Marla Runyan Should Give Up Her 1500m Spot and Intimidation at the Trials

Weldon,

Isn't Luchini Italian? I see a potential mob hit in the making.

wejo, I think the problem is that your brother used a bs tactic to make the point. An internet petition? please... it comes off like some little high school popularity contest

wejo wrote:

I can't believe how over the top some of your comments are at rojo. All he did was express an opinion about a badly formed stupid rule.

You, sir, are disingenuous. You Brojos come across as fancying yourselves to be incapable of error. Sure, it's the whole rest of the world that is wrong, it couldn't possibly be you. Is solipsism the family religion?

wejo wrote:

But perhaps that's the problem, everyone (except my brother) appears afraid to express their opinion if it might offend anyone or be controversial. I thought this whole thing was more of a joke but if someone is really upset then why don't they just say so to my face and we can talk about it.

Actually, your brother's complete lack of sack (and brains) started the whole thing. Why didn't HE state HIS opinion to Luchini's face?

Don't expect people to forget something like this anytime soon, either.

Wejo, he didn't just "express an opinion" about a rule. It's not as if he was sitting in Starbucks with a couple of friends and said, "Hey, I think Luchini should remove himself from consideration."

He posted a petition on a BIG public forum (yours, admittedly) which is a major player in the online world of track and field. Rojo called Luchini out and called on others to do so as well. It is nothing but showy public attempt to shame Luchini into stepping aside.

It's not a question about whether he had a "right" to do this. Of course he did. We have the right to do a lot of things. That doesn't mean we should do them.

Whatever you think about the rule, to "express your opinion" in this manner -- to attempt to make Luchini feel guilty and give up his dream in such a boorish public manner -- is completely classless. If you want Luchini to step aside, send him an email, give him a call. Don't do this. This is just cheap.

I was disappointed to see that it was from Rojo.

wejo wrote:

If he had a problem with me (which he doesn't, it's with my brother) he should have just said something. But perhaps that's the problem, everyone (except my brother) appears afraid to express their opinion if it might offend anyone or be controversial.

While I agree that chasing you around at the trials is a bit over the top did your bro' take your advice and mention this to Luchini instead of going through the sophomoric motion of posting an online petition?

Seems beneath someone with an Ivy League degree and still remains in the field as someone in authority.

An insanely poor move.

Using your board as a platform to espouse opinions that favor athletes you feel like favoring and denigrating athletes you feel like denigrating puts a cloud over anything letsrun could possibly do that could be perceived as "journalism". I'll read it for the links and for occasionally knowledgable discussion, but you guys have lost my respect. So Runyan didn't want to fry her brain after running her heart out a couple of nights ago.

You guys remind me of prissy schoolgirls who decide who gets to sit at the "cool" lunch table. Get over yourselves. Runyan has always been a class act and you could learn a lot from her.

BTW, your "intimidation" story reminded me a lot of when Tonya Harding hysterically claimed she broke her shoelace during her skating final.

Anyone have any idea what the olympic schedule is regarding the 1500 / 5000? Marla was quoted earlier as saying that she feels she is stronger in the 1500, so if they are too close to double would she choose the 15 or the 5?

After reading the petition at work today and then having to leave work to go mow four lawns (friends and family who are on vacation) I had plenty of time to think about it ....

It was a poorly concieved idea to say the least. The whole thing reeked of "I know better than Louis and his coach does."

It appeared when reading it that the idea to "remove" yourself from consideration for the 5k had not occurred to Luchini (in the last 24 hours!) and that some other dork needed to point it out to him.

What really rubbed me the wrong way (and would have even worse if I was this particular 13:25 runner) was the statement that said: "Face it, you are three months past your peak. You have no chance at the "A" standard."

Who is Robert to say that Luchini is "past" his peak? This implies that his coach can't properly peak him for NCAA's as that happened just 5 weeks ago. Is it not possible that he ran the 13:25 quite awhile ago and had a decent NCAA and then just didn't perform as planned at these Olympic Trials? Indeed, not too many people who have been great this Spring have performed as planned at these OT's. It is offensive to post this stuff where everyone can read it as well.

