Allan Webb 3:39,04

*Alan Webb, not Allan Webb.

Even if he somehow had a magical perfectly-paced 1500 time trial in the next 8 days, today included, and he somehow pulled a 3:35:50 out of the bag, how many of you think he has any chance of being in the top 3 at the trials? Really? Really?

You are welcome.

I have followed Webb's career beginning with his junior year in high school. His 3:53 in HS and his 3:46 and change made him early on the great American hope with which the ghost of Jim Ryan would be resurrected. We all wanted desperately to see an American dominate on the world scene, if only for a year or two. While we all respect foreign born Americanized runners they are not what we want to see. So can Webb make one last comeback and rescue his career at 29? Probably not. Too old, physically overbuilt and leg fatigued, but while watching him struggle is painful and frustating for all of us, his effort is heroic. All of us retired or semi retired runners dream of a comeback so I am glad to see him try. I give him props. Yes, I scream at the TV when I see him dropping off the pace on the third lap but I still applaud the effort. Go Webb - give us all one more thrill.

Not only do you have to have talent and speed to run the 1500, you have to be able to handle the tactics. Not get boxed in. Not get forced into a pace that you can't handle. Or let it come down to a kickers race if you are not a kicker.

Webb has had the talent and speed, he just hasn't understood the tactics. He can run a fast time in a time trial. He struggles when it comes to trading elbows.

Get off his back. He has been struggling with injury for the past two years but is still a very talented runner. I believe he could actually be the best 5k runner in the US.

The guy is done. Yes, he's run fast times, but he cannot race. He's a head case. I think he would have done better finishing school and working full-time while competing. Then he wouldn't have so much time to obsess about his training. 2.5 hour warm-up? I doubt we'll see any surprises from him on the track.

haha this is so funny! I really want to cheer for this guy. I almost feel bad for him. What sucks is when Nike finally comes to there senses and drops him he doesn't have a college degree to do anything at all.

Kid has always been a head case and always will be. Robbie Andrews seems to be a D-bag as well. Walking off from a flotrack interview like that. And when he said Alan Webb counts his steps that made him seem like a bigger D-Bag.

Lets face it. Webb was a grown man at 18 years old. So who freaking cares that his career hit that glass ceiling in '07 but couldn't crack it. I really hope he could run faster. Maybe he should move up in distance, maybe he should go back to swimming... or maybe he should go be an accountant.. Who cares. We have the young guns coming up and Webb will be this name that gets erased from the record books one day. And when I am a 75 year hs track coach I will talk about this guy named Webb that took running a little serious and it ate him alive.

yogi, at what age do you think Webb is suddenly going to learn tactical racing? I've been talking about this since 2002. Not with all of his coaching changes, iterations, has he improved his racing ability. Now, sadly, you're right- he is leg weary and doesn't have the jets to match fast moves at the front of packs.

And at least his buddy Lukezic had the freaking common sense to retire with some dignity. He ran some quick times, saw it was going down hill so he left with pride and nobody hated on him.

This just makes me Hate Webb more than I should...

1) He never wanted to be with Salazar - forced by Nike2) Salazar never wanted him - he wanted to use him as training fodder for Rupp3) Webb was uncomfortable using all of the "aids" that Salazar suggested

WhyDidHe? wrote:

Will someone explain to me his decision to leave Salazar ? He beat Rupp on a few occasions and he seemed to Coach him back to great 5k Shape. So why did he leave get slow again then try to get back to 1500m shape which he has not been in for 4 years now or so ? [quote]Julio Jones wrote:

Disrespect wrote:

1) He never wanted to be with Salazar - forced by Nike

2) Salazar never wanted him - he wanted to use him as training fodder for Rupp

3) Webb was uncomfortable using all of the "aids" that Salazar suggested

You heard it here first - Salazar gave Alan Webb AIDS.

It wasn't long ago (maybe less than a year) that AlSal said Webb was the most talented athlete he's seen (ie more talented then mo and rupp). Andrews has said recently he struggles to keep up with him in workouts, etc.

Are they just patronizing him? Is he just a workout king or what?

sucka mc wrote:

Disrespect wrote:

1) He never wanted to be with Salazar - forced by Nike

2) Salazar never wanted him - he wanted to use him as training fodder for Rupp

3) Webb was uncomfortable using all of the "aids" that Salazar suggested

You heard it here first - Salazar gave Alan Webb AIDS.

Funniest shit I will read all day

sucka mc wrote:

You heard it here first - Salazar gave Alan Webb SARMS.

Fixed

LR board ALWAYS breaks the news first!

Old Balls Webb wrote:

sucka mc wrote:

You heard it here first - Salazar gave Alan Webb AIDS.

Funniest shit I will read all day

I admire Webb's talents but how many crappy seasons can the guy take? He already has a good legacy and he has his whole life ahead of him. I don't think Webb will open another season with a 3:53 mile like he did at Home Depot and Drake years ago. That was Webb's fire was still hot.

Andrews seems like he's a lock for the 800m, so what he could do is pace Alan Webb for one of the rounds to a 3:35 (since Andrews qualified for the 1500m too) and then not do semis or finals and just focus on the 800m for the rest of the trials.

Two quickies:

1. What is SARMS? A new PED I'm not hip to??

2. How in the hell does Bernard Lagat NOT slow down, even at the ripe age of 37? He's becoming more suspicious to me with each passing year of competitive running.

jaswk wrote:

the difference this year is that there is no chasing the GO standard after your event. Since there will be a lot of guys who don't have the A in the heats and at least a few in the final, I would hope that a few of them will get together and trade the lead for the first two laps in an attempt an A. (This is more likely to happen in the final if more then one guy gets in without the A).

But they will likely just sit and kick and give themselves no chance of going to the OGs.

The trouble with your reasoning is that in every Olympic Trials, there are a bunch of racers who need the standard, yet in the 1500 and 5000, it has hardly ever resulted in a fast race.

The fact is, the people who need the standard cannot force the pace enough to get it. If they were in shape to do that, then why haven't they gotten the standard some other time in the past year? And keep in mind that there are exactly two (2) reasons to take the lead in a race:

1. To speed up the pace.

2. To slow it down. The racers who already have the standard will benefit from doing this, to keep down the pool of team members.

You are welcome.