Anyone else think this standard attempt by Hasay and Erdmann is a little pathetic?

As long as it's legal, no problem.

They are the haves in the have/have not scenario.

A little pathetic? You mean extremely pathetic. Such is the joke that is American distance running.

The standard system is ridiculous--for countries with enough talent, like the U.S., it should be 3 automatic bids, given to the top 3 at the trials. Hasay and Erdman getting to Moscow this way isn't hurting anyone, and taking the pressure of getting a time away from them lets them more easily prepare to represent the U.S. a little better at worlds.

Not pathetic at all. It sounds like a cool idea and reminds me how much difference running with a 'team' can make on performance in an individual sport like track.

That being said, I can see how IAAF might change the rules after a stunt like this.

Have they hired a helicopter to hover over the back of the runners and push them around the track?

Just out of curiosity, how do their PRs compare to the B standard?

yogibear wrote:

Just out of curiosity, how do their PRs compare to the B standard?

There's this thing called the Internet:

Didn't someone find a blurb in the rules about mixed races only being allowed to accommodate keeping a meet on schedule or for combining two small fields but not in order to attain a qualifying time? Was that hokum?

` wrote:

The standard system is ridiculous--for countries with enough talent, like the U.S., it should be 3 automatic bids, given to the top 3 at the trials.

I agree with this.

Nothing wrong with them doing what they have to do to get to Moscow.

yogibear wrote:

Have they hired a helicopter to hover over the back of the runners and push them around the track?

Just out of curiosity, how do their PRs compare to the B standard?

Don't give Alberto any ideas.

In the comments to the rule that allows for mixed races, it said that it was only meant for when a meet was too small or the schedule necessitated combining genders. This obviously violates the spirit of the rule and I wish the IAAF would tell them they have to do it in an actual race. IAAF will probably wait until the offseason and change the rule, otherwise you will see lots of top women getting pacers for 5ks and 10ks on the track.

Not Cool Bro wrote:

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Sometimes you have to suck it up and just race.... Would any non-Salazar athletes get these kind of accommodations to hit a standard?

Not pathetic. Just a rational response to being 2nd & 3rd at Nationals and not having the A, at a distance with few quality races on the schedule.

They DID suck it up and race, beating several Olympians to get 2nd and 3rd in an excellent field. It was 90 degrees at that race, so they did not get the A (no one did in an y distance race). There are no high-level women's 10,000s in the gap from nationals to worlds, so they are stuck with running with some guys. You don't need to be in Salazar's group to find a 31:00 10000 guy willing to help. Any top woman in America could find a bunch of guys to do that.

sc42 wrote:

Not pathetic. Just a rational response to being 2nd & 3rd at Nationals and not having the A, at a distance with few quality races on the schedule.

They DID suck it up and race, beating several Olympians to get 2nd and 3rd in an excellent field. It was 90 degrees at that race, so they did not get the A (no one did in an y distance race). There are no high-level women's 10,000s in the gap from nationals to worlds, so they are stuck with running with some guys. You don't need to be in Salazar's group to find a 31:00 10000 guy willing to help. Any top woman in America could find a bunch of guys to do that.

This ^^.

What are you guys crying about? It's the 10,000. Where else are they going to find a race to get a qualifying mark?? It was 90 friggin' degrees when they ran!

On first glance I would think it a little pathetic. But then I think of two things.

1. Its a 10000M race. That distance is simply not run much at an elite level. In that context I have no problem with them creating a fast race of their own.

2. This sort of thing is actually kind of traditional. Bowerman did this back in the day. That is why the Oregon twilight meet exists.

Pathetic maybe, but you have to appreciate any athlete or coach willing to do whatever it takes. (with in the rules of course) Btw, running a 32 minute 10K is going to be very touch. Jordan has 4 10Ks in her legs in a 2 month period and having to run a 5th one and PR is going to take a major effort. I wish Jordan good luck, but I don't see it happening.

I actually really like how strange this set up is. It is one of those scenarios that you think up but usually never happens. If Salazar is going to go through setting up a race for them he better make sure that all goes right and that is what he is doing.

Actually, if YOU want to race them (if female) or you want to race in the meet, you can go to directathletics and register for it.

Hasay is in this position because of the poor job of coaching she received at Oregon. 5 years ago, she was one of only 2 non-professionals (Sarah Bowman was the other) to reach the OT finals in the 1500. Five years later, Hasay's 800 time might actually be slower than it was in high school, leaving her with no choice but "move up" to the 10000 meters that has been removed from Diamond League becuase nobody wants to watch it and they don't want to put it on TV. It's an event that hardly anybody gives a damn about, and how you make a living doing this escapes me.

I can see why track purists wouldn't love it, but bottom line it's legal (for now, not that I am positive IAAF will ban it in the future). It would be fun to watch and fun to be one of the guy runners.

Any predictions on their times? Will they try to blow away the standard or be just under or do any of you think they will fail?

Find it worthwhile for a coach to do this.

This 10,000 along with nationals and worlds will be one of the few that any American fans will care about much at all.