Coach Cook shares his thoughts on what happened with Flannagan and Donohue

Other forces at work ? wrote:

Can anybody tell me which agents represent the 3 athletes, and if it is possible that the agents had any influence on the decisions taken ? Where did the women train, and who with (other than Cook of course) ?

Stubbs/Lilot were the agent for Flanagan, Donohue and Rowbury prior to Shalane's husband stepping in. Donohue and Rowbury haven't changed agents, and Rowbury still trains with Cook, so I don't think the agents had anything to do with this split.

Don Veggie Burrito wrote:

Avocados Number wrote:

This idea that you can eyeball a 4:05 runner and determine that she'll never run 4:00 is nonsense.

Plenty to respond to on this thread.

First of all, Cook coached Donohue for a couple years and should have a decent idea of what she is ultimately capable of. Hardly "eyeballing."

If you have "plenty to respond to on this thread," perhaps you should go to the trouble of reading it first.

I never suggested that Cook merely "eyeballed" Donohue. I was responding to the following remark about Paul McMullen, Erin Donohue, and other relatively heavy or muscular runners:

"The body type, which includes but is not limited to the weight on it, was the limiting factor [for McMullen] . . . . The same holds for Donohue."

johnny langenwanker wrote:

Cook refusing to coach Donohue proves that he was afraid of failing.

He did coach Donahue.

What he refused to do was put up with her trying to push Rowbury out.

Good for Cook stading up for Rowbury in her absence.

loyalty counts wrote:

johnny langenwanker wrote:

Cook refusing to coach Donohue proves that he was afraid of failing.

He did coach Donahue.

What he refused to do was put up with her trying to push Rowbury out.

Good for Cook stading up for Rowbury in her absence.

Cook WAS afraid of failing. That's why he gave an on-line video interview before the Olympic trials and called her a "B-rated" athlete. That way, if she makes to the Olympics he is an amazing coach. If she does't make it, well it's out there that she is a B-rated athlete and he did the best he could with what he had to work with.

As for Rowbury, everyone thinks that she is a very nice person, including Donohue. Donohue's problem with Cook had nothing to do with Rowbury and had everything to do with Cook. How can you be coached by someone who doesn't believe in you? The "B-rated athlete" comment was the beginning of the end of the relationship between Donohue and Cook. After that comment, Donohue didn't believe in Cook. It was only a matter of time before they split. What happened in Mexico was a blessing in disguise for Donohue.

Edwards is a wanker wrote:

Unfortunately a sinking ship ...

Her 20+" AR from last weekend suggests otherwise. I know that she has only recently changed coaches, but it's way too soon to throw her under the bus. I see no reason to expect continued high quality performances from her.

Edwards is a wanker wrote:

Unfortunately a sinking ship ...

E. Lucy Date wrote:

Her 20+" AR from last weekend suggests otherwise.

Only to a simpleton.

Don Veggie Burrito wrote:

Finally, Cook is a jerk. Great interview and kudos for telling it like it is, but he's not getting off so easily. Perhaps one of the George Mason guys can tell the story about him stealing literally tens of thousands of dollars from one of his athletes.

I know this is the internet but you can't just throw a line out their accusing him of being a criminal - and with no details or anecdotal evidence whatsoever.

"stealing literally tens of thousands of dollars from one of his athletes" - I have never heard this. Please expound.

I could say something like - "yeah, I heard he raped one of his athletes", and that would pop up again from someone else.

People throw out comments and it sticks. People have commented about him faking times to get his athletes to the NCAA's. Tell me how he got them to the finals and place top 8 or 3 or even winning overall?

Let's try to stick to the facts to form educated opinions.

Please, somebody shoot me. I've just read this entire thread and my brain hurts sooooooo much!

way to read and comprehend wrote:

There was no "interim" label used with respect to Edwards taking over agent duties, only with respect to him doing the coaching. You and your other handle are still wrong, idiot.

SHALANE NEEDS NO AGENT RIGHT NOW. SHE HAS SWEET ENDORSEMENT DEALS AND TELL ME ONE EVENT THAT WOULDN'T WANT HER TO SHOW UP AND RACE?

WHY WOULD SHE WANT TO PAY SOMEONE TO DO WHAT JUST COMES HER WAY NATURALLY AT THIS POINT? SHE ISN'T LOOKING TO DO COMMERCIALS. SHE WANTS TO RUN FAST.

GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL.

Why do you people just think that pro athletes HAVE to throw their money around when they don't think it is worth it.

Let her running do the talking. If she fails and starts running slow, maybe she made the wrong decision. As of right now, she looks pretty good.

