Michael Wardian won the 2011 USA 50 Mile Championships today in 5:33. That is a 6:40 pace. Very impressive time for 50 miles! His versatility from 5K to Badwater and his speed are to be commended. Great job Michael!
Michael Wardian won the 2011 USA 50 Mile Championships today in 5:33. That is a 6:40 pace. Very impressive time for 50 miles! His versatility from 5K to Badwater and his speed are to be commended. Great job Michael!
The race was at Tussey Mountainback with a nasty elevation profile for running 6:40 miles.
http://www.tusseymountainback.com/course-info/elevation-profile
I'm not a huge fan of Wardian, but I have to give him props. Look at the elevation profile. Ouch.
i am a huge fan of wardian. the dude is a total badass and seems like a nice guy.
no, he won't set the world record in the marathon, but anyone that can run thon's week in and week out in typically well-under 2:30 (2:17 best i think) is pretty cool in my book.
The Fruitarian got 3rd. That's pretty legit.
common wrote:
I'm not a huge fan of Wardian, but I have to give him props. Look at the elevation profile. Ouch.
Well, I just heard about him recently, and I have been impressed with him. I am a fan.
Athlete Spotlight - Michael Wardian
I raced in a 5K with him at George Mason University last year. He raced the 5K in 16:43 the day after setting the indoor marathon record! His schedule is brutal and his accomplishments pretty extraordinary.
Michael is awesome.
Just so you know....ultrarunners tend to avoid races that are USATF "Championship" races. Most good ultra guys never race them. The USATF is a joke and for track nerds. Good for Wardian but he did not race anyone super legit.
Just curious, what don't you like about him? He seems like a very regular guys who races the entire spectrum and does well.
common wrote:
I'm not a huge fan of Wardian, but I have to give him props. Look at the elevation profile. Ouch.
Ha, Wardian is just about the easiest athlete to like in the sport. He trains a ton, runs a ton of races, is a great sportsman and a good dude. I'm straining to think of someone more likeable.
better than socks wrote:
Just so you know....ultrarunners tend to avoid races that are USATF "Championship" races. Most good ultra guys never race them. The USATF is a joke and for track nerds. Good for Wardian but he did not race anyone super legit.
Todd Braje, who he beat by 17 minutes, is one of the most legit road 50 guys in the country. There isn't anyone in the country that could've hung with him at 6:40 pace on a 50 mile course with over 5000' of climb. No-one from the US could've beaten that, so there's no reason to rip his performance just because there was little competition.
BTW, he was absolutely crushing Geoff Roes in a trail 100k a few weeks ago until he went off course. He ran an extra 45 minutes off course and only lost to the Ultrarunner of the Year for 2 years straight by 20 minutes. The dude is on a tear.
Knowing the course, I saw his time last night, and my jaw dropped... 5h33' on that course is brutal. Just awesome, and to destroy Braje by 17' is pretty darn impressive.
Even though he isnt at the level if our top runners, I find his accomplishments equally amazing. The guy just makes me scratch my head and wonder how he does it.
First off, I want to say it's nothing against him personally. By all accounts, he's a good person, a great father, and a talented runner. He's especially accomplished at ultra running, which appears to be where he will see his fastest times and highest competitiveness.
The thing he does that bothers me is the prolific racing at small events far away from where he lives. To put it indelicately, he's a road whore. It's not just Wardian that does this. Obviously there are dozens of Kenyans and Ethiopians in the U.S. doing this, and there seem to be a good number of women doing it as well. Mary Akor is probably the most well-known in the U.S.
They have a talent for recovering very quickly and running moderately fast times very, very consistently. It's an amazing thing. However, it has a negative effect locally when they come from far away, win, and take the prize money and notoriety back to wherever they came from.
Dismiss it as sour grapes if you like, but I've seen the effects of this first hand, and experienced both sides of the coin. There is a tremendous amount of difference in the follow-on effects between when someone like Wardian or a Kenyan comes to your town and wins your local race versus when a local person wins the race. The race can be forgotten in a day or it can be remembered for years, having a significant positive impact on the local running community, as well as in the non-running community.
It's only because they chase prize money that they race so much. It would be impossible to finance the travel otherwise, for one thing. I've advocated reducing or eliminating prize money as a way to keep the smaller races more competitive locally and regionally, keeping those positive impacts in the community.
It seems like Wardian has recently focused more on the national and international ultras in recent years, and less on small-field U.S. road races. One criticism of Wardian that I've seen a lot over the years is that he doesn't seek out competitive fields because he holds effort in reserve when he races. Others have said this isn't true, that it's just the way he is. I have a difficult time understanding how someone with a 2:17 marathon PR can run a 2:25 and call it a "full" effort, and then turn around two weeks later and run another 2:25. However, this behavior seems to be less prevalent now that he has focused more on ultra events like the Marathon des Sables, 100Ks, and 50 milers.
I'm not trying to convert anyone to agree with my perspective, though I know a lot of people do based on years of reading Let's Run bashing Wardian with a lot less specificity and fairness than I have. He's a talented guy, and a good person, but in terms of his racing choices, he is a frustrating character.
wowsa wrote:
no, he won't set the world record in the marathon...
Wrong he already did....
For pushing a stroller during a marathon that is... "Wardian held the world record for fastest marathon while pushing a jogging stroller from May 2007 to November 2009"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Wardiancommon wrote:
Dismiss it as sour grapes if you like.
Indeed I will. When Wardian comes to town to race and win the local marathon in my area, it sparks a lot of interest in the running community. The guy is a running machine and is fascinating to read about...much more so than Dean the bore. I hope he maintains his brutal schedule and keeps kicking your ass and your inferior 100 mpw schedule.
Someone just chasing prize money does not run a lot of grueling ultras where the payoff is nothing or next to nothing. There is no prize money at Badwater or at most of the races Wardian runs.
If he's in it for the money he is using a very ineffective strategy.
common wrote:
He's a talented guy, and a good person, but in terms of his racing choices, he is a frustrating character.
You got some issues dude. Get some help and run a whole lot more.
in reply to "common" saying wardian and others come to local races and take the prize money, i can tell you that for the vermont city marathon, which he's run many times, he has been an invited runner -- they are paying his way to come up here.
i'm sure that's the case with many other marathons he runs as well.
i love it when wardian comes to vermont. and by the way, i don't think he's ever won the vermont city marathon.