Largebrain coach, not sure why you have to attack me on here, you had a mature and interesting response and then finished at a real low point. I'd hate to think someone as mean-spirited as you coaches anyone.
I said Morgan's time was 5 seconds per mile off, you said 5.5, that's really splitting hairs. Kind of pointless to argue about that. (I actually rounded down from 5.5 when I did the math in my head because I didn't think anyone would care).
The lead pack went out really fast, and for anyone to keep contact, they were basically forced to go out fast as well. I believe that second pack went through in 1:04-1:05 ish and there were a couple runners who mentioned in interviews that they believed they could either run 2:10 that day or catch stragglers from the lead pack. What this means is nobody knew the race was going to play out that fast for the top 4 runners. (Ritz probably didn't even think Abdi was a real threat to make the team and run 2:09)
As far as the Ritz/Gotcher thing, that was to show my point that something that small in a marathon can make a huge difference. Actually you proved my point, Ritz was only about 2-3 seconds a mile from winning the thing. 2:12 is a lot of time for Morgan, but if you break it down 2 minutes in a marathon can add up REALLY QUICK.
Also, Morgan had an unexpectedly good simulator that day on a different course than they usually run. They usually run the course up here in Michigan on a very hilly route near Lake Orion/Rochester. He ran 2:10 pace, but it was probably more like 2:12 pace on the normal course. With that said, it was still unexpectedly good and they probably adjusted their goals. Up until that point, I couldn't believe they had expected to shoot for 2:10-11 pace at the beginning of the build up.
Your comment about Sage is exactly the Hanson dream. People like him show up to practice at Hansons with dreams to make an Olympic team in the back of their head. I think it's too early to tell with people like Sage. Hansons brought in a couple new guys that are around his age into the program and I'm excited to see what the future holds. I don't know why you have to rip on Morgan, I was trying to say that he had a rough day, but it really was only 5 (5.5) seconds a mile difference than what would've been a good day. If you've ever run a marathon, you'd know how easy it is to fluctuate 1-5 seconds a mile from your goal pace. Anyway, the best runners on the Hansons team are runners that have put in at least 4 years of hard work (Sell, Davila) and finally started to reap the benefits. Your legs need years of training to handle the demands of a marathon to perfection, ask Ritz.
Also, I think Meb did dominate Hall over the last 10 minutes of the race just like Shalane dominated Desi over the last bit. Meb opened a gap and jogged it in waving an American flag, and you say he didn't dominate Ryan? Really? Meb was doing cartwheels and backflips down the finishing stretch. I think I actually saw him stop to remove his breathrite strip.
The point of this post is that Hansons has not "jumped the shark" (who says that anyway?). They are running well as a whole, and given the talent they get, they are actually doing pretty well with it in most cases. I've heard of them turning down some talented runners(a couple were in the trials race), so clearly they have chosen to develop athletes like a real coach should focus on rather than chasing down D1 blue chippers. They also don't get special gifts like Ritz or Hall knocking on their door.
Now for real I'm going for my run. Have a nice day.