Boston Marathon Report Cards Are Out

What you got wrong is the grading metric. Schools no longer use A, B, C, ....

Jared Ward does not deserve a C-. What are your expectations for this guy? He ran out of his mind at the Olympics, but he only did a little bit worse than expectations here. He finished 10th in 2:15, which is only a few minutes slower than his PR, and only a couple places lower than most people expected. I rate it a B- at worst; 8th place in 2:14 would be at least a B for him.

My last sentence was written incorrectly, I meant to write, "I think 8th place in 2:14 would be a B for him." "At least a B" sets my expectations too low.

By the way, some food for thought: What does an A or B mean? Is an A running better than expectations? In that case, does Rupp really deserve an A? Or does it mean running to the best of your ability? If you're expected to finish Nth place and finish Nth and run your expected time without a PR, is that a B? If you finish Nth place with a big PR is that an A? Does it matter if N is 1 or 100?

What about Kate Landau? Talk about resurrecting a running career!

I also feel like Suguru's race was an A+. Literally nobody could have had him finishing 3rd

tech aide wrote:

I also feel like Suguru's race was an A+. Literally nobody could have had him finishing 3rd

+1. I see Suguru as a male equivalent of Jordan Hasay. Made for the marathon, crushed an epic debut, came in top 3.

jdsfajdgsf wrote:

Jared Ward does not deserve a C-. What are your expectations for this guy? He ran out of his mind at the Olympics, but he only did a little bit worse than expectations here. He finished 10th in 2:15, which is only a few minutes slower than his PR, and only a couple places lower than most people expected. I rate it a B- at worst; 8th place in 2:14 would be at least a B for him.

I agree C- is bit harsh for him (i didn't do the rankings and was on calls all afternoon so couldn't edit them)..

I talked to his agent pre-race and he admitted he wasn't in the very best shape but 10th isn't horrible for him. I'd give him a solid CAnd if I'm allowed to upgrade it for off the track stuff, I'd upgrade that to a B as I find him to be an interesting guy. I watched some RW video where he asked randoms on the street for Boston advice (most had no idea who he was).

I'd give Abdi an A or A+. I guess it all depends on when we ard judging them from. If it was before last fall, people would have fallen our of their chair if I told you Abdi would get top 3 at NYC and then be leading the Boston marathon in the Newton Hills.

Now after NY, it might not have been that big of a shock.

Doing that at age 40? Ridiculous.

jdsfajdgsf wrote:

Jared Ward does not deserve a C-. What are your expectations for this guy? He ran out of his mind at the Olympics, but he only did a little bit worse than expectations here. He finished 10th in 2:15, which is only a few minutes slower than his PR, and only a couple places lower than most people expected. I rate it a B- at worst; 8th place in 2:14 would be at least a B for him.

Isn't a C- the appropriate grade for "a little worse than expectations"?

tech aide wrote:

I also feel like Suguru's race was an A+. Literally nobody could have had him finishing 3rd

Agree with the A+ for Suguru Osaka, but actually I wrote on a comment to Japan Running News for him to get 3rd and in the 2:07's was possible, he was not close to the time, but did get 3rd, I admit the Prediction was partly from being a fan and wanting the Japanese to continue doing well in the Marathon, The Kenyans and Ethiopians are so dominant it is good to see people from other countries especially with a long tradition in the Marathon as Japan does do well, Japan has a strong case for being the Number 3 (A distant 3rd) Country in Marathoning.

Agreed wrote:

tech aide wrote:

I also feel like Suguru's race was an A+. Literally nobody could have had him finishing 3rd

+1. I see Suguru as a male equivalent of Jordan Hasay. Made for the marathon, crushed an epic debut, came in top 3.

Lets not get too hasty about "crushing an epic debut [at Boston]" in ~2:10:30 by a ~61 half and 13:08 5000 performer. After all, Mosop debuted in the marathon at Boston and ran 2:03:06. Wind or not, that is crushing a debut.

douglas burke wrote:

tech aide wrote:

I also feel like Suguru's race was an A+. Literally nobody could have had him finishing 3rd

Agree with the A+ for Suguru Osaka, but actually I wrote on a comment to Japan Running News for him to get 3rd and in the 2:07's was possible, he was not close to the time, but did get 3rd, I admit the Prediction was partly from being a fan and wanting the Japanese to continue doing well in the Marathon, The Kenyans and Ethiopians are so dominant it is good to see people from other countries especially with a long tradition in the Marathon as Japan does do well, Japan has a strong case for being the Number 3 (A distant 3rd) Country in Marathoning.

I now retract my incorrect statement.

Yeah my favorite part of that video is when people start talking about him by name but still don't recognize him. Plenty of runners out there whose name I know but wouldn't recognize, so I empathized with that one.

I love the heart of Desi Linden, but not her head. She committed the classic "American" blunder of Boston, going out for the lead early and wasting precious energy. Shalane lost because of it, Kara lost because of it, Desi has now lost several times because of it. Jordan Hasay tucked in, most of the time running as far back as 7th place, and then ran faster than all but two phenoms. We were watching at just before Mass Ave underpass, and she was flying, perfect form. Desi, this is how it is done. Watch EVERY African runner in Boston, ever.

I want people to notice Teresa McWalters's result. She PRed by 4:06, ran perfectly even half splits, this was her first Boston, this was just her third marathon, she works full time++ (in a world totally unrelated to running), and it appears that the women she finished near are all pro runners. Kudos!!

This race changed Hasay's life for the next few years.

She will be sure to get some good endorsement deals and lucrative appearance fees.

With her result, she may come out as the biggest winner.

Quietrunner wrote:

I love the heart of Desi Linden, but not her head. She committed the classic "American" blunder of Boston, going out for the lead early and wasting precious energy. Shalane lost because of it, Kara lost because of it, Desi has now lost several times because of it. Jordan Hasay tucked in, most of the time running as far back as 7th place, and then ran faster than all but two phenoms. We were watching at just before Mass Ave underpass, and she was flying, perfect form. Desi, this is how it is done. Watch EVERY African runner in Boston, ever.

I'm not so sure. If Desi didn't lead the pack it probably would have turned into a slow sit and kick race, and she doesn't have the speed to win that. It might have turned out worse for her.

I'm thinking Desi's strategy ended up benefiting Hasay more than anyone since she was going to run conservatively and tuck in no matter what. Like Desi, she's a strength over speed type runner but lucky for her didn't have to do the pace setting and waste physical/psychological energy in the process. Result was a super fast debut.

I agree.

Desi had to use that strategy if she wanted to be a contender.

Still trying to find out how Blake Russell finished.

Still trying to find out how Blake Russell finished.