I'll say it's Ron Clarke for the men and Almaz Ayana for the women.
I'll say it's Ron Clarke for the men and Almaz Ayana for the women.
Other notables: David Rudisha, Pre, the recently retired Kim Smith.
test2 wrote:
I'll say it's Ron Clarke for the men and Almaz Ayana for the women.
A great front runner wins when it counts. Clarke sucked at that.
Ngugi maybe wrote:
test2 wrote:I'll say it's Ron Clarke for the men and Almaz Ayana for the women.
A great front runner wins when it counts. Clarke sucked at that.
He front ran 27:40 something fifty years ago and it's not really his fault that he couldn't win at altitude in Mexico City.
Ngugi was terrific though. ... Fibert Bayi was a rare front-running miler, Herb Elliot also.
Komen was pretty good.
Front ran to a world title and ran away from Geb in a very fast 5000.
Who can argue with Rudisha gold & WR?
How about the Russian Kuts. I don't know that he ran from the front all the way in '56, but he put in gut wrenching bursts and ran away from the fields in both the 5 and 10.
But, as a child of the 70s, I honor Bayi, Pre and good old Ron Clarke.
This other guy, Kip Keino, would pop into the lead early on and make stuff happen. Like Olympic and Commonwealth gold, and world records.
test2 wrote:
Ngugi maybe wrote:A great front runner wins when it counts. Clarke sucked at that.
He front ran 27:40 something fifty years ago and it's not really his fault that he couldn't win at altitude in Mexico City.
Ngugi was terrific though. ... Fibert Bayi was a rare front-running miler, Herb Elliot also.
He couldn't win in Tokyo, Kingston, or Edinburgh either, none of which are very high up.
Dave Bedford.
Lasse Viren
/EOT
David Rudisha
Ngugi maybe wrote:
test2 wrote:He front ran 27:40 something fifty years ago and it's not really his fault that he couldn't win at altitude in Mexico City.
Ngugi was terrific though. ... Fibert Bayi was a rare front-running miler, Herb Elliot also.
He couldn't win in Tokyo, Kingston, or Edinburgh either, none of which are very high up.
always running from the front isn't the most successful tactic. Ron Clarke isn't the GOAT distance runner but he's the ultimate front runner because that's all he did even when it wasn't the tactic most likely to earn him the victory. “I loved testing myself more than I feared being beaten, and front-running is the ultimate test.†he said.
treole wrote:
Lasse Viren
/EOT
Huh?
Johnny G.
OK Rudisha is the "greatest" but when one says front runner, I think ol' John Lee Gray.
Usain Bolt.
test2 wrote:
Ngugi maybe wrote:He couldn't win in Tokyo, Kingston, or Edinburgh either, none of which are very high up.
always running from the front isn't the most successful tactic. Ron Clarke isn't the GOAT distance runner but he's the ultimate front runner because that's all he did even when it wasn't the tactic most likely to earn him the victory. “I loved testing myself more than I feared being beaten, and front-running is the ultimate test.†he said.
He didn't succeed enough while doing it to actually be the "ultimate front runner". Yes, he did it a lot, but it turned out poorly for him way too many times at high-profile competitions for him to even be in the running.
test2 wrote:
I'll say it's Ron Clarke for the men and Almaz Ayana for the women.
Bekele won a fair amount of races leading majority of the race...
https://youtu.be/o3csSVopAb0Gerry Lindgren
Filbert Bayi and Rudisha
Mo Farah is a pretty handy front runner.
Ngugi and Bayi are the ones who come to mind. And elliott in Rome.