Official 2014 Boston Marathon Race Discussion Thread

Shalane is holding strong through the hills. This is where Hall got gapped in 2011. This women's race is going to be really intersting.

meb now alone out front

Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:

I think Shalane's turnover is starting to get sluggish.

looks exactly the same as always...

Trollie McSockpuppet wrote:

dsaglksalkjga wrote:

shalane looks tired.... :(

Yet gamely holding on for an extra few minutes of TV time for her sponsor.

If only she had the heart of a lion like Jordan Hasay.

I BELIEVE IN HARVEY MEB!!!

Many more runners giving themselves zero chance to win, and do not come close. But let's criticize someone who goes for it.

Pointing Out the Obvious wrote:

swifter wrote:

All you guys with criticism for shalane are unbelievable. She's a brave woman doing exactly what she needs to do. USA should be proud to have runners not afraid to lead. Crossing fingers for her!

Personally I'd rather see her win than see her leading the first 20 miles.

But maybe that's just me.

Yes, but what are her chances of winning if she's not leading the first 20 miles and pushing the pace? Not saying what she's doing is a guarantee of a win, but if it comes down to 6-10 women together at Cleveland Circle or even later off a more conservative pace, I see Shalane's chances at even lower.

rojo wrote:

The rocket... wrote:

Seriously Rojo you are comparing olympic silver medalist and NY marathon winner to a local hobby jogger?

I'm not. the very well connected guy behind me in the press room is. He makes his living in this sport.

Tell your well-connected buddy to STFU, and then get a new job.

Er... wrote:

She looks pretty much exactly how she did at mile one. Her stride and arm carriage aren't quite as smooth as some, but she hasn't changed noticeably since the beginning of the race. She could do it!!!

fffdddaaa wrote:

Shalane starts fading soon, she doesn't look good and everyone is packed behind her

I don't know. She's done all the work and still she has a pack of vultures on her tail. I don't like this at all.

MEB!!

The sleeves are off!!

swifter wrote:

Pointing Out the Obvious wrote:

Personally I'd rather see her win than see her leading the first 20 miles.

But maybe that's just me.

I'm betting she's prepared tactically with her coach for this kind of run than you have. I'm betting she thinks this is her best chance to win. Sure, we'll never know until the end. She isn't alone on the road.

You're right, we'll never know. There will never be a way to determine how she would have done with a different strategy.

But I'm betting that coaches make mistakes all the time. I'm also betting that she will blow up. And that as a damned good 10000 runner on the track she'd have a great chance in a kick at the end if she had saved a bit of energy over the course of the race.

If she wins, I am wrong. If she blows up I am right. If she is somewhere in between, we'll never know.

But how is her leg speed velocity?Come on, people. Dare to dream! It's not how I would have recommended she run the race but she looks good and she could do it!!!

Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:

I think Shalane's turnover is starting to get sluggish.

Men’s Splits

Splits60 degrees W/SW wind at 1.5 mph

Mile 1 - 4:49 - 19 men in lead pack.

Mile 2 - 4:54 (943)

Mile 3 - 4:55 (1438) 8miles. (1509 5k)

Mile 4 - 4:51 - (1929

Mile 5 - 5:00 - (2429)

Mile 6 - 4:55 (29:24) (3028 10k)

Mile 7 - 4:52 (34:16)

Mile 8 - 4:54 (39:10)

Mile 9 - 5:00 (44:10 - 45:46 for 15k)

Mile 10 - 4:58 (49:08) (Meb and Boit - 15 seconds ahead of pack)

Mile 11 - 4:56 (54:04)

Mile 12 - 4:51 (58:55)

Mile 13 - 4:54 (1:03:49 - 64:20 half)

Mile 14 - 4:48 (68:37)

Hall has fallen off chase pack. 26 seconds back:

