Mo Trafeh gets 9th place in San Blas 1/2 M

I ran this course when I was in PR watching someone else run it and the first couple miles is flat and fast and then it climbs and climbs and climbs. Almost 3-4 miles of just going up! Then you do come gradually back down but very impressive!

no silver spoon? explain how they travel to morocco "every year". explain why he's been kicked out of more than a few friendly houses for not helping (i.e., paying rent, helping out around the house, chores, etc) and just mooching until they get tired of it. explain why he DID go to college, DID run some races but DIDN'T listen to his coach, wouldn't follow orders, and "left" (or read: was kicked out) from two diff universities. sorry but that kind of attitude is exactly what i'd expect from someone with the aptitude to go down the "other" road. the kid would have to make some major league adjustments to his attitude/reputation in order to reverse the damage he's done along the way. too bad b/c he IS obviously talented, but not talented to destroy a 27:30 guy, then a week later destroy another 27:30 guy (and almost stay w/ Geb in the process)

"How did I know you ran the mile in 4:30 in high school? That's easy. Everyone ran the mile in 4:30 in high school."

So Trafeh wasn't a mega stud in high school and college. He's running pretty damn good now! Way to go Mo!

It is a tough course, but an absolute classic. Coamo is a town of about 30,000 people, but it swells to 150,000 for their weekend long celebration of the town's patron saint (San Blas). People start camping along the course on Thursday night and then party until race time (5pm on Sunday). Most of the spectators are blitzed by race time and are spraying beer on the runners and trying to pass them cups of rum. Crazy.

The course is killer. You run the first mile downhill in a crazy fast time, level out until 5k, and then start to climb. The hills just get progressively steeper and longer, culminating in a brutal climb. They are unrelenting for about 6 miles. Just when you can't take any more punishment, the course drops down a steady series of downhills. You finish on a baseball diamond in their "big" stadium.

To run 63 minutes on this course and in the heat and humidity is amazing. Take two-three minutes off the time and you get an approximate value of what you would have run in decent conditions.

Take two-three minutes off the time and you get an approximate value of what you would have run in decent conditions.[/quote]

Great overall description of the course. I would say about three-four minutes for the top few guys, more as you go down the list. Take Khalid Khannouchi who won it 4 times.

1996 Khalid Khannouchi Marruecos 1:03:50

1997 Khalid Khannouchi Marruecos 1:03:09

2000 Khalid Khannouchi Marruecos 1:05:01

2002 Khalid Khannouchi USA/Marruecos 1:03:37

jeez guy, what don't you get? the kid went to BOTH UA and NAU. perhaps he didn't listen to his coaches for S#ite, but he DID go to both schools, under their track/XC umbrellas. yes, he was a SOLID high school runner but NOT of the level he's putting up now. yes, Deena made some great breakthroughs after years of toil but it wasn't anywhere close to as dramatic as Mo put up last year. sorry charlie, just doesn't add up.

cheap american bastard wrote:

jeez guy, what don't you get? the kid went to BOTH UA and NAU. perhaps he didn't listen to his coaches for S#ite, but he DID go to both schools, under their track/XC umbrellas. yes, he was a SOLID high school runner but NOT of the level he's putting up now. yes, Deena made some great breakthroughs after years of toil but it wasn't anywhere close to as dramatic as Mo put up last year. sorry charlie, just doesn't add up.

Gee, yeah, what was I thinking, no one ever improves after college.

How do you feel about Bryan Sell?

boy I hate to keep up the pissing match but seriously, Sell??? show me one race that Sell even came REMOTELY CLOSE to running 60flat (on a TOUGH course), sub-43 15k. also, tell me when Sell pulled out of big races coincidentally right after more stringent testing was announced. Yes, plenty of people improve after school, molly huddle is a great example of someone who was good, but not great. now she's heading towards borderline great (at least as far as US gals). but, she didn't do it overnight. unfortunately, Mo decided to skip the slow and steady and it just doesn't look good, especially in light of his general ethics.

I think a lot of people would class Sell's 2:11 in Central Park (slow start, hills, etc.) as an equivalent performance to Trafeh's half marathon PB (which was closer to 1:01 than "60flat," by the way).

Oh, and please do share with us your knowledge of his "general ethics."

ask around in flag, abq, LA, etc. won't be too hard for a smart fellow like yourself to figure out what kind of rep he's created for himself. and 2:11 isn't sub61 on anyones calc, hills, wind, fire, rain, or act of mohammed. sorry charlie.