Isn't is clear by now who is the better runner? the better coached? The better managed? etc.
great run Hall!
Isn't is clear by now who is the better runner? the better coached? The better managed? etc.
great run Hall!
uhm, didn't ritz just beat him at US XC a little while ago?
and at Nats in the 10k? I think when 2009 is over Ritz will have dropped a 2:08. He's not going to catch Hall, but damn, will he be good.
keep dreaming. Hall is at another level. Ritz should ask for his autograph.
Nationals? You obviously have no idea what it takes to run 2:06 in London........
ara wrote:
keep dreaming. Hall is at another level. Ritz should ask for his autograph.
Nationals? You obviously have no idea what it takes to run 2:06 in London........
You know what it takes then, right?
Hall is a better marathoner than Ritz. You can also bet he was pointing at this race while Ritz pointed at Nationals. Ritz will never run under 2:08. Hall will run under 2:05.
I was thinking about that this morning. Where do these fast marathon times leave Ritz. I'm clearly no expert but it seems he's not fast enough to compete for a medal at either the 10k or the marathon.
So Ritz should just stop running now (like the rest of us) because he hasn't run a marathon as fast as Hall.
By the way, Hall has never demonstrated that he can run 8:11 for 2 miles.
ara wrote:
Isn't is clear by now who is the better runner? the better coached? The better managed? etc.
great run Hall!
Instead of being a downer on someone else, let's try to just celebrate what Hall has done. Ritz is a very talented runner with a lot more time ahead of him. Can we not tear people down for trying hard, this is what is wrong with American's so many of us think that if you aren't the best you are nothing... what a terrible attitude! How about support those who are out working hard day in and day out training to attain a higher level of competitiveness. Seriously people, support each other, thats the only way that we will get better, if not we will never be at the top of distance running!
I love when people try to use a performance to declare one runner "better" than another while the athletes are still active...
its retarded
you can say one is more accomplished at this point in their careers but these kids are in their early-mid twenties...neither has hit their peak yet and no one has any idea what they will do in the long raod left in their careers
yeah, ill agree that to say hall has been more impressive at the marathon/half marathon than ritz and that his performances there outstrip anything that ritz has done
ill also say that on the track and in cross country Ritz and hall have been extremely comparable with the edge going to ritz based on much better consistency (I love how people make hall out to be an ultra-cool competitor and forget that when he hits the track hes probably the worst head-case we have among our top tier guys)
so yeah, right now Hall has had the more impressive career due to his marathons but its not over by any means and the two are still very comparable...lets leave the word "better" out of it for fear of sounding like an idiot (ara)
I really hope Ritz runs the 10,000M a the Olympics and gives KK a chance in the marathon. He has a better chance than Ritz. Ritz could place better at the track, too.
well.... wrote:
uhm, didn't ritz just beat him at US XC a little while ago?
Hall has the marathon, that event is HIS. He has shown he knows how to get it done in that race, shorter stuff be damned during the training phase. We can debate the shorter stuff all we want but I could care less. Hall is focused on the marathon and he has it down, Ritz I think is still trying to figure out what he wants to focus on completely. (My vote is the 10k)
Ritz needs to take the Lebid route and focus purely on Cross. Give up the track dreams, he won't be able to compete there. Give up the marathon stuff, he'll always be in Hall's shadow. Go to Europe, run a cross season in edition to his usual edinburgh outing, and give the kids in the states someone to root for in the mud. If he were to base his entire focus on cross and get his best shape then while the others are peaking towards track? could be something to it.
bigwood wrote:
Ritz needs to take the Lebid route and focus purely on Cross. Give up the track dreams, he won't be able to compete there. Give up the marathon stuff, he'll always be in Hall's shadow. Go to Europe, run a cross season in edition to his usual edinburgh outing, and give the kids in the states someone to root for in the mud. If he were to base his entire focus on cross and get his best shape then while the others are peaking towards track? could be something to it.
That's lame. Don't duck competition, work harder.
Duck competition? Far from it. Guy just changes focus to cross. Ducking competition is avoiding the worlds best footrace in the World Senior Mens race. Avoiding that is avoiding competition, focusing your year around your best discipline is a smart move. Ritz needs to see this and go for it.
Wave the white flag?.....wow thats great mentality........
so if I follow that logic, whenever I see someone better at something than I am, I should just give up?
how un-American!!
clearly better coached and better managed.
First of all this is a ridiculous thread.
Here's why:
1) Ritz can't win a medal because Hall is faster? Tell that to Meb -- silver medal in a race with guys a LOT faster than he is and has ever been. If you're within striking distance of fast times, you can win a medal on Olympic race day.
2) What if Hall is ALWAYS faster than Ritz at the marathon? So what? Why should that make him give up? If you're second best at something, do you give up? Damn! We should all never run a step again or play a musical instrument or make love to our wives. Always someone who can do it better right?
3) Why is it assumed that Ritz is close to his ceiling? When Hall ran 2:08 last year, many of you here said he would get no faster or maybe 2:07. You were wrong about that. So, Ritz has run 2 marathons with his last one in 2:11. Why is it that he can't progress from there? What if he only runs 2:08? Guess he'll only be as good at the marathon as Alberto Salazar -- well, that sucks right?
I never understand why the success of one American runner is suddenly the downfall of another. Ritz is STILL the better cross country runner. He's LIKLEY still a better 10,000 meter runner. Hall has proven to be a better road runner so far. Means little looking forward. Undeniable that Hall is massively talented, and I challenge anyone here to say with a straight face they knew 2-3 years ago that he'd run a 2:06 marathon by now. The point is that while predictions are fun and you can base them a little bit on what has happened already in the history of a runner, it is silly to say that Ritz should hang 'em up. 2:06 is incredible for Hall, but he's more experienced now in the marathon, and Ritz hasn't run the blazing fast London course that Hall has. He's not where Hall is today, but tomorrow is another day, and who cares anyway? Why should Hall's accomplishments be the measuring stick by which Ritz measures his success?
Don't close the book on Ritz just yet.
I agree and then there is the road race circuit.
It's another part of the sport (two parts- cross nad roads).
It's not lame. It's not ducking competition to find your best event/venue and go there. Are sprinters lame for not being distance runners? Ritz is a cross runner and has done well on the roads- go there.