CAIN 5:05.68 FTW!!!!

*held it to the tape*

Has there ever been a National level race this slow before? In any nation? It is more than 50 seconds lower than the WR. Well, I guess I don't know what the indoor WR is for women, but it is more than 45 seconds slower at least.

Could men ever run a 4:35 for a national championship?

I have seen plenty of 8:00-8:10 type races in a 3k, but even that is less than 45 seconds off the indoor WR for 3k.

I could see a National level race being won this slowly for a 3rd rate nation where the girls are at 4:50 under the best circumstances (although I don't know what nation that would be in this era). But I can't see it when the girls in this race have proven they are capable of better than 4:30y indoors.

Bravo for Cain, it may be even more impressive that she won this kind of race than a 4:28 style honest race, but it is a shame nonetheless for the whole field.

bguyMilleniumJ_2012 wrote:

so, if you're a software developer or website developer at a company, and a 15 yr old wunderkind friend of the boss comes in, does work that causes your position to be obsolete, does that mean you shouldn't be a software developer? afterall, a 15 yr old blows you away in programming skills...you should have went the route of a plumber...how does that sound now?

i feel for the pros who might get less of an endorsement by shoe companies because a junior in high school is taking their fire.

What is means is that I will just a journeyman programmer and will never make a breakthrough or reach the top level and become very wealthy and well-known in my profession.

That's the way it is for most people. But it doesn't mean that someone with extraordinary talent should be held back or denied opportunities. It's just the way the world works.

Slow races are not a joke. They are a particular type of competition that are won by very fit, very wily runners.

The great German runner Harold Norpoth, an Olympic medalist, one won a major European 5000 in over 15 minutes. The point is, he won.

Right, what annoyed me wasn't so much walk the first half of the race, it was that when the race played out nobody took a shot for the win. What is the point of using setup tactics if you're not going launch an attack at some point? I was impressed that Cain didn't surge out into the lead and give away the race early and that she was ready to go when the race actually started. She's a special talent, yes, but the pros in the race all had a chance to make it their race and declined to do so. That kind of strategy isn't going to result in many podium finishes.

bguyMilleniumJ_2012 wrote:

so, if you're a software developer or website developer at a company, and a 15 yr old wunderkind friend of the boss comes in, does work that causes your position to be obsolete, does that mean you shouldn't be a software developer? afterall, a 15 yr old blows you away in programming skills...you should have went the route of a plumber...how does that sound now?

i feel for the pros who might get less of an endorsement by shoe companies because a junior in high school is taking their fire.

She hasn't made her competitors obsolete, she's beaten them. Not the same thing.

Does she top the likes of Lindgren, Pre, and Ryun for youngsters who made a splash on the national, and potential international scale?

mcnutty wrote:

So what's the plan for Ms Cain this year?

She has World Juniors in Eugene next year. But what is gonna get up to this Summer?

Possibly mingle with the top dogs in a few diamond league races?

Why as a high school kid would she want to do that.....no greater honor than running for your town/team at that age.

Also, let's keep in mind that the field she beat wasn't exactly stellar. Outdoors, it will be a different story.

Ho Hum wrote:

bguyMilleniumJ_2012 wrote:

so, if you're a software developer or website developer at a company, and a 15 yr old wunderkind friend of the boss comes in, does work that causes your position to be obsolete, does that mean you shouldn't be a software developer? afterall, a 15 yr old blows you away in programming skills...you should have went the route of a plumber...how does that sound now?

i feel for the pros who might get less of an endorsement by shoe companies because a junior in high school is taking their fire.

She hasn't made her competitors obsolete, she's beaten them. Not the same thing.

some pro runners train so soft they need to pick it up and not be afraid to push themselves in workouts

Wow, apparently many of you don't know the meaning of the word "race". The ONLY thing that you should aspire to do in a race is win. Period. Everything else is secondary, and fairly irrelevant. The sooner you learn this, the sooner you can become a decent runner. Here endeth the lesson.

all timer wrote:

Does she top the likes of Lindgren, Pre, and Ryun for youngsters who made a splash on the national, and potential international scale?

No Pre was not one of those. Take off your Pre goggles please.

Possibly the single dumbest post in LRC history.

Is it good for the sport that athletes voluntarily withdraw from competition so others, who are not as good, can make more money?

Where are your priorities? Why do you call these "pro races?"

These are National Championship races.

A large part of the glory of track is that, ideally, it is a meritocracy.

_________________

it doesn't look good for her to be racing these pro races for the fact that the actual pros are trying to make a living off of it, while Cain isn't. I think stuff like this should be restricted to people who actually need it.

BLACK SCREEN! BLACK SCREEN! BLACK SCREEN!

C'mon Brojos, do it!

We have a high school national champion!

Apples to oranges. Your analogy simply doesn't make sense. Those women never even tried to be competitive running an 80 second first quarter. They insulted the sport jogging around the track and I was glad they got schooled by a high school student. With the state of running in this country we need a Mary Cain right now, a bright spark to remind us that running is NOT just about making money as all your analogies seemed to indicate.

sam112 wrote:

Possibly the single dumbest post in LRC history.

It's not a real LRC post until someone declares it the dumbest post in LRC history.

she will probably be hated by many until she turns 18 and finishes school, then it won't feel so bad to be getting beat by her!

God awful, USA indoors is a bigger joke than Charlie sheens sobriety.