Slow down there, big guy. I agree with you, I think that anyone who has graduated college with a reasonable course of study, grades, and smarts shouldn't need the services of an agent. Flanagan must have 2+ hours of free time during her day where she could do agent-type tasks. However, she didn't say that she was going to be her own agent (and tell Edwards to get a freaking job) she said that she was replacing her agent with the hubby.

way to read and comprehend wrote:

Slow down there, big guy. I agree with you, I think that anyone who has graduated college with a reasonable course of study, grades, and smarts shouldn't need the services of an agent. Flanagan must have 2+ hours of free time during her day where she could do agent-type tasks. However, she didn't say that she was going to be her own agent (and tell Edwards to get a freaking job) she said that she was replacing her agent with the hubby.

Number one: My frustration isn't with you, it is with people all over the place continuing to claim that she has some kind of a "duty" to pay all of these people. It is her money, let her do what she wants.

Number two: Why not let Edwards do the job? He is a fairly smart dude as well, I would presume, he graduated from UNC. I don't see why her husband cannot help out.

Number three: I am pretty sure Edwards had to leave his job in finance to be able to travel with Shalane. Keep in mind that we aren't just talking about racing a few times a year. These runners commonly spend long periods of time in different places (i.e. Mexico City, Eugene, Albuquerque). I think it was a decision based off of what is best for their family. Maybe he is giving her a few years to do her thing, and when she is done he will do his thing.

I guess I just feel like they are getting a raw deal here on the site, which bothers me for some reason, I don't know. I guess I just feel like she is the real f***ing deal, completely without excuses. She is the runner I always wanted to be, and I am a man. She is tough as nails, every day, every race.

Edwards is a wanker wrote:

Unfortunately a sinking ship ...

E. Lucy Date wrote:

Her 20+" AR from last weekend suggests otherwise.

u r ignorant wrote:

Only to a simpleton.

Please elaborate for us simpletons how her most recent performances can be categorized as a "sinking ship." Thanks.

Dentaldamn wrote:

Why not let Edwards do the job? He is a fairly smart dude

There's only one dude who believes Edwards is smart.

the jig is up wrote:

There's only one dude who believes Edwards is smart.

I don't know him, I was extrapolating based on his degree from UNC and time spent in the financial field.

I presume you know him?

In 1996,Cook submitted a DMR proof of performance for the NCAA indoor meet that was a fabrication. It was also the 'top time' in the country. He was challenged on it by the Harvard coach during the challenge period prior to seeding. The games committee threw out the mark, but allowed Cook to submit their legitimate time, which ranked them somewhere between 8 and 10, which kept the DMR team in the meet. The Harvard coach protested the fact that he was allowed to submit a second POP form, but lost that protest (I think Harvard's DMR would have been in the meet if the protest was upheld). Mason went on to place 2nd in the DMR, I think, and won the team title. This example of a 'fake time' is common knowledge. The meet results he claimed to have run the DMR time in included a race against the "Jamaican All-Stars" or some other nonsense, and supposedly the race was held prior to the official start of the meet. At least two of the athletes listed as running on that All-Star team ran in other meets that weekend. How's that for an example of 'faking' times?

Edwards is a wanker wrote:

Unfortunately a sinking ship ...

E. Lucy Date wrote:

Her 20+" AR from last weekend suggests otherwise.

u r ignorant wrote:

Only to a simpleton.

u r ignoranter wrote:

Please elaborate for us simpletons how her most recent performances can be categorized as a "sinking ship." Thanks.

Learn to read, simpleton, the claim was never made that they could.

No problem.

Don't hate the playa, hate the game!

So you're saying that they had a legitmate qualifying time besides this "fake" time and the DMR actually placed 2nd in the NCAA. This team happened to have the NCAA mile champ, the NCAA 400m Champ and the NCAA 800m runner up.

Way to fake their way in and knock out a better team.

THANK YOU! I have been reading this and getting really frustrated. I know that for the most part people enjoy talking negatively about others so they can feel better about themselves, but at some point you need to realize that these are real people who deserve none of this nastiness. I am good friends with Shalane and Steve and have been since we ran together at Carolina. It's too bad that the coaching situation didn't work out, but there is a lot more to this situation that is publicly known, and I'm proud of Shalane for having the self confidence to move on without feeling the need to defend herself to people gossiping about her. Steve is a great man and husband who made the decision to temporarily give up his profession to be with wife. As the previous poster stated, if he had not done this, he would very rarely see her, and they value their marriage too much to let that happen. Prior to him becoming her manager, he was spending hours each day doing the things you all probably think a manager does. Ultimately, it made sense for him to officially be the manager. They are both aware that he is giving up his other career to focus on Shalane right now, which makes sense given that professional running will only last a limited amount of time. The plan is to do this as long as possible, and then at the right time Shalane will help Steve focus on whatever he wants to do. How is that different than what has probably happened in some fashion or another in many of these poster's lives? In most good relationships, the spouses make sacrifices for eachother and work together for the benefit of both. Contrary to ignorant Lets run opinions, he is not an idiot, a controlling husband, or an impediment to her career. He is a loving husband, and she is a loving wife. How about you guys focus on the running and leave their personal lives out of it?