Boyz of the Hood wrote:
It depends which street you pick them off.
Pick them off a street in Jamaica, and your odds of succeeding are close to 100%. If you're restricted to picking Americans, head to the inner city in the toughest part of town. Regardless of who you end up getting, everyone's going to be pumped and excited at the beginning as their sprint times plunge and they feel great.
After this initial stage, everything begins to unravel. The faster guys will start skipping workouts due to crappy weather conditions or a simple lack of time. They think they've already done their "fair share" by getting close to 25, and it's up to the slower guys to pull their weight. The slower guys blame the faster guys and claim that we would already have gotten that 1:40 if everyone performed to their full ability.
The coach then starts assigning positions on the relay, and things fall apart even further. The guy who's good with blocks and has a great start insists on running the anchor leg. The coach tries to force him to be the starter, but reconsiders when he realizes that no one else is willing to run anchor. Meanwhile, the other guys are terrible at blind handoffs and either drop the baton or fail to pass it within the exchange zone. They end up doing the handoffs like a 4x400 and trade off speed for reliability.
With four months to go, their best time is 1:53, and the rate of improvement has slown down considerably. They start hitting the weight room, which generally works well until one person hurts his back after deadlifting with incorrect form. A rehab therapist is brought in, and this is kept secret from the other three runners to maintain morale. Once the guy has recovered, they attempt another time trial. They are on pace for a 1:45 when the 3rd leg blows his hamstring just before the last handoff.
There are just two months left. Colder weather has set in, they've only broken 1:50 once, and both the runners and their support team have become increasingly desperate. A box labelled "running supplements" has mysteriously appeared in the team locker room, and nobody claims to know what it is, including the coaches. Rumors begin to swirl, and the substance is said to be anything from creatine to hGH to steroids. Some of the team is suspected to take them, but no one says anything.
The whole team and staff are flown to south Florida, Texas, or California for the final few weeks, with no other distractions or worries besides running that 1:40. Diets are customized, motivational videos are shown between workouts, and all electronic devices are shut off at 8 PM. During the goal race, an elite 800 runner is brought in to race against them. They are told that they will win a considerable amount of money if they beat the elite and will get even more cash if they break 1:40.9.
The race happens, and they get their best time of the year. Their splits of 26.3, 25.2, 24.5, and 27.9 barely beat the elite's time of 1:44, but they are still several seconds away from a 1:40. They shake hands and pat each other on the back for trying their best and getting a small victory. They may have lost to Rudisha, but they've also lost dozens of pounds and are in the best shape of their lives.
A camera crew picks another four guys the following day, and a new season begins.
