Mo Trafeh Breaks American Record at 2013 USA 25km - Matt Tegenkamp 3rd

well for starters, a 60:30 converts to approx 13:01 and 27:21, times that seem out of the realm of mr trafeh. second, since when does someone come out of 14min/30min/1:05 territory and start blowing away 27:30 guys by minutes (not seconds, but minutes) on the roads? I think it's just tough for many to swallow since it was not the most linear of progressions, and he seems to have a reputation for burning bridges, which doesn't help him either. hopefully he is clean, but progressions like that are pretty tough to explain. and yes, it was pretty F&^*ing ironic when hesch called him out, that one boomeranged nicely.

TLW wrote:

Why? Other than rumors what has he done to warrant this reputation?

He ran 29:20 for 10k in HS and now is winning USA road titles.

I could see the accusations if he was running sub 13 or 27.

Also for a laugh, remember when Christian Hesch called him out on being a doper? LOL.

You are missing the big point. Trafeh wasn't a 30 minute 10k guy 2 years ago.

He was a sub 30 minute 10k runner in HIGH SCHOOL a decade ago.

To put in more bluntly for you, he had major talent for long distances early on.

It should not be surprising that someone with that level of talent will win US road titles 10 years later.

It is not tough for anyone to swallow that he beat Teg.

Teg's best event is the 5k on the track. Teg is probably training and pointing towards late summer track races. It's over distance and early. Teg is a track runner.

Trafeh is a road racer who is probably tapering and peaking for the USA road championships to make $$$.

xcery wrote:

What is Teg's deal? He always finishes 2nd or 3rd?

What is Teg's deal with arm warmers? What was it? 85 degrees? Does he think it is fashion statement because it certainly is not functional. Seriously - will he be wearing leg warmers soon too?

no, the bigger point is that he never ran much, if any, faster than that 30flat level for apporx 6-8yrs, then BOOM, out he comes and run 42min 15k, with a 10K pr above 29min. sorry, but doing that, then running 60:30 one week later, just doens't look good. as for major talent, no more talented than say matt tebo, who has done' what, run 13:50, maybe 13:45. if tebo started busting 28low, 42mid, sub61 on the road all of a sudden, i'd say he was 100% dirty too. take bryan sell, even tho he made an olympic team, he never ran anything spectacular such as those times. until mt's getting tested all the time, then fair or not, he is fairly suspect.

TLW wrote:

You are missing the big point. Trafeh wasn't a 30 minute 10k guy 2 years ago.

He was a sub 30 minute 10k runner in HIGH SCHOOL a decade ago.

To put in more bluntly for you, he had major talent for long distances early on.

It should not be surprising that someone with that level of talent will win US road titles 10 years later.

It is not tough for anyone to swallow that he beat Teg.

Mo Trafeh ran 13:40s for 5000m, a low 29 for 10k on the road in god-awful conditions in Dana Point (beating Brandon Bethke and Ben Bruce), won the Cow Harbor 10k (beating Jason Lehmkuhle), finished 2nd in the US 20k championship and had a 63 something half to his name before his 42:58 run in Jacksonville. All of those performances were in the year and a half before the spring of 2010. I don't think he's any less suspicious than other top US athletes, but most of the suspicion around him has been bred from ignorance, racism or both. The dude was no joke before his breakthrough in 2010.

Wonder how Cabada feels now that his 25k AR has been broken?

A 36 year old woman wins her first ever US title and that is considered great coaching and a guy with unbelievable HS credentials wins during his prime racing years and it is considered cheating. Why do the Hansons always receive a free pass when it comes to drug talk?

free pass wrote:

A 36 year old woman wins her first ever US title and that is considered great coaching and a guy with unbelievable HS credentials wins during his prime racing years and it is considered cheating. Why do the Hansons always receive a free pass when it comes to drug talk?

because M-pop don't go to Morocco to train by themselves.

What else has Mo done this year. Start with those times and tell me whats going on

chauncey. wrote:

Agents? What makes you think that those guys in the top ten that you've never heard of have agents?

I know a guy who never broke 14 for 5K and ran 5k to 10k road races who had an agent. He complained about how much he was taking.

THis guy always got expenses and prize money.

Ah, thanks everybody - came here for my Sunday fix of 'getting stupid' and was amply rewarded. The vast majority on this thread are what's wrong w/American running - a bunch of whiners, complainers, self-styled experts, cynics, second-guessers & speculators. Next to nothing of value was added here, something that would abet the body of reliable knowledge surrounding the results. Lots of dead-end, 'he said, she said' or worse. It never ceases to amaze & sadden me to see that too many don't let facts get in the way of a 'good story'. If you've got nothing of substance to offer, why bother?

