Kyle Merber takes a shot at Matthew Maton, Grant Fisher, and the like on Twitter

I believe Jim Ryun ran a few pro meet in HS back in the 60s. In the 80s when I was in HS, the best kids flew to meets too. How old is Merber?

How old is he? wrote:

I believe Jim Ryun ran a few pro meet in HS back in the 60s. In the 80s when I was in HS, the best kids flew to meets too. How old is Merber?

Not in pro meets. He was racing amateurs in open competition.

Would hardly call that a shot. Those kids still work hard AF and I don't think that constantly flying around and having to race against grown men is always fun. I imagine it tires you out pretty quickly and it may not be these kids choice to fly around so much. Also, I have never run in a dual meet and had to explain the concept to my teammates at practice one day because they had never heard of it.

Sincerely, an AVERAGE high school miler.

It's clearly more "a shot" at how the sport has changed for those at the top level.

Kyle Merber for president

Of course Jim Ryun didn't run against pros...there basically were no "pros" in those days. He did run against top "amateurs" (same as today's pros), so he and Maton and Fisher pretty much ran against the same kind of athletes.

Haters gonna hate.

Well in my day we didn't have a dream of a setup at Swarthmore packed with pro athletes and rabbitted by an Olympic medalist to give a college kid a nice set up to run the perfect 1500m.

I agree that Nike or Brooks flying HS kids to pro meets is kind of a joke.

I see these kids skipping their State Meet to go run in professional time trials, and I think those times shouldn't count for HS records.

If one of these guys could break 4 in a State Meet or even the HS National Championship, I'd be much more impressed.

Just how I feel.

not what i'd consider a "shot"...the response from Steve Magness is hilarious though

Fisher would have broken 4 if he didn't fall off of the track during indoor nationals. And I believe that in indoors they run a full mile, not a 1600. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Back in his day?

That was like three weeks ago to some of us guys who are serious about our ear hair collections.

back in his day the Y2K panic was already just a bad memory.

I like Merber but he does not get to use the uphill both ways in the snow card.

.

Hahahah hardly a shot, I'd probably call it 'a joke' because as noted by Dan Huling's response, I ran in the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (and Nike Nationals). There are definitely more opportunities for HS kids to run in pro meets now as shoe companies have recognized the incredible reach and branding in what would be considered a relatively low cost form of marketing. Not against it in anyway.

KyleMerber wrote:

Hahahah hardly a shot, I'd probably call it 'a joke' because as noted by Dan Huling's response, I ran in the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (and Nike Nationals). There are definitely more opportunities for HS kids to run in pro meets now as shoe companies have recognized the incredible reach and branding in what would be considered a relatively low cost form of marketing. Not against it in anyway.

Write more blog posts.

All kidding aside, isn't good that the 1500/mile has progressed so much in the US in the last decade?

Although in the past, you would have made the Olympic team with your 3:35 and not have to finish top 3 at the Trials because the US had trouble finding more than 3 A qualifiers in a given year.

KyleMerber wrote:

Hahahah hardly a shot, I'd probably call it 'a joke' because as noted by Dan Huling's response, I ran in the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (and Nike Nationals). There are definitely more opportunities for HS kids to run in pro meets now as shoe companies have recognized the incredible reach and branding in what would be considered a relatively low cost form of marketing. Not against it in anyway.

Going on 25 and already feeling old are you?

Any racing planned between now and Nats?

KyleMerber wrote:

Hahahah hardly a shot, I'd probably call it 'a joke' because as noted by Dan Huling's response, I ran in the Reebok Boston Indoor Games (and Nike Nationals). There are definitely more opportunities for HS kids to run in pro meets now as shoe companies have recognized the incredible reach and branding in what would be considered a relatively low cost form of marketing. Not against it in anyway.

Cool someone legitimately fast posting. You should post a "What do you think I could do for 5k?" thread.

Kyle Merber for president tho

I don't have a problem with the opportunities these kids are getting, they earned them. Why can't track athletes get an experience like the McDonalds All-Americans? However, you do have to appreciate an athlete like Kim Gallagher for example, who ran all of her high school meets, usually doubling and tripling. When she set the H.S. mile record, it was part of a triple at a low level H.S. meet and the closest girls was 15 second behind her. God only knows how fast she could ran a mile in a meet like Pre or Adidas.