Shalane - Hold your head up high! You did great girl. You go girl!

good job, good quality TV time

Dennis Reynolds II wrote:

You were so courageous to take the lead. Perhaps your tummy was not feeling to good. On another day you would have won. You go girl!

She ran 2:22, a 3+minute PR and gave it all she had. Nothing to be ashamed of with that performance. She made it her race.

Nobody in the world could have beaten Jeptoo today.

Shalane's time prior to today would have won in all but two years. It's pretty incredible how well the field ran today. I wonder how the race would have played out if Shalane had not pushed the pace. I think that we would have seen a similar placing with slower times overall.

Props to Shalane. Huge effort. Amazing run overshadowed by the east Africans.

Nice PR, good run/job, but terrible tactics if she indeed wanted the win. Against a field of that quality would have been better to sit at the back of her pack. Might not save too much physical energy, but would save a lot of emotional energy. It is not always about grinding ing it out - there is more to it than that. Nice job though.

Hey girl, you did great girl, even though you lost badly, girl you just did your best. Girl, we can't ask for anything more from you. Just so you know girl, wer're all proud. Great race girl!

I'm amazed she finished so well considering she stopped for over a minute to puke. I thought she was an idiot for pushing the pace and blowing up, but she really didn't slow down at all. Good for her.

What about Meb though? Didn't he use the same tactics as Shalane? hmmm...

OXYRUNR wrote:

Nice PR, good run/job, but terrible tactics if she indeed wanted the win. Against a field of that quality would have been better to sit at the back of her pack. Might not save too much physical energy, but would save a lot of emotional energy. It is not always about grinding ing it out - there is more to it than that. Nice job though.

I LOVE YOU FOREVER!!!! SO FLIPPIN COURAGEOUS!!! PURE GUTS! THIS AMERICAN SOLDIER IS GOING TO SHOW ALL YOUR HIGHLIGHTS TO ALL MY SOLDIERS FOR INSPIRATION! YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL OUT THERE TODAY! THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME LIVE IN THIS MOMENT WITH MY 4 GIRLS! GOD BLESS YOU SHALANE! AMEN AND AMEN

Difference was Shalane was forcing a course record pace. Meb was running well within himself on 2:07 high to 2:08 pace the entire way. He also did not lead the whole thing, Hall and plenty of other kenyans took turns at the front. Shalane refused to relinquish the lead until she couldn't hold on anymore and then she got dropped badly on the hills. I think she ran a great race, but her tactic of forcing a fast pace did not work out and in my opinion probably ended up costing her a few places. She can take solace in her impressive time that she put up.

beaming with pride! go shalane!

I respect her effort, but I think she could have done better following the classic advice "run the first half of the race with your head, and the second half with your heart". She did go out extremely hard against a very good field. You just can't win Boston by leading start to finish. Needless to say she made Boston (and America) proud, and she also gave it her best effort. I have a feeling she'll be back again.

I was watching at mile 19, and hearing 100+ people chanting "USA" as she ran by, especially after last year and with all of the hype about her as the hometown favorite, was truly amazing.

Shalane Appreciation wrote:

Shalane's time prior to today would have won in all but two years. It's pretty incredible how well the field ran today. I wonder how the race would have played out if Shalane had not pushed the pace. I think that we would have seen a similar placing with slower times overall.

She did exactly what Hall did in 2011.

Meb Doe wrote:

What about Meb though? Didn't he use the same tactics as Shalane? hmmm...

OXYRUNR wrote:

Nice PR, good run/job, but terrible tactics if she indeed wanted the win. Against a field of that quality would have been better to sit at the back of her pack. Might not save too much physical energy, but would save a lot of emotional energy. It is not always about grinding ing it out - there is more to it than that. Nice job though.

No. The equivalent for Meb would have been taking off from the pack at about 2:04 pace, instead he cruised away at 2:07-2:08 pace.

I was only able to follow the race from the message board threads. I thought for sure she'd dropped out, so was surprised to see that she finished with a great time.

....waiting for the conspiracy theorists to ask Shalane: "How much did they pay you to lose?" So obvious she could've won just like Meb

Shalane's quote in the post race news conference was great

"I don’t wish it were easier, I just wish I were better."

I dont care what kind of tactics she tried, so long as people like Jeptoo stuck with her, Shalane probably wasn't going to win. Not when Jeptoo finished with 4:45 miles. Think if Shalane had run a little slower she could have done that? I doubt it. She got beat by a better runner; she knows it, and she admits it. That's guts and class.

shalane is a chump she sucks, glad she lost

Shalane was never going to beat Jeptoo yesterday, but I was taken aback by her naiviete', reacting heavily to the crowd noise early (a killer in the marathon-you have to tune them out in the early stages, even if you have to wear earplugs!), and fighting off surges, etc.. Meb I think was in the same relative position at the outset, but made his effort in a more strategic, measured way Using the crowd in the final miles) and perhaps having a bit of luck with his competition seeming to have an off day.

Side note- my impression was that in the early stages there was at least a slight tailing wind, in which case, the athletes in the back of the front pack "V" formation were getting an assist while blocking the wind that could have helped Shalane, making her effort even more remarkable. Coupled with the stomach probs (hypnotremia? Nerves? both?), she could have definitely scared 2:19 with a more even effort.

Great effort, I hope she comes back, paces herself, and wins in 2:19.

PS Desi seemed to nail the effort perfectly for her comeback.