He is outrageously boring. Look at that video of Ryan, Mo, and Patrick in the story on the front page of LR. Mo outkicks Ryan Hall, but Ryan still stole the show in the press conference after the race. In a perfect world, the fastest people would make the most money, but in reality, its guys like Dean Karnazes that make the most cash. If Mo wants a legitimate running contract, he either needs to crush Sammy Wanjiru in the next Olympic Marathon or stop being a robot, preferably both.
Well, didn't he win over 10 grand on Sunday?
I get your point, and I agree with you. But also it's important to consider that Mo grew up in Morocco (though he came to the US young), he still spends good chunks of the year there, and Ryan Hall has been in the running-media spotlight since he was in high school. The only place I'm going with that is that the interviewer directed 80 percent of his questions to Ryan, and that was for reasons other than (at least in part) Mo's subpar communication. I mean, most of those questions weren't even about the race. And I imagine that many media folk would take the angle of how this race fits into RH's recent turmoil/journey/etc.
I think one thing all pro runners should learn is that growing outrageous facial hair will get you slightly more media attention.
Tangentially related: Mo's a beast and one of my favorite runners to watch. He's got a pretty full quiver of tools. I for one wish he would get a little more media attention.
I am rooting for the guy. I saw him run in HS and he has progressed nicely since then.
Good luck Mo, I hope you run in the 2:07-2:08 range at London.
I watched all the interviews from Houston, and I would MUCH rather listen to Mo than Ryan Hall. I get sick of hearing about God...God...God...God...God...God...God...God.
urst wrote:
I watched all the interviews from Houston, and I would MUCH rather listen to Mo than Ryan Hall. I get sick of hearing about God...God...God...God...God...God...God...God.
Amen Broth'a
I'm not religious, don't go to church. But, what is with the insecurity of letting someone who is religious bother you so much?
The point is, Mo was boring (according to the poster) and he is making a point.
Bringing Hall's religion into it is stupid.
I give him credit for not being effected by people like you.
The point here is marketing the sport (or the sport marketing itself).
We simply need MORE coverage. Then, there would be room for boring, religious, egotistical, whatever.
Remember, Ovett used to avoid the press and Seb Coe granted interviews. Their rivalry was fueled by the contrast in their personalities.
runn wrote:
I'm not religious, don't go to church. But, what is with the insecurity of letting someone who is religious bother you so much?
The point is, Mo was boring (according to the poster) and he is making a point.
Bringing Hall's religion into it is stupid.
I give him credit for not being effected by people like you.
The point here is marketing the sport (or the sport marketing itself).
We simply need MORE coverage. Then, there would be room for boring, religious, egotistical, whatever.
Remember, Ovett used to avoid the press and Seb Coe granted interviews. Their rivalry was fueled by the contrast in their personalities.
because a dude only ever taking about one thing ever is boring too. ryan only talks about god and how his running praises god and how he will serve god running and how he tries to be closer to god running and how god is guiding his training and how every disappointing race since the olympic trials, which is every race since then, is a test from god and how he will lean on god for strength and learn from god what the mistakes are and god willing he will come through next time. boooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnggggg!
what is with the insecurity of letting someone who doesn't want to hear about God bother you?
I'm just glad God finally talked Hall into taking some frigging rest days. Apparently God wants to see Hall run
under 2:09 again. Now if God would just talk to Gotcher....
As for Trafeh, he has a somewhat different cultural heritage.
And connecting with that heritage has probably helped his running. I'm fine with the US half marathon champ being quiet and humble.
As a religious person myself, I too find myself bored by Ryan Hall's god talk.
Most of the great Kenyan runners are very religious themselves, yet it's rare to hear a Kenyan say "my goal in this race is to praise God." They want to WIN.
Hall has done some wonderful things as an outlet of his faith (his charity foundation, his volunteering, etc). If the desire to praise and worship his god inspires him to try to feed the hungry, then I think even the most ardent atheist should support that to the fullest.
However, I happen to believe that the best thanks Hall can give his god is to use the talent he's been given to its fullest extent. He's been born with a great talent, and the best thanks he can give God for that talent is to nurture and run each race with a commitment to victory. The way Hall talks about racing sometimes, it sounds almost like victory is incidental so long as he "runs to praise."
