Saif Saaeed Shaheen (Stephen Cherono).
Saif Saaeed Shaheen (Stephen Cherono).
el g so dominant over a long time period
bekele unbeatable at xc, wr 5k 10k won titles set records
coe 1.41- 3.29 is insane
haile for his range from 3.31 indoor 1500 to 2.03 marathon
paula radcliffe
1. Pre- I grew up watching him run
2. Dixon- just very cool
3. Walker- very cool along with Dixon
4. I have to add Malmo- I also grew up (as a runner) in his era and I thought he was pretty cool.
Frank Shorter
His win in 1972 changed the whole landscape of running in the US. I wonder if the big city marathons would have happened starting in 1976 with NYC if not for his Olympic Gold.
And he set two ARs at 10000 in the Olympics the week before the marathon win.
Frank was good on the track, indoor and outdoor, road races, marathons and cross country. He was US XC champ for a few years in a row.
Grand Master Flash Jr wrote:
I'm surprised at all the Haile love here.
And also surprised that no one has mentioned Lasse Viren. the dude was a cop! Blue colla' balls, fellas.
Not to mention the 5000/10000 gold back-to-back olympics, hey? That's better than Geb, Tergat, Kenny B, and Mo (unless Mo double repeats in Rio)
To repeat - Very surprised no one has mentioned Lasse Viren.
Not sure of your age, but your favorite all-time runner would normally be someone you watched run or followed their running.
I was a little kid when Viren ran so I just know his accomplishments after the fact.
I started following running in the late eighties.
Aouita had all the records.
Specifically, his 1500 and 5000 records each lasted 7 years and his 12:58 was the only sub 13 when Geb took it to 12:56 and Moses Kiptanui to 12:55.
When he then dropped it to 12:44, my brain couldn't make sense of it.
He started a distance revolution with that one performance.
And we know he didn't stop there.
And he had a blazing kick in championship races.
And successfully moved on to the marathon.
And last year he was able to mix it up withe Bekele and Farah in a half marathon, 20 years after winning his first global championship at 10,000m.
I like Coe but missed watching him in his prime.
I really enjoyed Morceli next after Geb, though I respect what El G did.
And now I like Manzano because I find him likeable.
Shaheen wins Gold at 2003 World Champs - what a race!
Bruce Egeland
Bullcarp. She always runs to the camera in any event she's at. Remember that stunt withher son. She could easily remove herself from the spotlight but never does. Lots of runners do.
Also she knew lance was dirty.
Bernard Lagat, has been my favorite for the past 14 years.
The Lance connection does disturb me. Did any high level endurance athletes really believe Lance was clean? Hard to imagine they did.
Joanie had to be either very naive or just didn't care that Lance was a liar and a fraud.
Will Leer
1. Haile Gebrselassie
2. Ezekiel Kemboi
3. Alberto Salazar
Komen has been one of my favorites. 3:29-3:46-7:20-12:39 is amazing.
For runners competing today, it would have to be David Rudisha. His Olympic run was awesome. Also, he wasn't afraid to duck competition this past year, even though he was coming back from a year long injury.
1. Steve Jones
2. Keith Brantley
3. Mark Curp
Men
1 - Bill Rodgers
2 - John Campbell
3 - Eamonn Coghlan
Women
1 - Joan Benoit Samuelson
2 - Uta Pippig
3 - Lynn Jennings
I cannot understand why there is no love for Deena Kastor. Her range blew Joanie out of the water. (Road records from 5k to marathon) Former 10k track record holder She trained in with the underrated Vigil. She was never afraid of running Cross. 8-freakin time national champ. 2 cross world silvers. Won Chicago, won London, Oly bronze.
Frank Shorter, He was a dominant runner in the marathon.
Ruled the US 10000 meters and US XC championships.He was not afraid to drop down in distance and face the best in the world.I don't think there is any US born runner that has a resume to match his since.
Craig Virgin
My fav is DD wrote:
I cannot understand why there is no love for Deena Kastor. Her range blew Joanie out of the water. (Road records from 5k to marathon) Former 10k track record holder She trained in with the underrated Vigil. She was never afraid of running Cross. 8-freakin time national champ. 2 cross world silvers. Won Chicago, won London, Oly bronze.
I'd say Kastor is my favorite female elite.
Meb might be my favorite male elite. The dude's marathon PR is 2:08, but he's won Boston, New York, the US Olympic Trials and gotten 2nd and 4th place at the Olympic Marathon trials. People have tried to write him off for years, but he keeps working hard and producing. The guy is a racer.
Slight typo there, Meb got 2nd and 4th at the Olympic Marathon, not just the trials. We all know that, but I just wanted to get in before somebody took this thread on a stupid tangent due to a typo.