monumental marathon won in 2:18 - scratched out an A std

I agree. The Trials marathon should be bigger It's a marathon, this ain't a 10k on a track, bring in 2:20 or maybe 2:25 guys. You're holding the race, why not?

Jesse: great job of overcoming your personal issue and getting the OTQ. May you have a wart-free new sub-2:18 PR in Los Angeles! No pressure though...if you are forced to scratch we'll know the cause and understand.

If you think there should be just one standard, what should it be and should USATF cover expenses?

USATF does NOT cover expenses.

It is the Local Organizing Committee, in this case the LA Marathon.

USATF does not even pay for drug testing. LA Marathon will cover that, prize money, travel expenses, and the cost of running the race.

He also thinks Africans are immune to doping

asdfdsfasdf wrote:

FWIW Renato Canova has said that he thinks the American trials standard should be 2:25 or even 2:30...

i like that this guy ran a 1:51 800m in college

lucky lucky wrote:

It's just amazing that the gun time was magically off the finish clock enough to have the result as 2:17:59.99.

So, if he finished on gun time at 2:18:00.01, he wouldn't be going?

Yeah, "amazing."

"Lucky."

here's what happened wrote:

Did the whole field get 3s off?

It should have. The clock in the picture is only a display clock, not the timing clock.

Querfeldein wrote:

If I were USATF, I would set the men's B standard at 2:20, and also invite the fastest marathoner from every state (of course, do the same for women).

This would be a very simple way to promote the sport and help "bridge the gap" between the elite sport and the popularity of running generally. Too bad USATF doesn't do things like that.

I am from a small state and used to run one or twice a week in a loose group connected to a shoe store. Sometimes a local sub-elite who worked there, a 2:22-type guy, would join us. Everyone was very inspired, asked him for advice, took their kids to see him win local races and all that. A few of us even donated money to help him travel to camps and races. I guarantee if that guy could have made the trials as state #1 there would have been tons of local viewers tuning in for it on TV, and probably even some travelling to watch trials and run the mass event. Multiply that by 50 and it's starting to look like a sport people care about.

em jay, that you? wrote:

i like that this guy ran a 1:51 800m in college

Which is considered faster, 1:51 800 or 2:18? What would the equivalents be?

I barely broke 2:00 for 800 so does that mean I'll never go under 2:30?

You actually have to PAY USATF to run the trials. $30 registration fee!

might be wejo wrote:

There's currently 70 men that have qualified with a marathon time and 87 that have qualified with a half marathon time. I don't understand why the standards would be set in such a way that discourages runners from running the event they are actually qualifying for. The half marathon standard should be a way for guys like Rupp to run the marathon trials if they so choose.

The half marathon time should be 1:03 and the window should be shorter, say 18 months before trials. I wouldn't mind letting guys that have run sub-28 up to a year before trials in as well. We would see probably ten guys at most using the shorter distance standards, as it should be. Then make the "B" 2:19 or 2:20 and leave the "A" at 2:15.

Thank You for calling out the half marathon standard issue. If you are going to have a half standard it shouldn't be easier than the full standard.

The half standard should be no slower than 64flat. I'd also be ok with the full going up to 2:19 or even 2:20. No slower than that though. Those saying 2:25 are crazy. The trials shouldn't be an all inclusive event. It should take a certain talent level to qualify.

I ran 2:38 with a 2:09 800 best, so sub-2:30 is quite doable with 1:59.

projections wrote:

em jay, that you? wrote:

i like that this guy ran a 1:51 800m in college

Which is considered faster, 1:51 800 or 2:18? What would the equivalents be?

I barely broke 2:00 for 800 so does that mean I'll never go under 2:30?

em jay, that you? wrote:

i like that this guy ran a 1:51 800m in college

Awesome picture and way to drive through the line. Nice to see it pay off!

No this is not a good way to promote the sport. OT's are a professional event and the most deserving runners should. Not some stupid crap like lets invite some 2:34 guy because he's the fastest in Alaska. This isn't about trying to create feel good stories and local hero's for the sake of building interest. If we act like a professional sport maybe people will take it more seriously. Its ok for us to recognize that elites have ability that the normal runner can't do. We shouldn't have to pretend that everyone who goes out and completes a marathon accomplished the same thing as the guy who just hit the trials standard. We don't have to be condescending about it but is ok to let people know that elites do things that the pretty much anyone else is not capable of. I love watching sports and what makes it so great is I recognize how great the athletes are and I appreciated that they can do what I would never be capable of. Running is never going to be on the level with the major sports but it wouldn't hurt the sport if we stopped pretending that what the guy who's been training five days a week for three months to run a 5hr marathon is just as impressive as the pro who has been training the last ten plus years and just ran a 2:0X. We need to celebrate greatness in our sport and try to promote just how impressive our elites are.

That 1:51 feels like a lifetime ago. 😏

Whoa, your 800 and marathon are almost the same performance level. That's a huge spread. What is your 5K PR?

Jesse Davis wrote:

That 1:51 feels like a lifetime ago. 😏

Congratulations to you Jesse. Way to finish in style! You absolutely deserve the OTQ, both from a performance and "spirit" point of view. That's the kind of performance that make our sport awesome: we strive to achieve our best.

For some that's a 4 hour marathon, for some it's sub 3, for you it's the OTQ. Pretty cool regardless of the performance itself, it's all about the dream.

This is true. For the 2012 trials there was an entry fee.And for the 2012 trials there was only one marathon standard: 2:19:00...it was considered the "A standard"... the "B" standard was the sub 1:05 half and then there was the 10km qualifier. A lot of guys who run a sub 1:05 and then enter the trials as there first marathon might have a rough go...but for sure some hold on and do well. The trials are a very special race...the only all-American, most competitive (in terms of depth) field you can assemble once every 4 years in a big city environment. For guys like me who know we have no shot at making the Olympics, the Trials are our Olympics...I was just happy to be there in '07 and '12 and I'd love to be there in LA. Qualifying for the trials was my ultimate dream goal in running when I was in high school as i knew being a DI All-American was likely already out of reach for me (another pie-in the sky goal). But that 2:22 trials standard gave a "slow guy" like me hope.When I talk to guys from other countries all they talk about is chasing a time like a sub 2:13:00 or a sub 2:11:00 and then hopefully getting a team selection to be on the Olympic squad. But it seems kind of up in the air and not very exciting for a slower guy like me. The trials race itself is exciting, a great goal to shoot for, and provides some positive media coverage for the sport with local heroes and almost every state represented. I do admit though, if i was a favorite to make the team (i.e. like a 2:10 flat guy) it would be really disturbing to think that the trials is your only shot to make the team....I mean what if you get sick or have an injury that week? You could be a guy that just ran the fastest time in the US the previous year, but if you don't show up to the trials healthy it's all over. That's pressure!Congrats to Jesse Davis on his OTQ!

friend of Jesse Davis wrote:

You actually have to PAY USATF to run the trials. $30 registration fee!

Thank goodness it is clock time. Kip Litton would NOT approve however