Alan Webb: Should he follow Mottram's idea to go solo?

all_out_balls_out wrote:

ALAN WEBB

Event: Middle Distance

Height: 5-9

Weight: 145

PRs: 800m - 1:43.84 (2007); 1,500m - 3:30.54 (2007); mile - 3:46.91AR (2007); 3,000m – 7:39.28 (2005); 2 mile – 8:23.97 (2007); 5,000m - 13:46.31 (2004); 10,000m - 27:34.72 (2006)

Born: Jan. 13, 1983, in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Don't forget... webb is one of, if not THE greatest American Distance runners EVER!!! and don't give me any of that prefontaine crap!(that is a high schooler's illusion). PLUS.. He's only 25 he has 4 to 6 seasons left, maybe more.. he could still run a world record. yeah new faces will emerge but lets not be too hasty to abandon the one who could bring a world record and olympic gold to the U.S. ...

"one of" I'll give you, but definitely not THE greatest. Didn't Pre run within 12 seconds of the WR at the time for 5K? More impressive than 4.4 seconds off the 1500 WR, in my opinion. Steve Scott came within a hair of the WR in his prime. Not to mention the greatest American distance runner ever is probably Bernard Lagat. If you want to limit it to native-born Americans, I'd say Bob Kennedy.

the OP name is awesome. i laughed.

is that guy serious when he said that most HS runners know about running than webb? or is he saying something SO ridiculous to make fun of webb haters?

Distance Mark Date Location 800 m 1:43.84 2007-07-28 Heusden 1,000 m 2:20.32 2005-06-11 New York City 1,500 m 3:30.54 2007-07-06 Paris Mile 3:46.91 2007-07-21 Brasschaat 3,000 m 7:39.28 2005-06-04 Eugene 2 miles 8:11.48 2005-06-04 Eugene 5,000 m 13:10.86 2005-09-04 Berlin 10,000 m 27:34.72 2006-04-30 Palo Alto this is a revision to my earlier post these times are more up to date!

all_out_balls_out wrote:

ALAN WEBB

Event: Middle Distance

Height: 5-9

Weight: 145

PRs: 800m - 1:43.84 (2007); 1,500m - 3:30.54 (2007); mile - 3:46.91AR (2007); 3,000m – 7:39.28 (2005); 2 mile – 8:23.97 (2007); 5,000m - 13:46.31 (2004); 10,000m - 27:34.72 (2006)

Born: Jan. 13, 1983, in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Don't forget... webb is one of, if not THE greatest American Distance runners EVER!!! and don't give me any of that prefontaine crap!(that is a high schooler's illusion). PLUS.. He's only 25 he has 4 to 6 seasons left, maybe more.. he could still run a world record. yeah new faces will emerge but lets not be too hasty to abandon the one who could bring a world record and olympic gold to the U.S. ...

don't forget webb also ran a 47 400m in high school. this means he could have focused on that and probably became a would class 400 guy instead. then he had the greatest 10k debute by any american ever. from 400m up he is a world class competetor.. and he's only 25.. don't count him out of a world record or anything yet.

Thanks for the intelligent responses! This is a great discussion.

The contrast between Webb and Rupp is right on the mark. Webb did not have the confidence that Rupp had this year. That may be Salazar's best coaching ability: to build confidence in his athlete,

Webb took Ritz in the 10k--when Ritz had the collegiate record (correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that was the case) and ran to win. At 18 years old right after high school graduation in a big race with pressure and big expectations, he raced smart and was challenging the great, EL G. I found this quote and think it applies here:

Tom Jordan, Prefontaine meet director said:

"When Alan made that move with 350 (meters left) and started picking off world-class runners, I haven't heard an animal roar like that from the Hayward Field crowd since Pre ran in '71."

He's had that mental toughness and tenacity in the past. Where is it today?! Whichever event he decides to place his focus, 800, 1500, 5,000 or 10,000 it doesn't matter: When Webb is on, he is ON. When he's off, he's OFF.

There's my additional 2 cents. Thanks for the serious replies thus far.

West coast is right on - Rupp showed intellegence, maturity and toughness at PAC 10's, West Region's and NCAA's. He matured and knows how to perform well regardless of circumstances. Maybe Webb needs Salazar.

