Official 2014 Boston Marathon Race Discussion Thread

rojo wrote:

2:17:49 for Hall.

Apparently, Hall booked his trip to Ethiopia at the spur of the moment and Reavis and Switzer are ripping him.

Reavis is saying distance running is allabout a routine and not changing it.

Reads like you don't agree. I believe they are right and justified in criticism.

snow on a roof wrote:

rojo wrote:

2:17:49 for Hall.

Apparently, Hall booked his trip to Ethiopia at the spur of the moment and Reavis and Switzer are ripping him.

Reavis is saying distance running is allabout a routine and not changing it.

Reads like you don't agree. I believe they are right and justified in criticism.

It doesn't read either way...

I'm not saying I agree or disagree, but it's a pretty low blow to criticize the guy for his preparation AFTER he runs a bad race. I hate it when people do that. If you think it was a bad choice call it before you know the result.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm wrote:

RuKiddingMe!! wrote:

The acting was pretty by the 2nd and 3rd place finishers!

I loved watching Chibet jog it in - it was like a grade 7 play where a guy has to pretend he is exhausted.

That said, Meb is awesome.

That said, Hall is so out of touch with reality it is sad. What a waste.

This ^

Today, our sport died.

Meb was indeed awesome. But if you didn't see something suspicious in the first few miles of that race then you do not understand this (used to be a) sport.

Meb's victory, especially this year, seems like destiny. When Chebet started coming into view I thought he was done for, but he hang on for a deserved win. Congrats from a Kenyan. That was so exciting. I hope yanks show him the same love Brits showed for Mo' Farah. But I fear Shalane Flanagan winning would've been a bigger story in American media.

Mani wrote:

Anyone know what happened to the two favorites?

Didn't you hear? The race was fixed! They payed those guys to blow it, then told Meb, "Alright Meb, all you have to do is run a lifetime best on a difficult course at age 38, and we'll cover the rest".

Dosser wrote:

Mani wrote:

Anyone know what happened to the two favorites?

Didn't you hear? The race was fixed! They payed those guys to blow it, then told Meb, "Alright Meb, all you have to do is run a lifetime best on a difficult course at age 38, and we'll cover the rest".

Not too bright, are you? Just have to pay them to let the top American go if he is running below 2:10 or so. No guarantee that an American will run that low but the odds are pretty good with the Americans lined up today.

So, go ahead and answer THE question: When is the last time that an elite African field did NOT stay with the lead...in the first ten miles...of a major marathon...at a pedestrian pace.

Oh, and this happens to be the anniversary of the Boston bombings. What a coincidence.

LetsRun wrote:

Reporter: (What are your) expectations?

Abdi: Podium.

Reporter: Really?

Abdi: Why not.

Reporter: There are seven guys going in who have run sub-2:05.

Abdi: 2:05 – Are they going to run that on Monday?

Reporter: Do you think you can slug it out with them?

Abdi: Why not:? It’s 26 miles. I’ll give it my best shot. I’m gonna swing.

16th in 2:16, looks like you missed on your swing ya cocky prick.

seriously though, what happened to Desisa and Kimetto? Two of the best in the world, both indicated that they were in good shape. Desisa won the RAK half (Feb 14th) in 59 minutes. yet, they're somehow dropped after a downhill 64 minute half marathon in perfect weather?

Stop asking uncomfortable questions!Seriously though, I am far, far from a tinfoil hatter. But the way he broke away was bizarrely easy.

Mani wrote:

seriously though, what happened to Desisa and Kimetto? Two of the best in the world, both indicated that they were in good shape. Desisa won the RAK half (Feb 14th) in 59 minutes. yet, they're somehow dropped after a downhill 64 minute half marathon in perfect weather?

How much of Ryan hall's winnings will be donatedto Ethiopia? What will meb do with his?

Could be... wrote:

Stop asking uncomfortable questions!

Seriously though, I am far, far from a tinfoil hatter. But the way he broke away was bizarrely easy.

Mani wrote:

seriously though, what happened to Desisa and Kimetto? Two of the best in the world, both indicated that they were in good shape. Desisa won the RAK half (Feb 14th) in 59 minutes. yet, they're somehow dropped after a downhill 64 minute half marathon in perfect weather?

Exactly. An absolute joke. More like it, an absolute crime against the sport.

All so that millions of ignorant Americans would get fed this feel-good story generating tons of media consumption, big time advertising dollars...

Honestly, it is a crime. And someone should (but will not) be held accountable.

