Jimmy Grabow - The Ultimate Blue Collar Runner

seems like the only thing he's missing out on is training at altitude. on the other hand he could do that over summer break

"A white collar runner is a runner who's getting paid to run, has access to high-tech gadgets, a team of therapists, and plenty of down time"

That's a princess...or a Nike runner.

He has a pretty ordinary office job. Anyone with a lunch break could take a nap if they wanted to.

You stating that Jimmy is blue-collar is a misnomer. I agree that he is working 40+ hrs/week, but not blue-collar. How many of the Oly Trial Marathoners actually are blue collar, working construction, factory work, etc? I'm not taking anything away from him because I commend him for keeping a well-rounded lifestyle, which is important. I knew a guy at college that over the summer he worked at a factory welding from 11pm-7am, go for a 7 mile run after work. He would then go shingle for his father's construction company until about 2pm, then go for about a 4-5 mile run. Sleep until 9:00pm and then get and go for another 4-5 mile run before work. He ended up running sub 30k over the summer and before XC season started ran a 19:05 4-miler and 1:06 for half-marathon. During his college days, he worked at a pizza place delivering pizzas from 6pm to midnight or so. He was always a hard worker and runner. He retired from running a couple years after college and settled down to have a family. He retired from working at age 50, sent his 3 kids to college, house is paid off, etc. He still goes out for about a 4-5 miler daily. I always wondered what he could have done if he just concentrated on running and not dooing anything else.

runasfastasucanforaslongasucan wrote:

How many of the Oly Trial Marathoners actually are blue collar, working construction, factory work, etc?

I would be willing to bet very few. Just a hunch.

random a hole wrote:

runasfastasucanforaslongasucan wrote:

How many of the Oly Trial Marathoners actually are blue collar, working construction, factory work, etc?

I would be willing to bet very few. Just a hunch.

What construction crew wouldn't want a bunch of guys who are 5-7 and weigh 138 soaking?

"Get me that sheet of plywood."

"No can do, my hamstrings are strained."

This is a great story and should not surprise. There are many Jimmy out there. Discover your Jimmy.

If Hall can run 2:04 on hard work, faith, whimsy & a sweet tailwind then...

If boy next door Galen Rupp can run 26:48 then...

Jimmy! Cut that hair and you'd have run 2:10!

1. No one posting on this thread has ever run faster than Grabow at the Marathon.

2. He does work a full time job and trains full time. This is probably out of necessity because as ROJO stated, there is almost no money for a guy with his PRs. So people are suggesting the better plan is to quit, sponge off somebody by sleeping on their couch, have no money for therapy, doc visits, race entries, etc? Call it whatever collar you want, the guy is getting it done better than most (all but 9 guys in the US if you are counting) regardless of their work status.

3. This message board is all about tearing people apart who we all hope to be like (good runners). It is very disturbing.

BTW, good job you dumb-ass Rojo. Way to hi-jack this guy's thread and totally change the course it took. When it was "you gotta love this guy" everyone could agree on that. But no, you just had to stick your nose where it didn't belong and screw it up, as always. Thanks.

I worked constrution in Boulder, CO building a parking ramp/office building and I'm 5'10" 125 carrying 2-3 sheets of 1/2"-3/4" on my back(easier than most yahoo's would try to carry them). It took some practice, but it worked!!!

this blue collar/white collar thing is dumb

running isn't that hard. it takes a couple of hours per day at most so a runner's lifestyle outside of running is irrelevant. and if your life is so busy, then it's your own doing.

Hodgie-san wrote:

Discover your Jimmy.

Giggle...

Actually, Hodgie-san is faster than Jimmy which is in no way meant to disparage the guy in any way. I'm impressed, admire him and hope he gets even faster.

cant believe it wrote:

this blue collar/white collar thing is dumb

running isn't that hard. it takes a couple of hours per day at most so a runner's lifestyle outside of running is irrelevant. and if your life is so busy, then it's your own doing.

Yes - some people here have reading comprehension difficulties, Rojo included. No one is tearing Jimmy Grabow down, but the OPs blue collar / working class hero / cinderella story line is tired, lame, boring and not even true.

no please not again wrote:

BTW, good job you dumb-ass Rojo. Way to hi-jack this guy's thread and totally change the course it took. When it was "you gotta love this guy" everyone could agree on that. But no, you just had to stick your nose where it didn't belong and screw it up, as always. Thanks.

+1 Very egotistical and self-absorbed of Rojo

Grabow has been Alberto Salazaring his veins for many years and should do well.

How is a guy working a desk job the "ultimate blue collar runner"? It's clear that Rojo is just stirring the pot on the whole blue collar runner concept to get people to bite and debate. He probably resents people who can work a job and run way faster than he did while he was playing at being a full-time pro runner via his trust fund back in the day in Flag.

That HAD to hurt today. 1:05 > 2:19. Sounds like painful splits.