Official good job Matt Elliott thread

what was his other high school PR's?

Too bad Lomong didn't do the 5k or he'd probably get to run, if he got the standard.

Yeah, this guy deserves some respect. Class act, awesome accent, fantastic runner. He's definitely fitter than his 3:40 PR right now. He could start to be a real player on the US stage consistently, if he can keep closing in 51.

Elliott is 24, that is still young and I hope he continues to improve.

is he really a hs teacher? All his twitter/blog talk about is running. Hey running is more exciting than work, but it never seems like he gets excited about christmas break, summer, upset about bs meetings where administration throws buzz words around for an hour and accomplishes nothing, etc.

shockingly, not everyone pi$$es and moans about their job on twitter for all the world to see.

Good job, Matt Elliott!

What a legend. Inspires me and makes me believe that it can all be worth it if you put your mind to it.

I wish lrc would put this on their front page - indeed, this is a dream becoming reality.

He is a 4th grade teacher numb-nuts. People enjoy their jobs on occasion. Deal with it.

Really interested in his progression. Where'd he go to college?

bigtool05 wrote:

Really interested in his progression. Where'd he go to college?

He went to undergrad at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC. They had XC but no track.

He went to grad school at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Coach Paxton had him for one year. He won indoor and outdoor titles on the track and qualified for NCAA nationals in the 1500m. Paxton continued to coach him for one more year, then Elliot decided to be coached by Scott Simmons when Simmons was at Queens College in Charlotte, NC (which is only 25 mi from Winthrop in Rock Hill). According to someone on another thread about Elliot, he is still coached by Simmons from Colorado Springs. He has made US 1500 finals before I think. At the very least he has made semifinals. I remember his name coming up a few years ago as he was beating Webb, and I remember thinking "that's got to be surreal for him."

Sorry. To clarify, he won indoor and outdoor Big South Conference titles on the track before qualifying for NCAA nationals.

I don't congratulate guys who finish 4th, sorry.

There are many people that work full time and train at an elite level. In fact, most do it while working part time. Which may be more impressive considering cash flow.

Real fast guys have full time jobs also...running.

The Answer!! wrote:

I don't congratulate guys who finish 4th, sorry.

There are many people that work full time and train at an elite level. In fact, most do it while working part time. Which may be more impressive considering cash flow.

Real fast guys have full time jobs also...running.

I have way more respect for this Matt Elliot dude than I do some of those so called "Real fast guys". Sit back and think about how selfish being a professional runner is...all you do is workout/run. What are you really contributing?? All the resources to be a great runner are handed to you, you have no other outside stresses, all you have to worry about is your workout. This guy probably wakes up, puts in his morning miles, goes to a REAL job, deals with punk kids all day, then does his workout after he's been working for 8 hours, and still manages to beat some of your "Real fast guys" when it matters at the US Championships.

I'm a slightly jealous of the professional runners, I would love to be able to focus all of my time and energy into working out and becoming one of the fastest runners in the world, but I'm not that good and I realize that in the big picture, running is pretty damn small.

Elliott states that his high school PRs are as follows:

800m--2:05

1600m--4:42

3200m--10:50

5k (XC)--16:59

these are almost the exact PRs I had coming out of high school (except my 3200m was way faster, but he probably split a faster 2 mile en route to that 5k)

Anyone know his yearly progressions? Like in the mile for example?

vano wrote:

Anyone know his yearly progressions? Like in the mile for example?

I don't think his mile or 1500 progressed much at all during his undergrad years. His coaching at Presbyterian was almost nonexistent. I know he ran a few track meets his senior year for colleges that had CC but not track and won some events. His major improvement started when he went to grad school at Winthrop.

What does the guy sitting in an office working on a computer contribute? The top runners are paid by their sponsers to promote gear and entertain running fans.

How much do you think most professional runners get paid? With the exception of guys like Rupp and Ritz, I bet I earned more in my first year out of college than most pro runners. Job security? You get injured, you get dropped. This can be immensely stressful. If you are jealous of someone like Will Leer's career then you are an idiot. No way I would trade places with him.