Pull a "Glenn Randall" (GR)

go green wrote:

really?

Ok glenn - if that is you...what gets done by seniors at graduation on a tree?

They eat each others' vomit and work on sentence structure.

shownupathisgame wrote:

The real issue should be this: He was wearing a ridiculous outfit and not only took the lead but gapped the field. When you do something like that the whole camera crew has to shift up and cover it (even if they don't want to). We should question this: if it wasn't so hot would he have done the same thing? What if the field went out in 4:40 instead? Glenn is a decent runner, at guy that placed in the 50s at NCAA DI xc and has run 2:20 or so...but he had no business doing that IMO. He either really wanted attention and/or he was paid by Powerbar for such a stunt.

I hope he got paid a bundle. 2:20 marathoners need more support-working full-time and moving up to the next level is tough. If he was a AAA baseball player-he'd have enough income to rent an apartment and own a car. Have you seen what powerbars cost? They can afford to peel off a few pennies and help support a kid like Randall.

Now I know who Glenn Randall is. And you are?

Glenn Randall has done what thousands of middle school and high school runners do each year: go out too fast and blow up after 10% of the race.

There's one thing to be said about going for it with 1/4 of the race left or kicking with 4 laps to go in the 5k and then faltering. Think Prefontaine in Munich.

It's another thing to sprint to the lead and then bonk with 35k left of a 42k race. I agree with the OP, a new term has been coined, pulling a GR.

For all I know, the heat scared Glen so instead of shooting for a tough PR in tough conditions, he decided pull a GR, take the lead early for 5k and then proceed to run 17 minutes over his PR for the next 42k.

joho wrote:

asdfsdfadfsa wrote:

I don't know if it works this way for running, but I think it's somewhat common for pro cyclists to ride in the front of the pack in the Grand Tours (TDF, etc.) to get their sponsors some TV time (even if they don't "belong" in the front of the pack).

Not sure why it wouldn't work for running also. If I was a smaller sponsor I would do something like that. I would think the Powerbar could afford to sponsor some more elite runners though.

I don't follow the logic of this theoretical sponsor deal. Why would Powerbar want to sponsor someone for face time on the first few miles of a marathon knowing that they could not maintain the pace? I doubt they want to fund the message that someone using the product in a marathon bonked.

(This is not a slam on Mr. Randall. On a tough day he is still better than I. Just a comment on the sponsorship theory.)

The way I see it.

A.) Glenn got his 5 minutes of fame. And possibly drew some sponsorship.

B.) Maybe he actually took a chance and went for it. After all he won NCAA cross-skiing as an enormous underdog. Reckless sure, but a rare display of guts. Why settle for mediocrity at 2:20.

A or B, I respect either one.

A company is handing out sponsorships to 2:37 marathoners!? Should we all form a line, or what?

If he had run 2:20 today he'd have been one of the top American finishers and might have picked up some kind of sponsorship. Instead he's just the guy who can run a 15:00 5k, which has nothing to do with guts.

When was the last time you ran 30 or faster for 10K? 2:20 for marathon?

How about an NCAA championship?

http://thedartmouth.com/2008/03/07/sports/skiing

You are a douche Dean (and others).

That said, a LRC interview of Mr. Randall would be interesting. I hope he gets some sponsorship out of it

No, he's a 2:20 marathoner, and has run the second fastest time up Pike's Peak-in like the last 50 years or so. Maybe, just maybe, he's a guy on the cusp. Maybe he recognized a payday-and with any luck, he can eat, live and run full time for the next year without worrying about working. At least he finished-what about last year's champion who called it a day at mile 18-what does that say about him? Why no message board scolding about how he went out too fast.

dean moriarty wrote:

A company is handing out sponsorships to 2:37 marathoners!? Should we all form a line, or what?

Actually Mutai, the man who has run the fastest marathon in the history of the world...let that sink in...went out at a pace, well above his PR. Obviously Mutai's problems weren't related to his pacing.

Secondly, Mutai isn't a dartmouth graduate and his primary source of income is running the marathon. Therefore he likely dropped out so that he can save his body and continue to feed his family.

Isn't closing with two 21 minute 5ks, effectively the same thing as dropping out for a 2:20 guy?

heyyo wrote:

Isn't closing with two 21 minute 5ks, effectively the same thing as dropping out for a 2:20 guy?

No-he couldn't drop out-he didn't have fare for the T so he had to run to Copley.

GLENN RANDALL IS THE MAN!

I would kill to run the lead for 5k in the Boston Marathon.

He's another Ben True - XC ski stud in the winter, good runner at other times.

I recall a couple of years ago two guys wearing those "springy shoes" pulled a similar stunt in Boston. What ever happened to that company?

Wardian did a little bit of GRing in beginning of the '08 Trails if I remember correctly.

Difference there is that Wardian just went out and ran his marathon goal pace, while the favorites were twiddling their thumbs and jogging. It wasn't a stunt, he was just running his race.

buggers wrote:

Difference there is that Wardian just went out and ran his marathon goal pace, while the favorites were twiddling their thumbs and jogging. It wasn't a stunt, he was just running his race.

Both are going after the attention. GR knows way better than to go out in 15:0x for the first 5k in hot weather if he wanted to actually place well. It wasn't a display of guts or "going for it." And what was he wearing? Last I checked, the Boston marathon wasn't a triathlon.

Wardian pulls all sorts of stunts. Didn't he try to get a world record treadmill marathon at the expo this weekend? What a freaking joke.

Sure it may be good for sponsorship, but both these guys should respect the other much, much faster runners in the race and not take up camera time/get in the way.

guy has won ncaa title in xc skiing.

...does some space physics research

...blogs conceptual poetry

beat 'super tough' Max King

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=4526613

by over 10 minutes in 31 kilometer mountain race

http://www.sierre-zinal.com/

he is definitely writing his own story and having fun.