Who has the worst marathon blowup story?

The most recent significant blow-up has to be Naoko Takahashi.

All that she needed to do (November 2003, Tokyo) was win in about 2;24-2;25, 5 minutes slower than her PR of 2:19, and she would make the Olympic Team.

She went through the half in 1;10 and then ran the last 5km in about 21 minutes. She was passed by Elfenesh Alemu in the last 3km and ran 2;27.

She and her coach claimed that it was due to hot weather (it was unseasonably warm in Tokyo that day, about 70 degrees), but she's run 2;21 in Bangkok in 80 degree weather.

I was there, I saw her before the race, she did not eat much at all.

The whole thing cost her a return trip to the Olympics.

As for me, my best blowup, one that I still laugh about was in Hamburg in 2002.

I went through the half in 1;11, hurting badly, and then I had to take a truly enormous POOP at 25km. I wore the wrong shoes, a pair of Japanese style raceflats, and my feet were killing me by 14km.

I just kept on going, due to the great people of Hamburg, ended up finishing in 2;55, for a 2nd half split of 1;44!!!

Now I know how Oprah feels.

Jason

I managed to go from the 25mile mark to the finish in 24 minutes once, does that qualify (at least I think I finished)

It's difficult to put into words the trauma of a marathon blow-up because humans seem to conveniently forget most of the details within a few hours. I spent the last 4 miles of the 2003 Portland Marathon hobbling in humiliating agony. It was only survival instincts that got me to the finish line. I couldn't eat a thing at the end, swearing I'd never do another marathon ever again. Later that day the dreadful experience had been replaced in my mind as some kind of valiant adventure and I was already planning my next marathon. Strange how the mind works.

In my only marathon attempt in 1985 I trained abut 60-70mpw with no run longer than 12-13mi before the race. On a very hilly course I went through 20mi in 2:10 and then ran 1:15 for the last 6.2mi. It was, as they say, a learning experience.

1986 Boston

1:09:54/1:27:26!

I have blown up in all of my 4 marathons.The first one was back in 98.I had only run 16 miles for a long run and one half marathon in 1:14.I went out for what I thought would be a 20 mile run and stupidly decided to finish.I ended up walk/running the last 3 miles in 36 miuntes finishing in 2:56.Then I came back in 2001 prepared properly (at least I thought I had) went through 20 miles in 1:55 and ended up crawling the last 10k and finished in 2:54.Then again in 2002 I gave it a try going through half way in 1:14 and blew up again,but still ran 2:43.Finally I ran Chicago last year and pulled my calf at 20 miles.That pretty much did it for me and the marathon.

Isle of Palms marathon. 15 miles: 1:30:15. 26.2 miles: 2:57. Stopping once or twice to drink from lawn sprinklers during final miles.

Twin Cities in 90 or 91. I split 1:09:20/1:50:20. While I'm staggering thru the line I am over come and start balling like a baby. Thinking of all the hard work down the drain. The guy next to me thinks I am happy to break 3 and he is slapping me on the back.

This happened in a training run,I seem to be a natural distance runner with the ability to more often than not run a 20+ long one for 10-12 in a row. I was a couple of months

away for a marathon and going through a hard peroid of training. Training had been going really well so of I was feeling bullet proof. That being the case I just started to eat more and more junk food as I said I was bullet proof so with my regular training and about 4 days in a row of burgers and fries I was doing 22mi on this lovely spring Saturday. Now I'm someone who takes pride in looking very effecient and fast when I run. About 3 miles from home I am totally struggling. I have been reduced to running about 400m and walking about 200m(this has nevered happened before and in full view of half a city) I'm struggling here.

About 1200m from home in the middle of the city there is a huge open spaceof baseball diamonds and soccer fields. I can't go any farther, I have to lay down on one of the benchesfor about 45 minutes so I could walk the rest of the way.

Vermont City Marathon'99 was my first marathon. The Combination of not drinking enough water while it was over 80 degrees out, thinking I could run with the top women led to a 1:24/2:06 blow up. Definitely proud to finish, but boy, that was tough. I didn't try another marathon until this February, which went much better as I ran 2:49.

I saw the splits of one of the Reebok kenyans at the time (I think I. Hussein won) but anyway, this guys splits were 1:02 through halfway (He ran with J.Ikangaa) and finished with a, get this, 2:53

Lion is a Fox wrote:

I saw the splits of one of the Reebok kenyans at the time (I think I. Hussein won) but anyway, this guys splits were 1:02 through halfway (He ran with J.Ikangaa) and finished with a, get this, 2:53

Off the top of my head, I think that was Simon Karori, who a year or two earlier as a novice about 31 years of age, took out the 1991 World Cross champs race like a madman. Got reeled in by the pack but not dropped. Last few hundred meters and Skah is pulling away towards victory when Karori pulls out again. Skah holds him off and Karori ends up 2nd or 3rd.

RW's article on the Boston marathon in question (won by Ibrahim Hussein) quotes Hussein as telling Karori (when he caught up to him after his crazy first half split in warm conditions) "Water. You must drink water." "Water?" "Yes, or you will not finish." He did finish, but, as pointed out above, just not very well.

I think he also made a brief name for himself in the last couple years as a master on the US road scene.

Guess Karori learned something from Boston as he still managed a decent lifetime best later on.

http://www.tilastopaja.net/db/atm.asp?ID=41040

A little more on the Boston race:

http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?DOCID=1G1:12092832&refid=ip_almanac_hf

15 miles at 1:21:56 and 20 at 1:50:16, polishing it off with a 39:31 final 10k

Led Cleveland Revco Marathon for 21 miles, 1987. Coming back into the city, we have a tailwind, and I'm losing it fast. Within a mile I was walking, but still in the lead. I walked quickly for a half mile, still in the lead. Helicopter from the local TV station is hovering over me. I actually sat down, took off my socks, asked a guy watching the race race from his lawn if I could go inside and get a drink. I came back out of the house, and the helicopter is still hovering and the lead car is waiting about a half block ahead. I'm still leading. I waved the pace car on, they waved back! Thankfully some Russian dude blows by and goes on to win just under 2:20. I still finished in the top ten, but I can't remember the last 4 miles at all.

Saddest and most spectacular:

Jim Peters in the 1954 Commonwealth Games, August, noon, Vancouver, BC.

He was the first under 2:20: 2:18:40 in 1953 Polytechnic Marathon(Yamada's 2:18:50 at Boston that year was on a short course).

Prepped and confident of sub-2:15, he ran in high heat with little water and little support on a course later found to be long. He was on time but collapese 11 time in the stadium before a handler helped him up, thus DQ-ing him.

He spent a week in hospital and never raced again. He led the modern era before Bekele.

Don't know who the guy was, but at 22 miles in Chicago 92', some guy about 20 meters ahead of me passed out completely, and fell face first onto the pavement. Busted one of his front teeth completely out of his face.

this 'no one' is not me . . . of other posts on 'letsrun' I don't know what 'Isle of Palms' is and I don't have any marathon blow-up stories. thanks

Speaking of Karori, anothe Kenyan did something similar at Boston last year.

He ran the first half with the leaders and finished in around 3 hours. I remember passing him and feeling a little sorry for him.