I mean, the guy can say whatever he wants. I'm not uncomfortable with his expressions of faith, I just think they're boring, theologically superficial, and out of place in a competition. I prefer the Kenyan approach to religious expression- be humble, thank God by nurturing your gifts, but when the race is on, the gloves are off. I of course wish Hall the best, and recognize he's a much better runner than I'll ever be. At the same time, I disagree with approach on a theological level as well as a fan of the sport. It doesn't mean I want him to fail, or that I think I'm smarter.
Does anyone else find Mo's races suspicious?
He goes to Morrocco. Get's much faster. Stays in the country and plateaus. Goes to Morrocco again - bam! much faster when he returns.
Add to that, Mo flew directly from Morrocco to Houston for the 1/2m.
Well, he is originally from Morocco. I'd think it'd be easier to get things like EPO here than in Morocco, anyway.
Ho Hum wrote:
Well, he is originally from Morocco. I'd think it'd be easier to get things like EPO here than in Morocco, anyway.
You would be very wrong. There is next to no pharmaceutical regulation in countries outside of US and Western Europe.
Not to mention anyone in the US that lives in the south could spend half a day and cross the border into Mexico and purchase all the EPO they could afford.
It can be risky transporting it across the border. You are far better off to train in Mexico. This gives you access without having to risk getting tripped up at the border.
the god squad wrote:
As a religious person myself, I too find myself bored by Ryan Hall's god talk.
Most of the great Kenyan runners are very religious themselves, yet it's rare to hear a Kenyan say "my goal in this race is to praise God." They want to WIN.
Hall has done some wonderful things as an outlet of his faith (his charity foundation, his volunteering, etc). If the desire to praise and worship his god inspires him to try to feed the hungry, then I think even the most ardent atheist should support that to the fullest.
However, I happen to believe that the best thanks Hall can give his god is to use the talent he's been given to its fullest extent. He's been born with a great talent, and the best thanks he can give God for that talent is to nurture and run each race with a commitment to victory. The way Hall talks about racing sometimes, it sounds almost like victory is incidental so long as he "runs to praise."
I mean, the guy can say whatever he wants. I'm not uncomfortable with his expressions of faith, I just think they're boring, theologically superficial, and out of place in a competition. I prefer the Kenyan approach to religious expression- be humble, thank God by nurturing your gifts, but when the race is on, the gloves are off. I of course wish Hall the best, and recognize he's a much better runner than I'll ever be. At the same time, I disagree with approach on a theological level as well as a fan of the sport. It doesn't mean I want him to fail, or that I think I'm smarter.
This is EXTREMELY well said. Thank you for your point of view. As an atheist, I do support Ryan's efforts to his charity. I think it is a great outlet for him and others to help those who need help. As a runner, I want to see a guy with that kind of talent run to WIN.
Maybe I should have written "As an atheist, even I can support Ryan's efforts to his charity, regardless of differences in faith" to be more clear.
sdfdfs wrote:
Ho Hum wrote:Well, he is originally from Morocco. I'd think it'd be easier to get things like EPO here than in Morocco, anyway.
You would be very wrong. There is next to no pharmaceutical regulation in countries outside of US and Western Europe.
___________________________________________________
Has Mo ever been tested?
dsrunner has the day off wrote:
I'm just glad God finally talked Hall into taking some frigging rest days. Apparently God wants to see Hall run
under 2:09 again. Now if God would just talk to Gotcher....
As for Trafeh, he has a somewhat different cultural heritage.
And connecting with that heritage has probably helped his running. I'm fine with the US half marathon champ being quiet and humble.
You do realize Hall's last marathon was under 2:09, right?
runn wrote:
I'm not religious, don't go to church. But, what is with the insecurity of letting someone who is religious bother you so much?
The point is, Mo was boring (according to the poster) and he is making a point.
Bringing Hall's religion into it is stupid.
I give him credit for not being effected by people like you.
The point here is marketing the sport (or the sport marketing itself).
We simply need MORE coverage. Then, there would be room for boring, religious, egotistical, whatever.
Remember, Ovett used to avoid the press and Seb Coe granted interviews. Their rivalry was fueled by the contrast in their personalities.
What if Dathan Ritzenhein brought every discussion to football. Football is his inspiration for running, living, and preaching. He uses football metaphors to describe every recount of training and racing.
That would be f***ing annoying. I do not like football, and I kind of dislike it. That's how people can dislike Ryan's God talk.
That said, I don't mind it. His religion has become so ingrained into his personality that he describes himself through his beliefs. To me Hall just seems like a guy talking about himself and his relationship with the world through his God.