NYtimes article about california girl who crawls across finish, team wins championship

I don't feel one bit of sympathy for this girl nor am I impressed by what she did. In the article she said herself that she misjudged and did not properly hydrate. If your team relies on you that much, you should take care of not only your hydration but everything that leads up to the race. Also if she had been a girl that was in the middle of the pack nothing would have been written about this. It's only because she was a top runner. I have seen kids crawl to the finish line a million time that were mid/back of the pack and nothing mentioned about it.

Backdraft wrote:

I don't feel one bit of sympathy for this girl nor am I impressed by what she did. In the article she said herself that she misjudged and did not properly hydrate. If your team relies on you that much, you should take care of not only your hydration but everything that leads up to the race. Also if she had been a girl that was in the middle of the pack nothing would have been written about this. It's only because she was a top runner. I have seen kids crawl to the finish line a million time that were mid/back of the pack and nothing mentioned about it.

It was mentioned because of the coaches disease.

You are an idiot.OF COURSE the story was written up because she was a top runner. It's a dramatic story. Her crawl across the line assured her team of a STATE TITLE. I've coached HS girl runners and lots of weird things can happen to their bodies, especially with the stress of a championship race. They are teenagers for God's sake, and they sometimes don't do everything properly, no matter how careful you are to tell them. They go out too fast, don't race smart, don't get enough rest, don't eat what they should every day, and yes, sometimes don't hydrate properly. Hard to believe, I know (rolls eyes sarcastically)...She's been their top runner since she was she was a freshman. You think she got there by "misjudging" and not being someone on whom the team could rely? She must have been doing something right, except for this one race. Do you try to be this stupid or does it come naturally?Unbelievable...

Backdraft wrote:

I don't feel one bit of sympathy for this girl nor am I impressed by what she did. In the article she said herself that she misjudged and did not properly hydrate. If your team relies on you that much, you should take care of not only your hydration but everything that leads up to the race. Also if she had been a girl that was in the middle of the pack nothing would have been written about this. It's only because she was a top runner. I have seen kids crawl to the finish line a million time that were mid/back of the pack and nothing mentioned about it.

Backdraft wrote:

I don't feel one bit of sympathy for this girl nor am I impressed by what she did. In the article she said herself that she misjudged and did not properly hydrate. If your team relies on you that much, you should take care of not only your hydration but everything that leads up to the race. Also if she had been a girl that was in the middle of the pack nothing would have been written about this. It's only because she was a top runner. I have seen kids crawl to the finish line a million time that were mid/back of the pack and nothing mentioned about it.

i don't think it is even possible to get dehydrated over the course of only 5000 meters in a cool climate. anyways she obviously didn't run very smart but atleast she didn't cost the team the title and on an obviously slow news day made national headlines lol.

Ridiculous wrote:

Seriously? A 16 year old girl is hunched over with what looks like some serious internal pain, collapses on the ground, and a guy gets in her face telling her she needs to crawl. This is ridiculous and medieval. What is more important, a high school cross country state title or the health of a 16 year old girl?

That guy didn't tell her she needed to crawl. It was an official who, in trying to assess her condition, asked if she needed help. She looked him in the eye and said she wanted to finish. At that point he allowed her to continue and was right there to monitor her condition.

She's been the top runner for the past 2 years so she should know what to do when it comes time to race. And your telling me that she did everything right up until this one race? Its the most important race of the year. You better be making sure your doing everything right the week before a race like that.

rabbittruns wrote:

i don't think it is even possible to get dehydrated over the course of only 5000 meters in a cool climate. anyways she obviously didn't run very smart but atleast she didn't cost the team the title and on an obviously slow news day made national headlines lol.

The poster was suggesting that she didn't properly hydrate before the race. Many high school athletes don't, especially in cooler weather.

Man, what a bunch of haters. This could have happened to anyone, and besides, this girl is an experienced CC runner and deserves the benefit of the doubt. Even if she didn't hydrate enough, that's not exactly egregious for a 5k. We have no idea what was going on with her. Maybe she was running her normal pace and physically didn't have it that day for any number of reasons.

I started a thread on this article Wednesday night. Did it get deleted?

Nacho wrote:

Man, what a bunch of haters. This could have happened to anyone, and besides, this girl is an experienced CC runner and deserves the benefit of the doubt. Even if she didn't hydrate enough, that's not exactly egregious for a 5k. We have no idea what was going on with her. Maybe she was running her normal pace and physically didn't have it that day for any number of reasons.

+1

In the past it has happened to Shalane Flanagan and Jenny Barringer in big races. And it is not just a girl thing. At the recent NCAAs, look at McNeil, Krause, Chenoweth, etc....

Uncle Rico wrote:It was mentioned because of the coaches disease.

Then why didn't we hear his story nationally several months ago? That's a justification, not a reason.

FWIW, check the results. Her team would have won even if she didn't finish.

iamnotconvinced wrote:

rabbittruns wrote:

i don't think it is even possible to get dehydrated over the course of only 5000 meters in a cool climate. anyways she obviously didn't run very smart but atleast she didn't cost the team the title and on an obviously slow news day made national headlines lol.

The poster was suggesting that she didn't properly hydrate before the race. Many high school athletes don't, especially in cooler weather.

It happened to two-time Footlocker champ Erin Sullivan at Northeast regionals in 1998.

My God. What a story! Even if all the facts aren't right, there's no denying the inspiring struggle and ultimate victory element. This is why I love being a race spectator as much as a participant. Part of my race day is sticking around the finish line to cheer in those behind me. The greatest stories are often found far from the top finishers, among those that are struggling to push themselves beyond the capacity of their talent and training through sheer grit and determination.

Or more to the point, Solinsky's NCAA XC his senior year, coming in as the serious favorite and staggering in at like 65th....

You're a moron wrote:

It happens to veteran athletes too, look at the race a couple years ago where solinsky came through 4600 meters sub 12 and finished in like 13:12.

Actually, anxiety/adrenaline is a powerful diuretic and releaser of stress chemicals which can shut down the body (think Jenny Barringer), and I'd put money on the number of times she visited the Porta-john before the start of the race, and was probably light-headed before the gun even went off.

Nice a$$!

You're a moron wrote:

I feel like an idiot for taking your bait but they only have trouble finishing 5k because their pacing is off. If you are trying to push yourself to your limit it can be easy to push a little too hard and blow up. It happens to veteran athletes too, look at the race a couple years ago where solinsky came through 4600 meters sub 12 and finished in like 13:12.

No, you are a moron.

How can you compare slowing pace by 10s/400 to CRAWLING?

This "blowing up" is more psych than phys.

crawler wrote:

Agreed - kudos to the official who was sharp enough to not touch her or pull her off the course. Would have been very typical for an official to overreact.

You are an idiot.

If a child can no longer stand on her own feet, whether it's due to dehydration, hypoglycemia, cardiac arrhythmia or any other reason (none of which could be diagnosed by some official standing over her), SHE SHOULD NO LONGER BE COMPETING IN AN ATHLETIC EVENT. SHE NEEDS MEDICAL ASSESSMENT.

If this girl had an adverse outcome, any adult involved in this disgusting display could easily be sued senseless. And, MUCH more importantly, they'd be responsible for damaging a child's health.