Radcliffe's marathon world record invalidated

so what would be the ruling if caster semenya started pacing marathons? thats a pretty grey area haha

Listen morons. She didnt have pacesetters, she had guys by her not in front of her like Haile. Haile was drafting the whole time she wasnt. Marathons are different than track, in that everyone runs together..I know some let elite women start first. Bikes, motorcycles or cars are out in front of races..maybe they are setting the pace, lets ban them too.

Girls Like Boys wrote:

In track, no female can have a male pacer...

I would like to see a rule from IAAF that states this

The trouble is it has gone beyond pacing. Said "pacer" is often used as a glorified personal assistant.

The integrity of women's marathoning increased when they went to that "women go off first" format.

Forcing women to RACE other women.....mano a mano.

I run a 3 hr marathon.Women have routinely run with me and beaten me..guess what? their times count! Are u afraid of women?

Robbie87 wrote:

I run a 3 hr marathon.Women have routinely run with me and beaten me..guess what? their times count! Are u afraid of women?

Mid-pack it is irrelevant. The marathon majors went to the women-only start because the mixed start was diluting the women-on-women competition.

Why not just make every track and field event open competition with no gender discrimination? This really would be the best solution. In the Olympics and WC, just give out the medals to the best three performances. This would eliminate problematic cases such as Caster.

Robbie87 wrote:

She RAN the god damn thing. So what? Haile had 6 pacesetters around him blocking wind when he set the records and thats fine...but Paula cant run with some guys? She wasnt even drafting like Haile, but if she was so what...

You're wrong. Haile had pacemakers for part of the race, but they all (or most) dropped out not far beyond the 1/2 marathon mark. Then HE paced kwambai for awhile before dropping him.

He did not have "help" the whole way like Paula did.

An analogy would be if Geb or Bekele got to have a team of rabbits jump in different points in the race and pace them all the way to the finish line in their record attempts. This isn't allowed. That's the type of help Paula received.

lewickerman wrote:

Good. It's about time. If a guy can't use a motor vehicle to pace him then a girl can't use a guy.

Just go to the front of any major marathon and a motor vehicle will helpfully pace you while constantly displaying your time.

Wejo you paced Paula to one of her WR's: what is your take on this?

So what's the limit for how long you can have pacers for in a race? 95%? 90%? What if Paula's pacers had dropped out at the 26 mile mark? Tergat got paced for like 25 miles during one of his WRs, correct?

nostra wrote:

So what's the limit for how long you can have pacers for in a race? 95%? 90%? What if Paula's pacers had dropped out at the 26 mile mark? Tergat got paced for like 25 miles during one of his WRs, correct?

I see your point, but the IAAF point is ( I suppose) that one can only have same-gender pacers who start the race with you. In women's national or international track races, there are never males in the race who could help pace a female, correct? (insert caster joke here) So I suppose that the women's marathon race should be the same.

But it's too bad they didn't have this rule previously. The retro part of it kinda stinks.

Now imagine how mad the Paula fans will get when they strip her next record away for using artificial altitude to boost EPO production!

Suggestion:

Those of us who this this is an idiotic move by the IAAF should say so on their Facebook wall. Lets see if we can get a THOUSAND posts on there

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2340725325&v=wall

Sir Lance-alot wrote:

nostra wrote:

So what's the limit for how long you can have pacers for in a race? 95%? 90%? What if Paula's pacers had dropped out at the 26 mile mark? Tergat got paced for like 25 miles during one of his WRs, correct?

I see your point, but the IAAF point is ( I suppose) that one can only have same-gender pacers who start the race with you. In women's national or international track races, there are never males in the race who could help pace a female, correct? (insert caster joke here) So I suppose that the women's marathon race should be the same.

It's a different event! There are separate races on a track because a track can only fit so many people on it. In marathons, the results are separated by gender, but everyone runs together because that's how road racing has always been. This new rule is ridiculous.

Okay, anyone who is aided by a faster runner has their PRs auto-invalidated. That means anyone who does not finish first, and does not lead from the start, has their PR auto-invalidated.

What nonsense. This is nothing more than a room full of arrogant, little-minded males, deciding they must do "something" to keep boys at the front of the pack. These are the same dumb guys who refused to let the standard HS run be 1500m, like the "real world" runs, instead of 1600m, which no one cares about except these small minded men.

Paula's 2:15 is the best marathon ever run. Haile's sub 2:04 is right behind her accomplishment, not too far at that.

Always remember one thing in life. "The people who make the rules are often serving their self-interests. They often do not make intelligent, well thought out, decisions."

If these fools were allowed to make rules for NASCAR, they would decide that Danica Patrick must drive after the "boys" do for "her" race to count, and any male who "drafts" by driving too close behind (I-like-rear-ends types of guy) is automatically disqualified.

Someone needs to send the IAAF back to a "real world" school to be taught a lesson about how the "real world" works: You use strategy to win, or at least to make an best-effort to try to win, or do the best you possible can.

txRUNNERgirl wrote:

Sir Lance-alot wrote:

I see your point, but the IAAF point is ( I suppose) that one can only have same-gender pacers who start the race with you. In women's national or international track races, there are never males in the race who could help pace a female, correct? (insert caster joke here) So I suppose that the women's marathon race should be the same.

It's a different event! There are separate races on a track because a track can only fit so many people on it. In marathons, the results are separated by gender, but everyone runs together because that's how road racing has always been. This new rule is ridiculous.

Steph, there has been no sub 2:20 in a womens only marathon; so the stats show that mixed races generate faster times.

Now we'll have to erase all of Ed Whitlock's AG WRs also, because he had people younger than him ahead of him in those races.

Silly Old Fossil wrote:

Steph, there has been no sub 2:20 in a womens only marathon; so the stats show that mixed races generate faster times.

I don't think that that is how stats work. That is a significant leap in logic, dont you think?

Just another IAAF attack on women's athletic in an attempt in an attempt to marginalise the perfomrances. Allowing a mediocre 17 yo boy to compete in the 800,now this. The IAAF should quit screwing around and just do what they intend and that is to get rid of women's athletics.