Amy MF Cragg!!!

What a badass! Anyone who thought the Rio 9th was her peak had another thing coming! What a great wire-to-wire effort, and a PR to boot. No one picked her in the top 10, let alone a medal ... and that race was loaded with women with sub-2:25 PRs.

AMY M'FN CRAGG*

I couldn't believe the last 400 meters. The determination in her was amazing to watch. Still in shock.

It appears skipping a spring marathon was the correct decision.

Consider this: Is she just a really good warm-weather marathoner?

Absolute badass effort. One of the best I have seen. The final 400 was pure guts. Congrats, Amy!

Not that this takes anything away from her performance, but I was wrong about the PR -- she was just off her 2:27:08 PR from Chicago in '14.

She first made a US team in '11 and between this, her Rio 9th and her London 11th in the 10k in '12, her major meet resume has become pretty solid.

Not quite like Rupp and some of the other superstars, but better than I'm sure many imaged for her several years ago.

tracknutz17 wrote:

Not that this takes anything away from her performance, but I was wrong about the PR -- she was just off her 2:27:08 PR from Chicago in '14.

She first made a US team in '11 and between this, her Rio 9th and her London 11th in the 10k in '12, her major meet resume has become pretty solid.

Not quite like Rupp and some of the other superstars, but better than I'm sure many imaged for her several years ago.

The Shalane effect. Has a training partner changed the career trajectory of any runner more than Amy Cragg?

Amy made the first big move to break up the pack. Seriously gutsy effort right down to the line.

tracknutz17 wrote:

What a badass! Anyone who thought the Rio 9th was her peak had another thing coming! What a great wire-to-wire effort, and a PR to boot. No one picked her in the top 10, let alone a medal ... and that race was loaded with women with sub-2:25 PRs.

For one, I definitely expected her to be in the top 10 and felt like she had an outside shot to medal. The WC Marathon's are always fairly unpredictable, especially with bad weather. 70 degrees is very hot for a marathon and Cragg proved at the trails she can beat the heat.

Her PR definitely doesn't match up with her accomplishments. I assume she'll try Boston in the Spring, but hopefully she does Berlin/Chicago next fall and chases a fast time. She can run 2:23.

Pride of the USA. Pure guts !

A flash recap is now up:

http://www.letsrun.com/news/2017/08/amy-cragg-ends-americas-34-year-medal-drought-womens-marathon-worlds-snagging-surprising-bronze-london/

Much more coming.

She was great but does anyone else notice she's a totally different athlete since she got those Vaporfly shoes? Not knocking her but she definitely is benefiting from that technology. She's a totally different athlete. Just like Hasay. Maybe since they are built smaller or something?

tracknutz17 wrote:

Not that this takes anything away from her performance, but I was wrong about the PR -- she was just off her 2:27:08 PR from Chicago in '14.

She first made a US team in '11 and between this, her Rio 9th and her London 11th in the 10k in '12, her major meet resume has become pretty solid.

Not quite like Rupp and some of the other superstars, but better than I'm sure many imaged for her several years ago.

Fellow Sun Devil Alum hangs with the Africans brings home World Champ hardware for the USA. Great race with the top four contenders in eye site of each other. Kudos to Chelimo for taking down Kipligat in the last quarter mile. I believe Cox the betting man lost this one.

I wonder if Kara will whine about Amy's shoes.

shoestho wrote:

She was great but does anyone else notice she's a totally different athlete since she got those Vaporfly shoes? Not knocking her but she definitely is benefiting from that technology. She's a totally different athlete. Just like Hasay. Maybe since they are built smaller or something?

tracknutz17 wrote:

Not that this takes anything away from her performance, but I was wrong about the PR -- she was just off her 2:27:08 PR from Chicago in '14.

She first made a US team in '11 and between this, her Rio 9th and her London 11th in the 10k in '12, her major meet resume has become pretty solid.

Not quite like Rupp and some of the other superstars, but better than I'm sure many imaged for her several years ago.

I thought the shoes made no difference?

70 degrees is very hot for a marathon and Cragg proved at the trails she can beat the heat.

She's a Sun Devil, heat honed and battle tested. 70 is almost cold, surprised she didn't wear sleeves and a beanie.....👹

Gotta bee wrote:

AMY M'FN CRAGG*

While our thread was first, we apologize for not using the proper terminology. We have now merged our thread with the Amy MF Cragg thread.

fuggetaboutit wrote:

I wonder if Kara will whine about Amy's shoes.

that was great...I'm sure some whining will be done ;-)

I think a lot of people, like most even, expected her to be in the top ten.