Who was the old guy with the BAA jacket who kept getting in the pictures with the winners of each race? He did everything he could to be on camera.

photo hog.. wrote:

Who was the old guy with the BAA jacket who kept getting in the pictures with the winners of each race? He did everything he could to be on camera.

Yeah, seriously. He was annoying and borderline rude. He couldn't keep his hands off the winners. It was as though he appointed himself their bodyguard.

I've been banned.

Ryan hall ran 13 minutes slower than he did in Boston 2011

Who wouldn't root for a hardworking underdog! Great to see him win despite his dismal rating! Shows 38 is just a number and we should not be surprised to see him win after 40! His win is great motivation for the great Bernard Kip Lagat, who is less than one year older, to keep breaking records.

runninin wrote:

WOW Just WOW! MEB!!!

Recognizer of Brilliance? wrote:

Dosser wrote:

Didn't you hear? The race was fixed! They payed those guys to blow it, then told Meb, "Alright Meb, all you have to do is run a lifetime best on a difficult course at age 38, and we'll cover the rest".

Not too bright, are you? Just have to pay them to let the top American go if he is running below 2:10 or so. No guarantee that an American will run that low but the odds are pretty good with the Americans lined up today.

So, go ahead and answer THE question: When is the last time that an elite African field did NOT stay with the lead...in the first ten miles...of a major marathon...at a pedestrian pace.

Oh, and this happens to be the anniversary of the Boston bombings. What a coincidence.

No, I'm not too bright. I'm only a REGISTERED MEMBER OF MENSA!!! Just kidding. But seriously, look at the winners of the last 10 Bostons:

2005 Negussie, HailuHailu Negussie Ethiopia 2:11:44

2006 Cheruiyot, Robert KipkoechRobert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Kenya 2:07:14 2nd victory, course record

2007 Cheruiyot, Robert KipkoechRobert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Kenya 2:14:13 3rd victory

2008 Cheruiyot, Robert KipkoechRobert Kipkoech Cheruiyot Kenya 2:07:45 4th victory

2009 Merga, DeribaDeriba Merga Ethiopia 2:08:42

2010 Cheruiyot, Robert KipronoRobert Kiprono Cheruiyot Kenya 2:05:52 course record

2011 Mutai, GeoffreyGeoffrey Mutai Kenya 2:03:02 course record, fastest marathon ever

2012 Korir, WesleyWesley Korir Kenya 2:12:40

2013 Desisa Benti, LelisaLelisa Desisa Benti Ethiopia 2:10:22

2014 Meb, KeflezighiMeb Keflezighi United States (CA) 2:08:37

Looks like Meb ran a historically normal winning time. And anyway, what about the women's race? Why didn't they pay them to let Shalane win? As far as brewing up feelings of rah-rah patriotism, she would have been a better choice than Meb for obvious xenophobic reasons.

Mani wrote:

seriously though, what happened to Desisa and Kimetto? Two of the best in the world, both indicated that they were in good shape. Desisa won the RAK half (Feb 14th) in 59 minutes. yet, they're somehow dropped after a downhill 64 minute half marathon in perfect weather?

Kimetto's tune-up was a half under great conditions in 64:35. He clearly isn't in peak form. Regarding Desisa, I'm guessing they all decided to let Meb and Josphat go, figuring they'd have no problem reeling them in. Also, Desisa is massively overrated. He ran 2:04:45 in Dubai, but almost no-one with a fast time from Dubai has been able to replicate on other courses. It's probably not short, but the nature of the course (incredibly straight, and so flat that it makes Berlin look mountainous) leads to times that are unmatched anywhere. Other than that, he won Boston against a weak field in a slow time, beating Jason Hartmann (great runner, but wouldn't be 4th in any of London, Berlin, NYC, or Chicago) by less than 2 minutes.

Chebet made a massive tactical error in pushing to catch up too quickly. If he had bided his time a little better, he wouldn't have been destroyed by the time he caught up. Meb wasn't slowing down, but Chebet closed the gap from 1:20 back extremely fast. You can feel great at mile 20, push too hard from 20-23, and then lose the ability to make a big pass in the last 5k, which is exactly what happened.

Meb definitely got lucky that the field underestimated him as a 2:09 guy, and he also got lucky that the top couple guys either weren't in top form or made additional tactical errors trying to catch him. I doubt he'll win another major at this point (and he definitely won't win one of the other 4 at this point), but if he comes back to Boston next year, you never know.

To all the tin-foil conspiracy theorists: Why not just pay off the big guns not to line up at all? A lot easier to do that than concoct some elaborate scheme that involves play-acting. If the fix was in, it will come out eventually. I wouldn't hold your breathe.