Seems like the overall times were pretty slow as the winner was 2:08 and Meb was 4th with 2:11.. Anyone have any theories on why times are so slow.. Also what happend to Mutai in that race???
Seems like the overall times were pretty slow as the winner was 2:08 and Meb was 4th with 2:11.. Anyone have any theories on why times are so slow.. Also what happend to Mutai in that race???
My (uneducated) guess, is that they had no pacers. They actually had to race each other.
75F and humidity nearly 80% = hurt
fred wrote:
75F and humidity nearly 80% = hurt
No it wasn't that humid. It was a beautiful day for running. Not WR conditions but very good nonetheless. Some said the course had a lot of turns and the tarmac wasn't as good... maybe true.
It was the second fastest winning time ever and probably the fastest bronze medal time.
HardLoper wrote:
fred wrote:75F and humidity nearly 80% = hurt
No it wasn't that humid. It was a beautiful day for running. Not WR conditions but very good nonetheless. Some said the course had a lot of turns and the tarmac wasn't as good... maybe true.
It was the second fastest winning time ever and probably the fastest bronze medal time.
National Post:
"“It was brutal,” said 29-year-old Dylan Wykes of Kingston, Ont., whose 2:15.26 made him the quickest Canadian. “I tried to run conservatively because I didn’t think other people would respect the weather.
Why would a 2:10 guy say it was brutal if it wasn't.
Optimum temp for a marathon is 48F, no wind and no sun?
Ill ask Gillis or Coolsaet if it was nice weather.
Coolsaet:
"All summer I was getting sick when I had a workout over 25C, I just couldn’t keep my fluids down. So each workout I would isolate one variable to see if I could fix it (salt tabs, the % of carbohydrate solution, gels, powders, not eating dairy the morning of…). I was never able to nail anything down but when the temps were cooler I didn’t have a problem. I was hoping for a cool day yesterday and I didn’t get it, it was about 26C."
26 = 79F
With exception to the Wanjuri show they have always been traditionally slow.
As someone else said hot, no pacers. There is more strategy going on. The pack slows down now and then and the kickers don't mind. Nobody is looking for the world record anymore in the Olympic Marathon. It's always my favorite to watch.
Probably a lot of factors. Not an easy course, lack of pacers, warm day, uneven pace.
Other than East Africa, world class marathoners are pretty sparse these days. That doesn't help times either.
I was there. The three had broken away, and let up somewhat the last three or four miles. Ritz made a late charge but Abdi held him off for third.
Twisty course and some uneven surface. 22 to 25 deg. temps. No fast moving, even pacing peleton. Wilson ran a ridiculous 5k split.
Steven Kiprotich was probably in sub 2.06 form on the day.
Awful course. The cobblestones didn't help.
I would consider the course "very technical" with many turns.
The course was composed of a 2.219 mile loop, followed by 3 x 8 miles. There were approximately 27 turns on the 8 mile loop with the longest segment without a turn around 800 meters. The road surface included asphalt, granite, cobble stone. The course was designed to pass many historic points in London with one of the best finish lines in Olympic History
This made for a very strategic race.
I watched the entire race (both men & women) from the press truck. Kiprotich made his move at a point on the course with two relatively quick turns sandwiched between a short steep hill...brilliant!