No one would do well under Salazar. He’s a pussy and he has been a pussy since he “burned out” all those years ago. Rupp runs well because he is extremely talented, not because of Salazar. He has many athletes under him, some of which who have gotten dramatically worse since coming to him (namely Adam Goucher ). Salazar can train women well, what does that say about Rupp? And stop saying Webb needs to drop his coach for Salazar, If you haven’t noticed,(I don’t know how you couldn’t but you did) Salazar hasn’t coached any male who runs at a world beating level, Rupp doing well against other colligates is meaningless on the world stage. Webb could beat him at every distance from 400 to 5000 while training for the 800. Stop pushing Runners world! EASIER IS NOT BETTER!

Goucher ran his pr under salazar.. goucher hasn't been ontop for a long time but he did run 27:59 a new pr for him.. at the age of what 34? so i don't see he is getting worse under salazar. webb would probably do well under him. and why does everyone keep saying webb is done... he ran the fastest time in the world last year, and the 8th fastest time ever run by any athlete ever! the last person to run faster than him was El G in 1999... meaning Webb is the Fastest man in nearly a decade. IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!! He will still run faster than he has in all of his events. but yes he needs to leave his coach.

but i do agree with one thing... salazar is not his only option to do well. the are many coaches that would help webb run new pr's.

all_out_balls_out wrote:

Goucher ran his pr under salazar.. goucher hasn't been ontop for a long time but he did run 27:59 a new pr for him.. at the age of what 34? so i don't see he is getting worse under salazar. webb would probably do well under him. and why does everyone keep saying webb is done... he ran the fastest time in the world last year, and the 8th fastest time ever run by any athlete ever! the last person to run faster than him was El G in 1999... meaning Webb is the Fastest man in nearly a decade. IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!! He will still run faster than he has in all of his events. but yes he needs to leave his coach.

he is not done, he just had a bad season, and it's the same way in any sport, if anyone has an off year the world gives them crap because of it. i don't know what EXACTLY cause webb to have such a horrible 2008, but i will agree that a world class athelete needs to have a world class coach. Razco worked for a while, but he is running out of years of running, it's time to make what may seem to him a bold move and choose another coach.

i agree with you.. i think webb had a bad season because he got such a late start... didn't run till the Pre classic.. i think he ran 3:55 at that meet and was beat up on pretty bad. webb always takes off so much time.. just too much this time i think.

all_out_balls_out wrote:

but yes he needs to leave his coach.

if he leaves razco, where would he go? who could take him to the international victory stage?

i think salazar is a good choice but he is kinda more of a longer distance guy... kinda like simmons. maybe jerry schumacher. tagenkamp has ran great for him and he does the shorter stuff but i think webb is a more talented athlete. tagenkamp set the american record in the two mile under schumacher. i don't see any reason why webb couldn't run fast than he has.

your cousin Marvin Berry wrote:

all_out_balls_out wrote:

but yes he needs to leave his coach.

if he leaves razco, where would he go? who could take him to the international victory stage?

Top 12 guy wrote:

Webb should join salazar is right ! However, to join salazar you must be 100% committed, where I do not believe Webb is - living with his beer drinking, pizza eating buddies is not the level of commitment you would expect from a World Class talent, and is actually hard to believe. Mr 430miler has a short window of time to get his ducks in order or career goes down the toilet - Webb needs to wake up, put his ADD aside and focus ! A mental decision is needed here !

get my ducks in order?

coach bravo and i have made sure my ducks are in order.

and as far as webb goes, the MAIN reason he is better than rupp is because he takes time to enjoy himself away from running. he goes into the race relaxed and injury free, something rupp rarely does.

rupp is malnurished and webb eating pizza is the best thing an elite athlete could possibly do. it has all the protein, carbs, and slight fat that a runner needs. not only is it physically good for energy and recovery, but its also mentally good because he enjoys eating it. webb enjoys his life outside of running, yet running is still his life. webb is the only runner on the elite running scene that actually puts his goals in stone and the time in sand.

but i think the idea is to go solo meaning no coach.. webb should be able to do that... although he has showed dependence on a coach, perticularly razsco, in the past so i am not sure he will do well with out one. a change... yes, no coach... i don't know about that one.