Coach Terrence Mahon joins BAA to coach a high performance distance running initiative ?

People are confusing 'training tough' and 'training stupid.'

The cold in Boston/NE can make you tough; makes you double-down on your commitment to get your second run or workout in.

'Training stupid' involves:

1. Running through slushy/ankle-deep 'ice ponds' that can build up, among other place, along the carriage road on Commonwealth just into Newton.

2. The poorly shoveled/plowed sidewalks throughout Al/Brighton/Boston.

3. The well shoveled/plowed sidewalks that are covered in black-ice.

4. Not getting on an outdoor track for threes weeks due to snow and fighting for your life/lane on an over-crowded indoor track Tue/Wed nights.

I guess these can get you 'tough' but there's also a significant chance that they can get you injured. The argument I'd make regarding some of these Boston legends is: how much better could they have been had they gone south in the winters?

Shovey wrote:

ignorant? there are no pacemakers in the olympics and NYC and they run A LOT faster today than 30 years ago. wake up and get a clue.

They're faster, but look what happens at the Olympics: 2:08 wins last year, and the fastest anyone's ever gone was 2:06, which was shocking at the time. Throw Shorter in his prime into a modern London marathon, and I'm sure you'd get a 2:06-2:07 out of him.

Can you train in Boston and be elite? Yes.

Are there many, many other places that would be a MUCH better choice? Absolutely.

Let Us Run wrote:

Shovey wrote:

ignorant? there are no pacemakers in the olympics and NYC and they run A LOT faster today than 30 years ago. wake up and get a clue.

They're faster, but look what happens at the Olympics: 2:08 wins last year, and the fastest anyone's ever gone was 2:06, which was shocking at the time. Throw Shorter in his prime into a modern London marathon, and I'm sure you'd get a 2:06-2:07 out of him.

based on what? his track times certainly don't indicate he had a 2:06 in him. i mean, sure, you can throw it out there that you think he was a 2:06 guy but that's downright ridiculous. his 10k pr is 27:45 and he never broke 2:10 in the marathon. EVER. and it's not like he won every marathon and cruised in at 2:12 with a lot left in the tank.

Who are the elite runners in Boston? 14 minutes for the 5k and 2:20 for the marathon don't qualify.

So, just how did Morgan Ucceny become anemic. women distance runners are supposed to be tested twice a year.

mdsj1970 wrote:

Who are the elite runners in Boston? 14 minutes for the 5k and 2:20 for the marathon don't qualify.

what's your point?

tim ritchie + eric jenkins to start

eric nedeau back in the day

winter sux.. wrote:

Swiss Charizard wrote:

Worse than Michigan? The Hansons have made it work.

At least they have good areas to train on, dirt roads and trails. What are you gonna do in Boston, run up and down the charles?

Dim. Tremendously dim.

b runs wrote:

tim ritchie + eric jenkins to start

eric nedeau back in the day

ritchie's prs are 28:37, 1:05 and 2:21. that is NOT an elite profile. more like the prs of someone who works full-time but who runs for fun.

jenkins has run 13:18, which is legit, but if he drops that a lot this year, it will be further evidence that boston is a bad place to train.

nedeau is 42. the fact that you had to list someone who has been retired for years speaks for itself.

Ritchie has run 1:02 and sub 4.

You could have expressed each of your points just as well sans the pissy tone. Give it a try next time.

Rodgers, Salazar, etc. probably ran so "slowly" 30 years ago for the same reasos that the Kenyans and Ethiopians of thirty years ago ran even more slowly. Or do you think that there was a lot of ice and snow during the winters in Kenya and Ethiopia thirty years ago?

boston dude wrote:

I'm sure Mahon will be able to take his elite athletes somewhere warm during those 6 weeks of terrible weather Massachusetts usually has.

As for the actual news, very exciting. Despite the Squires-era being long over, the runners here are incredibly passionate and Mahon will definitely settle well into the community.

Agree definately on the first part. Salazar travels a lot with his guys, but he and his athletes have big funds/big contracts.

That will be more difficult for Mahon's BAA-team unless Adidas will jump in big time (which I doubt). So far in recent years Nike is the only company that takes control of a program, invests in athletes, appoints a coach (actually some coaches), guides athletes to those coaches and facilities and don't let anyone hop in just as that.

Being part of the community wouldn't be a big problem if the BAA-pro's just be accessible for the 'average-competitive' runner. Also being recognisable as a team as is the OTC and NOP as a team with an Adidas/BAA unicorn kit would be helpfull.

Boston is a running-mad city, but I hope he will be able and have patience to really develop a program. Mahon left the UK distanceprogram within a year and after he took over the Mammoth TC, that program imo didn't brought fans what they could have expected.

How about we just applaud the BAA for this effort instead of nit picking? Options abound for how the program will run. Why not wait and see how they progress before casting stones?

Nice job BAA and good luck!!

Now I've seen everything.

People are ripping the BAA for being in Boston?

Yeesh.

LRC Anonymous Posters: US post-grad runners need more money and coaching support!

BAA: Here's money and coaching support.

LRC Anonymous Posters: What, no hacienda in Flagstaff? No speed-training center in San Diego? Thanks for nothing.

you do realize that your post makes no sense as you appear completely ignorant of basic history? are you referring to the kenyans from the country of kenya that was formed in 1963 and the ethiopians from the country of ethiopia that didn't field an olympic team until 1956? you seem to think that kenya and ethiopia had elite training facilities all through the 20th century and that their runners just weren't good. go back to the history books and do us all a favor and learn a little bit about what was going on in that part of africa in the 20th century. it's not pretty and funding running was about the last thing people were worrying about when getting enough to eat and avoiding bullets were more pressing.

the fact of the matter is that the great american heroes of the 70s and 80s were largely a product of a lack of competition. technology (excluding PEDs) has nothing to do with road marathon times as the surfaces aren't any faster and better shoes have very minimal effect on times. these guys very rarely broke 2:10 and would be getting destroyed by today's best marathoners who have sub 27 10K credentials. despite what appears to be a massive case of people sticking their heads in the sand on here, there is a reason why NOBODY elite decides to train out of boston in the winter.