Neely Spence Gracey running Boston - good idea?

Yes.

Yes if they offered her any money at all. She was never going to make the Olympic team in any event. Might as well try the marathon and try to pick up some cash.

She had an injury after the Philly 1/2 and was not coming back as fast as she needed to get ready for LA. Adidas was probably happy to have a US runner at Boston too.

I would rather see her run well prepared in Boston and have a solid debut than struggle through the trials. She could still take a shot at the 10k trials after Boston. She has a lot of potential in the marathon, but is a bit injury prone. Bringing her along carefully is probably in her best interest.

Well she is an Adidas athlete so I'm sure that played a small role. I'm actually surprised, I figured she would have run the Trials and then if she didn't make the team run NYC in the fall.

The only wild card for the Olympic Trials is Kara Goucher, and whether she shows up ready to race. If Kara is ready to go, and back to form, she goes, with Shalane and Desi.

If not, then there are of course alternatives. Amy Cragg, Deena, Serena Burla.

That's a lot of competition for the 3rd slot.

Goucher is ready to go--2:25 shape.

fast but.......... wrote:

The only wild card for the Olympic Trials is Kara Goucher, and whether she shows up ready to race. If Kara is ready to go, and back to form, she goes, with Shalane and Desi.

If not, then there are of course alternatives. Amy Cragg, Deena, Serena Burla.

That's a lot of competition for the 3rd slot.

This isn't a bad idea if she recovers and focuses on making the 5/10 for the olympics.

Had a rough time on the track last year and has decided to never go back.

fast but.......... wrote:

The only wild card for the Olympic Trials is Kara Goucher, and whether she shows up ready to race. If Kara is ready to go, and back to form, she goes, with Shalane and Desi.

If not, then there are of course alternatives. Amy Cragg, Deena, Serena Burla.

That's a lot of competition for the 3rd slot.

If Kara is not in it at the trials , she will drop and save herself for Boston.

They have already offered up an option to run if she wants.

Precious Roy wrote:

She had an injury after the Philly 1/2 and was not coming back as fast as she needed to get ready for LA. Adidas was probably happy to have a US runner at Boston too.

I would rather see her run well prepared in Boston and have a solid debut than struggle through the trials. She could still take a shot at the 10k trials after Boston. She has a lot of potential in the marathon, but is a bit injury prone. Bringing her along carefully is probably in her best interest.

She has a dad who understood the roads and had great career road racing.

If she is smart she can make a decent living on the roads.

Forget the track nonsense.

edward teach wrote:

This isn't a bad idea if she recovers and focuses on making the 5/10 for the olympics.

If she was focused on making the 5/10 team for the Olympics, this would be a horrible idea.

Not heading back to track. It leads to injuries for Neely.

edward teach wrote:

This isn't a bad idea if she recovers and focuses on making the 5/10 for the olympics.

I highly doubt she can run at Boston in late April and still be recovered for the 5/10 trials in early July, especially the 5k, and probably not the 10k considering she's not a lock

It will take a minimum of 6-8 weeks to recovery, but then it's already time for trials in a couple of weeks

Super smart. Neely has had a fantastic year -- PR after PR and tons on success at big road races. She seems to be controlling her own destiny now - like her Dad did-- and it's working. I trust she knows what she is doing. 😊

Just wish she was like her Dad and prioritized the Olympics and World Championships over big city marathons.

I don't think her Dad debuted at the OT. You don't really want to debut at the trials. Please correct me if you know otherwise.

I think many over-think and stress out about "debuting". If she is prepared, she can run well. Very difficult to have precedence in debuting at a Trials since the half marathon was only instituted recently, but I guarantee you there will be some very successful debuts at LA. Many of our great marathoners debuted with great performances (Salazar, Culpepper, Geb, Mo, etc.)

She is dodging competition. She is afraid to compete and lose. Simple. Don't make excuses for her

The Boston field is way deeper than the trials field.