Also, where does Robert get the idea that it is his crusade to save the olympic dream for Bolota Asmerom? Maybe once the dust settled the runners who have a shot (Asmerom) can ask what the runners who may "let them in" have planned for the next six weeks? If they see no chance to hit the standard, then maybe they won't pull a "Maree" and will "give up" their spot. Maybe they won't.

But what vested interest does anyone besides the runners in question have in what THEY DECIDE TO DO?

My take on this is that someone like Robert should spend his time wisely watching the Trials since they come but once every four years, and any free time he has should be spent on his own job: Coaching his team, not other people's.

everyone makes mistakes. you should just admit you made a big one. you tried to use mob tactics to bully luchini off the team. well the mob turned on you.

Everybody is overreacting against wejo/rojo, try to learn how to calm down,

El G has hemmoroids again.

Michael Bautista wrote:

Everybody is overreacting against wejo/rojo, try to learn how to calm down,

i tend to agree. i think the petition was bad form (a phone call or an in-person chat to make sure louis knew what was at stake and the timing of it), but the thought behind it is, in my opinion, legitimate.

let's face it, this selection system is complicated (and new). and i think a lot of athletes are unsure of exactly how it works. take jason lunn for example, was he celebrating after the race? (i wasn't there so i don't know). he should have been. because he effectively just placed third.

a roundabout way to say that i don't think it is out of line to mention to these athletes what is at stake. in previous years, when less than three men/women had the A std, everyone would go after the A, and chances are that if you get it that you will make the team. this year, only a select few are able to go after the A. and if one is to decline, they must do so by Sunday (today).

Marla Runyan, in particular, might not be aware. she may have left the meet right away. she's someone who is competitve on the world scene who might not think about the A std too much. she might not realize that she has to decline anything.

again, a long way to say it is not outlandish to bring this up to the athletes. (but i do agree that a petition, especially with some careless wording, is over the top).

Wejo, your brother'sd petition was the lamest piece of crap I have ever seen. He should be ashamed. I will tell him that it is BS if I see him. What a crap thing to do. A petition? How the hell does he know what Luchini's situation is? How does he have a clue? Did he speak with him about it. Has Luchini been sick or hurt? Is Rojo positive Luchini is washed up for the year. What a load of crap. Your site sucks. The board is a bunch of fakes. And now you guys try to drum up petitions AGAINST athletes that work their asses off to achieve a dream. They work the system that was set up (NOT BY THEM EITHER) and you have the audacity to try and tear them down! Shame on you. Absolutely pathetic. What if you were in Luchini's spot? I doubt the honorable rojo would start a feckin petition. Rojo is an as$hole.

much to do about nothing

The brothers have been reading How to Win Friends and Influence People from back to front or a Marketing Man's Nighmare edition on the toilet

next it will be called a publicity stunt.

after reading the quotes from the men's 1500 (the parts where jason lunn says he has no idea that he is eligible to get the "A" and where Myers has no idea that he is not eligible to get the "A") i am more convinced that Rojo's point of view (to be distinguished from actual actions) is a good point of view.

let's face it, people are having difficulty understanding this system. it is somewhat counterintuitive to discover that the 5th place finisher can chase the standard while the 3rd place finisher is out of luck. we are used to "top 3 make the team." there is a reasonable chance that luchini, and especially runyan, are not aware of the rules. yet the deadline for submission of names is sunday/monday. it is a time-sensitive matter. i think it is totally appropriate to bring it up to the athlete.

(although again, i think a petition is unnecessary. an in-person contact or a phone call/email is probably sufficient. or perhaps better yet a talk with the coach.)

twittering debutante wrote:

Using your board as a platform to espouse opinions that favor athletes you feel like favoring and denigrating athletes you feel like denigrating puts a cloud over anything letsrun could possibly do that could be perceived as "journalism".

BTW, your "intimidation" story reminded me a lot of when Tonya Harding hysterically claimed she broke her shoelace during her skating final.

You must be stupid. Journalists all the time have opinion pieces. If you couldn't tell that guy's piece was an editorial you are an idiot.

So many people instead of disagreeing with someone's opinion try and shoot the messenger. I might just sign the petition to piss you guys off.

Bautista - why must you insist on kissing ass all the time? Try calming down yourself, or do you really need affirmation from strangers that much...?

just to expand on my earlier point that marla runyan might not have been aware of the new rules, this is from the letsrun summary of the women's 1500: