No US guys currently within a mile of the best Marathoners. Sad.

Ummmm...ever heard of Ryan Hall?

The truth is out there wrote:

Appears we have yet to figure out the marathon puzzle.

What are you waiting for?

seems like we are getting less competitive by the day on the men's side--yes we had Hall pop a few good ones and Meb has certainly had a few very notable successes in non time trial marathons...

marathoning really has changed-----talent just bypassing the track and going straight to 26.2......i guess we will see what galen can do at some point but otherwise it looks pretty barren going forward

Why does Rupp 'need' to make the move to marathon? Why are we such a marathon-centric society? He ran a 3:50 mile last winter and people want him to 'move' to the marathon?

whyis that? wrote:

-talent just bypassing the track and going straight to 26.2..

Um, ever heard of Eliud Kipchoge, Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Mo Farah, Moses Mosop . . .

Do you expect Americans to be at the forefront of all sports?

on the women's side the gap was over double the mens in Chicago today. No US women within 12 minutes of the winner!

Left Said Fred wrote:

Do you expect Americans to be at the forefront of all sports?

YES!! Americans should dominate everything we do, or what is the point? 2nd place is for losers. The NCAA development sytem is the best in the world, by far, so why isn't it translating to the Marathon?

I know that we are the only country that actually tests properly, as everyone else gets a bye since USADA is so strict (see Lance Armstrong), but still!! If we are not going to win ALL the time, then why even bother at all.

The reason is the United States doesn't try to develop marathoners. We excel at sprinting and middle distance because that's what our high school and college system train them for.

The truth is out there wrote:

It also appears, in general, track background is a detriment to 2:03 marathons.

Ummm... ever heard of Moses Mosop?

American arrogance. puke.

Consider This wrote:

whyis that? wrote:

-talent just bypassing the track and going straight to 26.2..

Um, ever heard of Eliud Kipchoge, Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Mo Farah, Moses Mosop . . .

This is what confuses me. Why all of a sudden are there like seemingly dozens of guys who could get close to or smash the times that Geb and Tergat ran? It just seems strange that suddenly a bunch of guys are destroying all of Africa's previous greats. Like no names are running 2:05. I know people keep saying its because they skip the track but it still seems strange...

It all comes down to our maker.

God, in his infinite wisdom, gave us different talent.

The fins can throw the javelin and the Cubans can jump.......

That is as it is.

yes, Americans are so exceptional

America, with its corrupt government run by greedy liars that blatantly spies on its own allies as well as its own people.

America, where over half the population is a fat disgusting whale

America, where the kids are now dumber than most other developed countries in Asia and Europe

America, where the government sends the highest proportion in the world of its own citizens to prison

American, where outdated Christian ideals make it ok to possess as many deadly weapons as you want and kill people in third world countries.... but where abortion and gay marriage are "sin"

yes....the good ol USA

Flo'da boy wrote:

Consider This wrote:

Um, ever heard of Eliud Kipchoge, Haile Gebrselassie, Kenenisa Bekele, Mo Farah, Moses Mosop . . .

This is what confuses me. Why all of a sudden are there like seemingly dozens of guys who could get close to or smash the times that Geb and Tergat ran? It just seems strange that suddenly a bunch of guys are destroying all of Africa's previous greats. Like no names are running 2:05. I know people keep saying its because they skip the track but it still seems strange...

Better training methodology. The 10k WR predicts muchch faster, and by its standard Haile and Makau severly underperformed. 2:03 mid is probably on par with 26:40 or something on the track

There's quite a bit of support for upper echelon American track guys to run the marathon, because they have far lower standards for support in the U.S. than the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners.

Flo'da boy wrote:

This is what confuses me. Why all of a sudden are there like seemingly dozens of guys who could get close to or smash the times that Geb and Tergat ran? It just seems strange that suddenly a bunch of guys are destroying all of Africa's previous greats. Like no names are running 2:05. I know people keep saying its because they skip the track but it still seems strange...

I suppose it is a little startling. But just remember what Said Aouita (I think it was Said Aouita) said, when asked what runner he was afraid of: "The new Kenyans. There are always new Kenyans."

Ryan Hall did have the track background but he wasn't that successful with it, relatively speaking. In fact - even after his 2:06 - he failed to do anything of note on his next visit to the track.

Could this, then, be explained by running economy? Zersenne Tadesse, for example, is a 58 min half guy and a very good 10000m guy. Yet - he's failed at the marathon. He even increased his long runs to compensate. Still didn't fare well @ Chicago. You'd think he is a sure bet.

Could his inefficient running economy be to blame?

I would love to know exactly how these non-track studs (Makau, Kemmette, Mutai, Kipsang) are doing this. Keep in mind Khalid Khannouchi wasn't a track stud either - yet he managed 2:05s.

Having depth in any sport is very instrumental for dominance at any level, and that is what Kenya has. For instance, we are talking about Kimetto now yet only a few weeks ago we were talking about Kipsang. Even in today's race Mutai or Mosop at their best can probably interchange with Kimetto and place the same time. The point is that your average Kenyan marathoner cannot rest comfortably because they have the record or a fast time because someone will grab it under your feet if you snooze. What this means is that training is all out and many burn. However, those who don't burn in any season go on to dominate at international level. The downside of this ruthless competition in training means a short running career because our bodies can only take so much.