Becky Wade Crushes it for the win at Cal Int'l Marathon

talent rich land wrote:

Becky is trained by Jim Bevan, the women's coach at Rice, and has input from Joe Vigil.

Say what you want about Houston, but the fact is that their are several very fast professional women who train their now.

Other than Becky you have..

Mary Davies, a New Zealender, has run 2:28 for the marathon and trains in Houston.

Jackie Areson who ran 15:12 for 5k and was a finalist at worlds last year.

Callie Wells who is another Rice grad who ran 4:14 for 1,500m.

I don't know if there are others. But between these 4 ladies, I think they've shown you can run world class times training in Houston.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO DO WORLD CLASS TRAINING IN HOUSTON?

Frank Shorter used to train in gainsville Florida.....

But if you think about it, it's probably perfect during the winter months. If you are a track athlete, by the time it gets bad, you are headed off to Europe.

Then you come back in september once it is starting to get good again.

If you're a marathoner like Becky, the last 2-3months of your build up for a fall/winter marathon is great.

Brad it's nicer here than Boulder is right now.

Name Games wrote:

Brad it's nicer here than Boulder is right now.

Who's Brad?

This was an excellent debut BUT this course is not legit according to IAAF.

I understand that it is a popular marathon which means that everyone that has run it will come to its defense and tell me that it has less net drop than Boston blah blah blah. It is not recognized by IAAF for a reason.

No sense telling me that it should be recognized and that it is slower than ________________. Tell it to the IAAF.

codger wrote:

The Watson Fellowship trustees seem EXTREMELY gullible. Kudos to her for conning them into a year-long running vacation. "Studying how running enhances fulfillment throughout the world".....really??????

At least the Rice girl this year had a "real" topic of study.

Winning the Watson is a big deal. Maybe if you had studied harder you'd have heard about it.

Historically Houston has had fast distance runners. It has been said, if you can train in Houston, you can train anywhere.

trackcoach248 wrote:

Historically Houston has had fast distance runners. It has been said, if you can train in Houston, you can train anywhere.

Houston has had a number of 2:10 marathoners training in the heat. Off the top of my head: Ron Tabb (2:09, I think), Jeff Wells (2:10), Mike Novelli (2:10), Marty Froelick (2:10), Jon Warren (2:14), Sean Wade (2:10).

P Diddys Puddy wrote:

This was an excellent debut BUT this course is not legit according to IAAF.

I understand that it is a popular marathon which means that everyone that has run it will come to its defense and tell me that it has less net drop than Boston blah blah blah. It is not recognized by IAAF for a reason.

No sense telling me that it should be recognized and that it is slower than ________________. Tell it to the IAAF.

The course is not WR eligible. That is all. That does not mean it is illegitimate. If IAAF WR eligibility meant legitimacy, then we would have to close up the Boston Marathon, Gary Bjorklund half, Great Northern half, etc.

The course is fast, but only about 1-2 min under great conditions for the average runner. The elevation drop is very gradual (most of it in the first 13, very little the last 10k) and there are a lot of rolling hills along the way.

This year, there was a pretty good headwind the last 10k which probably evened out the elevation drop advantage. So, at best the course was maybe a 30 sec fast for a 2:30 marathoner.

Also, if you look at the other pros that have run it over the years (Eggleston, etc.), you will see that their times at CIM are pretty even with times on "regulation" courses.

Becky's run was solid and not at all diminished by any advantage from the elevation drop. And the most important thing is that she ran with an E. African most of the way and dropped her for the win. That is good stuff even on the easiest downhill course with a massive tailwind.

trainfast wrote:

as I don't think there have been too many US Marathoners break 4:00 in the mile and run 2:15 or faster in the marathon like Jon Warren...I can think of Greg Meyer...how about Paul Cummings too, I believe? Ken Martin???? Couldn't be too too many...

Add Steve Bolt to your list. When this was written there were 10 sub-4 with a sub-2:15 guys

STEVE BOLT!

Any relation to Ben Wade?

Brucie wrote:

trainfast wrote:

as I don't think there have been too many US Marathoners break 4:00 in the mile and run 2:15 or faster in the marathon like Jon Warren...I can think of Greg Meyer...how about Paul Cummings too, I believe? Ken Martin???? Couldn't be too too many...

Add Steve Bolt to your list. When this was written there were 10 sub-4 with a sub-2:15 guys

http://www.rolltide.com/sports/m-track/spec-rel/050509aaa.html

Some 2:11 and quicker guys with a sub-4

Culpepper

Dan Browne

Greg Meyer

Ken Martin

kenny moore

Paul Cummings

Rudy Chapa

Virgin never went sub-4?

Add Bobby curtis at 3:57/ 2:13

Just a little history about the Houston Harriers, who's singlet Becky was wearing when she ran this race.

"Over thirty years ago a group of runners - Jim McLatchie, Bob Cozens, Al Lawrence, Leonard Hilton, Simon McNamee and Danny Green decided to start a running club. The name Houston Harriers was decided upon because Houston is where everyone lived and Harriers, which are a breed of small hounds used in hunting hares, seemed like a good fit with running. The club's emphasis is on training, competition and development of runners. The Harriers have endured over the years and established a cadre of great runners. Harriers have won forty-seven (47) USA National Titles, two British Titles and three World Masters titles. Three Harriers have competed in the Olympic Games & IAAF World Track and Field Championships and two of the founding members competed in the 1956, 1960 and 1972 Olympic Games."

One of the founding members of the club is a bronze medalist in the olympics and a former world record holder.

Great to see new young American talent emerge. It would be interesting to see how fast she gets in the marathon.

universe wrote:

As far as I know, she's still coached by the Rice women's coach, Jim Bevan. Probably with plenty of input from Warren (men's coach).

Just curious... if Bevan is still coaching her, why would she need "plenty of input from Warren."

Yeah, exactly. Jim Bevan is a protégé of Joe Vigil and an Adam's State alumni. He's been at Rice (entering 27th year) longer than Warren.

Brucie wrote:

Some 2:11 and quicker guys with a sub-4

Culpepper

Dan Browne

Greg Meyer

Ken Martin

kenny moore

Paul Cummings

Rudy Chapa

Virgin never went sub-4?

Add Bobby curtis at 3:57/ 2:13

Cross off Kenny Moore. 4:04. Mark Coogan 3:58 and 2:13.

Becky Wade will have a shoe deal within 6 weeks.