Did Boston’s prestige take another hit today?

SorryToSay wrote:

I say yes. Well done to Desi and Yuki, of course. Great athletes. But they have no business winning a major marathon. .

your a moran

No. They deserved to win because they were faster than everyone else. All the lower levels in placing position is just because they had the toughness to not drop out when it was obvious they weren't going to win.

2018 can only raise Boston's stature. Marathons are not supposed to be easy.

The marathon can humble you. --- Bill Rodgers

SorryToSay wrote:

I say yes. Well done to Desi and Yuki, of course. Great athletes. But they have no business winning a major marathon. Both men’s and women’s top-10s were filled with C-level athletes. Most of the top Africans and even some Americans dropped out. Next year, do you think top athletes are going to be lining up to come to Boston? I do not. It’s already a low-preference choice for Africans, and it potentially became even more so today.

I'm pretty sure the prize money will keep them coming back.

This was a one-off and let some hobbyjoggers have their moment in the rain.

Don't blame Boston because the elites don't know how to run in the cold.

Boston is a C-level marathon in general.

Today, it just so happened to have C-level winners.

Today was about pain tolerance.

Modern marathons do everything to make it as painless as possible. Flat courses. Good weather. pacers, etc.

The most blue-collar runners who are used to GRIT and PAIN every day won.

Not elite training camps, not fancy altitude chateaus, not designer drugs, just RAW GRIT.

Boston is an A+ marathon because you can't be SOFT and take the W

Harambe wrote:

Today was about pain tolerance.

Modern marathons do everything to make it as painless as possible. Flat courses. Good weather. pacers, etc.

The most blue-collar runners who are used to GRIT and PAIN every day won.

Not elite training camps, not fancy altitude chateaus, not designer drugs, just RAW GRIT.

Boston is an A+ marathon because you can't be SOFT and take the W

Agree completely.

What is interesting is that most of the Africans train in a very GRIT way. Dirt, altitude, lots of hills, but usually lots of heat. But that doesn't cut it in cold and rain.

Today reminded me a little bit of when Wisco beat UTEP at NCAAs a few decades ago. The weather crushed the UTEP Kenyans an the Midwest guys had no trouble with it.

The prestige that took the biggest hit today was East African dominance in the marathon.

what made you even THINK that? my god, the idiocy.

vivalarepublica wrote:

The prestige that took the biggest hit today was East African dominance in the marathon.

Don't worry. I have a feeling they'll get it back in London in a few days time.

OP just shows the Jordan/ Molly/Shalane fanboys just can't handle it when Desi shows up, demonstrates incredible sportsmanship (dropping back for Shalane when she had to make a port-a-potty stop) and hands out a major drubbing to those athletes in a race where conditions were tough from the gun.

Marathons are not track meets. Each race stands on it's own and is it's own event unto itself. The weather affects marathoners more than just about any other race you can run in our sport. Because of this reason it's difficult to compare races to one another, even comparing one year vs the others is hard.

No doubt in my mind if there were ideal weather today we'd have 2 different winners, but that doesn't matter. What matters is who is the best ON RACE DAY. Time doesn't matter, who was/wasn't there doesn't matter, whether the win was dramatic or not doesn't matter.... what matters is getting that W.

Some races are set up for Formula1 racers, some for NASCAR, some for a dune buggy.... "horses for courses".

Yeah, the Olympics really took a hit when the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviet Union in 1980. I actually decided that I would stop watching March Madness after Loyola Chicago made it to the Final Four. If the Golden State Warriors don't win the title again this year, the NBA is DONE, too.

Of course not. Prestige has nothing to do with the (any) course, but with how the runners who participate handle the conditions at the time. Time of which shouldn't matter since each course is different. It's the competition between runners that counts and the results of this Boston stands up to the test.

Great race, but yes. Defo a ‘B’ race.

Neinzjww wrote:

Great race, but yes. Defo a ‘B’ race.

The only B race was the from elites who weren't ready for a TRUE test today.

crosscounts wrote:

Don't blame Boston because the elites don't know how to run in the cold.

You sound like a fat fool.