Mo put in a surge @ the 20 km mark, pulling the Kenyan w/him as Teg & Christo drifted back. The top 2 continued beating on each other to the end, effectively putting more distance between them & the others. The pace thru 12 miles had hovered around American-record pace and w/the race to the finish on - Mo got his record.

The top masters guy, Castille, continues to have a great year.

To the guy wondering who actally won the M & W races - click on the race results on the LR home page. You're welcome.

chauncey. wrote:

~ wrote:

[quote]~ wrote:

Dudes ought to let us know who they are if they're trying to make a living at this.

What's your plan? Go door to door? Many of these guys are working other jobs while grinding out 100+ mile weeks. They might not be thinking about "growing the sport." They're probably thinking about staying healthy, covering air fare to out of town races, racing to get in the money, working their other jobs, etc.

I hear you man, I don't know what the answer is but it should be worth mentioning that the low-hanging fruit like myself who will gladly follow (and pay to see) these races without much prodding find it hard to identify the story lines. There is little money to be made or markets to expand into when guys like me can't see the entertainment value in a national championship race. I don't know if that falls on the athletes the race directors or the governing body of the sport but it seems like there are several templates set up out there to follow: NFL, Nascar, NBA, UFC, WWF.

Symmonds in a business model like any of the above would be the villain. He'd be Hollywood Hogan (or Carmelo Anthony, or the Yankees, or the Cowboys). I'm not disinterested in seeing him race, I'm very interested in seeing him race and soundly beaten by a guy like Sowinski. Any worthy underdog to Symmonds would be the Randy Macho Man Savage to Symmonds' Hogan. The drama bubbles up in an event with interesting match-ups, escalating rivalries. I'm dramatacizing this comparison for effect obviously but the only source I see of branding and promoting an athlete is coming from Nike and maybe Hall with Nissan, and that's why there are only half a dozen marketable athletes in the sport.

Is there a single rivalry in the sport right now? Not only are there none I can think of (Hall and Ritz?, not really, Rupp and Lagat?) I can't even identify half the field in a road National Championship. Not good.

Excellent rant! People here are stupid. They through out all this random crap and think they know something. Scum, lower than the worst drug offenders. Look here Letsrun nancy boy, limpdikk never could get it up anyway, MFers, if you have some proof, then show it. (aka, message board rat, Rattus americanus, and about 100-150 other handles a year)

Let me also add to Mo Trafeh's credentials, that he ran the course record at Mt. Sac just before the meet got cancelled for too much smoke on the course. He was a stud then and is a stud now.

I've been told that somewhat like the sleeves the weightlifters use, they keep the arm in the proper position. I guess you don't have to worry about the form of arm/elbow swing and that makes you more efficient.

food follows earnings

Or it could be part of a sponsorship deal.

free pass wrote:

A 36 year old woman wins her first ever US title and that is considered great coaching and a guy with unbelievable HS credentials wins during his prime racing years and it is considered cheating. Why do the Hansons always receive a free pass when it comes to drug talk?

Were you born that stupid or did you use drugs to get there?

probably gets a pass b/c she basically beat nobody (aside from thomas, who was the only name i recognized (as good) in the field) and ran the equivalent of a time that would possibly qualify you for the usatf meet. devils advocate, so did trafeh, to be fair.

MILE (3:53.43)

4:01.8 ........ Galen Rupp (Central Catholic, Portland)

4:03.21+ .................... Victor Gras' (Belmont, Ma)

4:04.27+ ......... Gavin Coombs (Grisw, Jewett City, Ct)

4:06.76 ........ **Craig Miller (Manheim, Lancaster, Pa)

4:07.37+ .................. Mohamed Trafeh' (Duarte, Ca)

MILE (3:53.43)

4:01.8 ........ Galen Rupp (Central Catholic, Portland)

4:03.21+ .................... Victor Gras' (Belmont, Ma)

4:04.27+ ......... Gavin Coombs (Grisw, Jewett City, Ct)

4:06.76 ........ **Craig Miller (Manheim, Lancaster, Pa)

4:07.37+ .................. Mohamed Trafeh' (Duarte, Ca)

Mo, you posting this doesn't prove much. still hard to explain how you went from 1:05 to 1:00:30 in essentially a year (can somebody back up the 1:03 claim?), as I've watched your career with mild interest. best of luck kid, hope you never get caught for anything.