Pos. Name BIB Division Age State Proj. finish Proj. daytime Diff Time

1 Keflezighi, Meb (USA) 19 Male 18-39 38 CA 02:08:42 12:08:43PM +00:00 01:04:21

2 Boit, Josphat (USA) 28 Male 18-39 30 CA 02:08:42 12:08:43PM +00:00 01:04:21

3 Geneti, Markos (ETH) 5 Male 18-39 29 02:09:43 12:09:44PM +00:30 01:04:51

4 Desisa, Lelisa (ETH) 1 Male 18-39 24 02:09:43 12:09:44PM +00:31 01:04:52

5 Kimurer, Joel (KEN) 16 Male 18-39 26 02:09:43 12:09:44PM +00:31 01:04:52

6 Kimetto, Dennis (KEN) 3 Male 18-39 30 02:09:44 12:09:45PM +00:31 01:04:52

7 Chebet, Wilson (KEN) 7 Male 18-39 28 02:09:44 12:09:45PM +00:31 01:04:52

8 April, Lusapho (RSA) 17 Male 18-39 31 02:09:45 12:09:46PM +00:32 01:04:53

9 Kogo, Micah (KEN) 12 Male 18-39 27 02:09:45 12:09:46PM +00:32 01:04:53

10 Annani, Adil (MAR) 14 Male 18-39 33 02:09:46 12:09:47PM +00:32 01:04:53

11 Chepkwony, Frankline (KEN) 11 Male 18-39 29 02:09:48 12:09:49PM +00:33 01:04:54

12 Lonyangata, Paul (KEN) 15 Male 18-39 31 02:09:48 12:09:49PM +00:33 01:04:54

13 Shafar, Vitaliy (UKR) 23 Male 18-39 32 02:09:50 12:09:52PM +00:34 01:04:55

14 Regassa, Tilahun (ETH) 8 Male 18-39 24 02:09:55 12:09:56PM +00:37 01:04:58

15 Arciniaga, Nicholas (USA) 22 Male 18-39 30 AZ 02:10:07 12:10:08PM +00:43 01:05:04

16 Eggleston, Jeffrey (USA) 24 Male 18-39 29 CO 02:10:10 12:10:11PM +00:44 01:05:05

17 Hall, Ryan (USA) 6 Male 18-39 31 CA 02:10:28 12:10:29PM +00:53 01:05:14

18 Gebremariam, Gebre (ETH) 4 Male 18-39 29 02:10:32 12:10:33PM +00:55 01:05:16

19 Bowen, Matthew (KEN) 25 Male 18-39 31 02:10:32 12:10:33PM +00:55 01:05:16

20 Abdirahman, Abdi (USA) 18 Male 18-39 35 AZ 02:10:33 12:10:34PM +00:56 01:05:17

21 Leon, Craig (USA) 29 Male 18-39 29 OR 02:10:42 12:10:44PM +01:00 01:05:21

22 Macpherson, Scott (USA) 34 Male 18-39 27 MO 02:11:14 12:11:15PM +01:16 01:05:37

23 Sakai, Koichi (JPN) 26 Male 18-39 28 02:11:24 12:11:25PM +01:21 01:05:42

24 Gotcher, Brett (USA) 20 Male 18-39 29 CA 02:11:29 12:11:30PM +01:23 01:05:44

25 Hartmann, Jason (USA) 21 Male 18-39 33 CO 02:11:45 12:11:46PM +01:32 01:05:53

26 Jami, Segundo (ECU) 45 Male 18-39 27 CO 02:12:31 12:12:33PM +01:55 01:06:16

27 Morgan, Mike (USA) 31 Male 18-39 34 MI 02:13:05 12:13:06PM +02:12 01:06:33

28 Ishiguro, Daisuke (JPN) 40 Male 18-39 21 02:14:44 12:14:45PM +03:01 01:07:22

29 Sanca, Ruben (CPV) 50 Male 18-39 27 MA 02:16:50 12:16:51PM +04:04 01:08:25

30 Ashe, Eric (USA) 133 Male 18-39 25 MA 02:17:13 12:17:19PM +04:15 01:08:36

the chase group is not 10s back. You can't even see them on sight. They must be +30s back

Larry Rawson blows.

Bullet the Blue Sky wrote:

I think Shalane's turnover is starting to get sluggish.

I thought so too, but I think her hips just swing a bit more when she runs uphill. If you look at her upper body, she is just cruising along. Not saying she is going to win, but she has a lot left and is not tiring out yet.

Chase pack is about to get "lapped"... is it possible to be lapped and come back for the win?

Meb took off the arm warmers! Getting serious now!

looks like Meb has finally discovered the joys of EPO