he was fast and tough as nails.
Boston with a tailwind. I think this may have been discussed on the boards before.
Hardcore when he puked in the middle of a race and kept going--
the used to be cancer guy wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Kempainen
Bob was also the one to end Pat Porter's streak of 8 consecutive USA XC titles. Won the title in 1990 in Van Cortland Park, it was a 10K back then.
He had a semi-hurricane at his back. Ryan Hall had a full hurricane at his back.
The wind was worth 2 min that year. Probably about the same as this year
Mortonman wrote:
He had a semi-hurricane at his back. Ryan Hall had a full hurricane at his back.
That 2:11 at NYC is very admirable. With all the trashing of the 90's era of distance running, Kempainen was a bright star that competed well.
I ran with him at Dartmouth - Kempainen is one of the nicest, best guys you'll ever meet.
83. 94. 10. 11 all tailwind years. Not that that there's anything wrong with that.
Bob Kempainen is freaking awesome. He would be the first to admit that his Boston PR was wind aided. He made the Olympic Team by cross training on a Nordictrack. Then he won the Olympic Trials, puking along the way. He is humble and seemed to be a guy who decided that his calling was beyond running, so he walked away to pursue his medical career.
He was fast and tough as nails AND a med student. Quite a combination.
malmo wrote:
83. 94. 10. 11 all tailwind years. Not that that there's anything wrong with that.
And while we're at it, 75 -- huge tailwind that pushed BR to a 2:09:55.
Does anyone know what Kempainen was doing on the nordic track? Intervals-endurance?
Probably everything. Since he was a high caliber skier I'm sure he had no problem incorporating all components.
Thanks.. I agree.
I was just curious if anyone had specifics ..the guy was an animal so who knows..3hrs? Tempo?
5 minute internals? Etc.
Great dude. Interviewed him in 96. Perhaps the most impressive thing is how he walked away to do something important when he knew he had accomplished the most he could.
Masterblaster13 wrote:
Does anyone know what Kempainen was doing on the nordic track? Intervals-endurance?
Probably everything.
If you have an ailment that prevents one aspect it's pretty rare that you can do all of the other.
Kempainen had ITB syndrome if I remember correctly.
Thanks... I'm doing mainly endurance and recovery on NT"..... Not hurt, but trying to avoid it.
I've benn running 70-80mpw and feel a bit thrashed. I thought maybe going to 30-50% Nordic might help so I don't get hurt. I find the closer I get to a marathon I'm better off running only my key workouts and doing easy runs creatively.