesting to note the predominant views on this celebration vs. Robert Cheuriyot's Chicago last year. When Robert Cheuriyot raised his arms to celebrate winning Chicago (a bit more competitive than US Trials) and slipped on a wet mat, most of the people here were saying things to the effect of 'rookie mistake,' 'he should have run hard through the finish,' 'celebrated too soon,' etc. Just saying.
placidio wrote:
Had AJ Acosta been in Hall's position, he would have mooned the TV cameras at the finish line, tossed lit firecrackers into the crowd, conducted a live chat on DyeStat, letsrun, and trackshark during the last three miles on a Blackberry
there is a segment of the running community that would be totally OK with all that. I'm just saying.
Ryan Hall is one of the most amazing people you will ever even hear of. He is a devout Christian and is very outspoken about his faith. He is one of my all-time heroes. Not only because he is outspoken about his faith and being famous, but also because he is one of the beastliest runners to grace American distance running. If you even knew anything about Ryan Hall, you would notice that he was pointing to the sky much of the last mile of the race, praising God, not himself. He has mentioned in interviews about praising God through his running and how that's what God made him for. Ttc, you should really never post again. You are incredibly naive.
Which brings us to the real reason for the celebration and let up in pace: The way Ryan was running at that point, God was having a hard time keeping up . . .
Hall is a wonderful runner, a deserving Olympian, and seems to be a fine person. That being said, he made himself and the sport look foolish with his pre-finish line celebration. I cringed when I saw it. Honestly, he owes it to himself not to act like a clown in the last mile of a race.
I hope he medals in China. I just hope he doesn't do cartweels and hand-springs as he rounds the track.
Just as a counter-strike against the oh-so-predictable comebacks to this post, no I never have and never will run as fast as Hall. No, I'm not "just jealous". I'm just pointing out that Hall made a fool of himself with his ridiculous celebration.
Since running in high school, there has been probably one main theme that chaps my ass about the running community, and that is so many runners feel like they have the moral and ethical sporting high ground on all other athletics and athletes because we’re somehow supposed be a “gentleman’s blue collar sport”.
Where in the book of running sportsmanship does it make any reference to celebrating a dominating race? Is there a ref on the course who was going to throw a yellow flag at Ryan Hall for trying to share his moment with the crowd and then ask Ritz if he was offended and add 10 seconds to Hall’s finishing time?
Please people, get over yourself. If we ever want running to be mainstream again, we have to have dramatics like this. We need more runners to open up emotionally and give us a sense of the personal struggle, celebration, achievement in as open manner as possible. People don’t love sports just because of the athletic ability, they want to be part of the action, they want to associate with the players, we want to be fans of people who truly give back to them… and Ryan did that. He shared us all how he was feeling at that moment. It wasn’t cocky, it wasn’t poor form, it was purely f***ing awesome is what it was.
So, while I understand that there will always be runners who will be the quiet, humble champions and people will love them for there respectability, try to open your eyes and see that not everyone who gets exited, pumps up the crowd, and wins the most prestigious race in American Marathoning in dominating fashion is disrespecting you, he’s actually thanking you for being there and being part of his win… Every sport has its dickheads, but believe me, Ryan is on the complete other end of that standard deviation.
As for the guys comparing him to other sports… I see offense and defense lineman on huge plays make the same motions to pump the crowd up and feed the energy of the game… not everyone who engages the spectators is doing it for self gratifying reasons.
Ryan Hall is awesome.
giddy wrote:
Since running in high school, there has been probably one main theme that chaps my ass about the running community, and that is so many runners feel like they have the moral and ethical sporting high ground on all other athletics and athletes because we’re somehow supposed be a “gentleman’s blue collar sport”.
Where in the book of running sportsmanship does it make any reference to celebrating a dominating race? Is there a ref on the course who was going to throw a yellow flag at Ryan Hall for trying to share his moment with the crowd and then ask Ritz if he was offended and add 10 seconds to Hall’s finishing time?
Please people, get over yourself. If we ever want running to be mainstream again, we have to have dramatics like this. We need more runners to open up emotionally and give us a sense of the personal struggle, celebration, achievement in as open manner as possible. People don’t love sports just because of the athletic ability, they want to be part of the action, they want to associate with the players, we want to be fans of people who truly give back to them… and Ryan did that. He shared us all how he was feeling at that moment. It wasn’t cocky, it wasn’t poor form, it was purely f***ing awesome is what it was.
So, while I understand that there will always be runners who will be the quiet, humble champions and people will love them for there respectability, try to open your eyes and see that not everyone who gets exited, pumps up the crowd, and wins the most prestigious race in American Marathoning in dominating fashion is disrespecting you, he’s actually thanking you for being there and being part of his win… Every sport has its dickheads, but believe me, Ryan is on the complete other end of that standard deviation.
As for the guys comparing him to other sports… I see offense and defense lineman on huge plays make the same motions to pump the crowd up and feed the energy of the game… not everyone who engages the spectators is doing it for self gratifying reasons.
Ryan Hall is awesome.
Well Said
giddy wrote:
Please people, get over yourself. If we ever want running to be mainstream again, we have to have dramatics like this. We need more runners to open up emotionally and give us a sense of the personal struggle, celebration, achievement in as open manner as possible. People don’t love sports just because of the athletic ability, they want to be part of the action, they want to associate with the players, we want to be fans of people who truly give back to them… and Ryan did that. He shared us all how he was feeling at that moment. It wasn’t cocky, it wasn’t poor form, it was purely f***ing awesome is what it was.
I didn't say it was cocky or poor form. I said he looked foolish.
If people acting foolish is what it takes to make running "mainstream", I'll glady have running continue to be outside of said mainstream.
If you honestly think Hall's foolish behavior is going to somehow make running more appealing to the general public, you're living in a fantasy world. If anything, it will have the opposite effect by confirming to the public that distance runners are the biggest bunch of dorks in the sporting world.
I'm more or less indifferent about this post but there is something admirable about the Stoic contemplative charismatice elite athlete whoever they be... Hall's celebration kind of reminds me of Alan Webb's antics at a Track meet...
On a funny note: a buddy of mine once blew up in the final miles of a marathon.. He shuffled thru the finish all pissed off at himself and flipped off the photographer. It was a bad race for him but he still placed.. About a month later he got an age group award plaque, with his picture, of him giving the finger....