$75,000 to a former hobby jogger winning 2nd place.
Hahaha, you're the hobby jogger a-hole. Feeling jealous?
Elites are notorious for dropping out if they don't have a chance of winning. They took spots that a gritty hobby joggers could have filled.
$75,000 to a former hobby jogger winning 2nd place.
Hahaha, you're the hobby jogger a-hole. Feeling jealous?
Elites are notorious for dropping out if they don't have a chance of winning. They took spots that a gritty hobby joggers could have filled.
The best runners can run and win in any condition, not just the perfect one. Grit is what makes this sport special. But I guess if you're from the participation trophy generation, you're used to making excuses...
portsea57 wrote:
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.
What! Nearly every poster says the race was terrific! I'm British with no real interest in who won but I was so entertained.
Of course, very hot marathons favour the Africans but this took me back to 9 mile cross country races with horizontal freezing rain ripping through everything.
Ah, happy days.
Very hot marathons favour Africans? Why do you think that? Have you actually been to where athletes train in Africa?
There are places all over the world that are hot.
Being born, living and training at high elevation is what helps the Africans.
Ernest Hemingway wrote:
Very hot marathons favour Africans? Why do you think that? Have you actually been to where athletes train in Africa?
It favors their body types - long skinny limbs with a higher surface area-to-volume ratio are better for dissipating heat
hahaha. The home schooled comment was perfect. A little too much royalty in the elites, it seems.
Hardloper wrote:
Ernest Hemingway wrote:
Very hot marathons favour Africans? Why do you think that? Have you actually been to where athletes train in Africa?
It favors their body types - long skinny limbs with a higher surface area-to-volume ratio are better for dissipating heat
Most successful distance runners have similar body type you describe. Galen, Ryan, Shalane, etc.
Stopcecil! wrote:
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.
Dumb. If they can beat world class athletes in any race they deserve all the recognition heading their way.
she didnt what world class athletes did she beat flanagan and kiplagat where the 2 best both old. yuki beat rupp and kirui 2 athletes in there prime.
Dontthinkso wrote:
Yes it took a hit. Race was a freak show due to the weather. Sanders was a Desi mishap from winning. In 2:44. Basically you took a requirement for high level marathoning, low body fat, and turned it into a fatal flaw. Yeah you run in the conditions etc but come on that was not a real race—- it was about whose body type was best in horrendous weather
I agree with a lot of this, except it was a real race and I really enjoyed watching it. I was also extremely happy with both winners who deserved their win on a truly terrible weather day. What I don't agree with is that Des or Yuki were "tougher" or the other marathon runners were weaker. If toughness is based on suffering, plenty of other runners, Molly for example, clearly appeared to suffer a hell of a lot more. In fact, it was because of their body types that the winners actually suffered less and could perform better.
The truth is Des and Yuki are great runners who's body type (and/or acclimatisation) were better suited to the terrible weather conditions. They won and deserved to win with the conditions of the day. That's all. They were better at running in that crap. However, if you had a choice to have their ability to win in that sort of weather over an ability to win on a normal/good weather day? Yeah, I don't think anybody (including them) would choose to be the best at running only in cold rain and wind over the best at normal/good weather.
Lookbetweenyourlegs wrote:
The best runners can run and win in any condition, not just the perfect one. Grit is what makes this sport special. But I guess if you're from the participation trophy generation, you're used to making excuses...
tha rules out desi then as the only race she has won is boston in those conditions.
Ernest Hemingway wrote:
portsea57 wrote:
What! Nearly every poster says the race was terrific! I'm British with no real interest in who won but I was so entertained.
Of course, very hot marathons favour the Africans but this took me back to 9 mile cross country races with horizontal freezing rain ripping through everything.
Ah, happy days.
Very hot marathons favour Africans? Why do you think that? Have you actually been to where athletes train in Africa?
There are places all over the world that are hot.
Being born, living and training at high elevation is what helps the Africans.
Two of the UK's greatest marathon runners have lost big races - Commonwealth Games and Europen Chsmps because of the heat...and now it has happened to Callum.
How many top Arfricans have lost big races because of the heat?
It’s not the conditions, it’s the competition.
We’ve seen for years now that Boston has a few good guys, but then 4th - 6th are like 2:12-2:14 guys in good conditions.
So, in this field, if 2-3 of too guys drop, it comes a 2:15 type crowd anyway.
Boston is prestigious, but mostly due to history, not anything recent.
Harambe wrote:
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.
Or elites who weren't ready for a TUE test.
portsea57 wrote:
Two of the UK's greatest marathon runners have lost big races - Commonwealth Games and Europen Chsmps because of the heat...and now it has happened to Callum.
How many top Arfricans have lost big races because of the heat?
Dumb question, easy answer.
Paul Tergat, WR holder at the time, got absolutely trashed in Athens 2004, running 10th place or so on an unchallenging course but in high heat.
Many others.
Post of day
do you even watch running? wrote:
portsea57 wrote:
Two of the UK's greatest marathon runners have lost big races - Commonwealth Games and Europen Chsmps because of the heat...and now it has happened to Callum.
How many top Arfricans have lost big races because of the heat?
Dumb question, easy answer.
Paul Tergat, WR holder at the time, got absolutely trashed in Athens 2004, running 10th place or so on an unchallenging course but in high heat.
Many others.
Were you even born yet in 2004? The race was not that hot, it was run in the evening, but the course did have some uphills. Also Tergat ran poorly because he was sick, not because it was moderately warm.
The Boston Marathon is its own reality and will always attract a big share of the world's best marathoners. It was around long before the fad for dope-fuled, paced flat races and will still be around when people grow bored with the two-hour barrier (whether it is broken or not). Competition, history, and lure of the unexpected holds more appeal than over-scripted events.
If the conditions in Boston became the norm, the marathon would instantly lose its appeal: spectators won't want to come out and watch it and fewer participants would be able to finish it and are more likely to have even more serious risks to their health.
If extremely cold, wet-weather running became the norm, runners would change their diet -- notably, more fat/muscle to decrease the ratio of surface area to volume and provide more fuel for warming the body. Naturally, slower times will follow as a result, and since many here seem to really like time trials (witness the people bashing Rupp for being a 2:09 marathoner), this will be a problem for them in particular.
It's human nature to want to tell a story about how true grit won the day. It didn't. It never does at this level of competition. Nearly every elite endurance athlete pushes their body to its physical limits in the course of running a race. (Unless they decide to cut their losses because a good placement is unlikely -- this is arguably unfortunate, and we could in theory punish athletes for this where it hurts most, in their wallets, but there isn't really a sustained effort to do that so that's the way it is.) What won the day was stockier athletes who generally don't do as well and had less to lose by going for it. Kudos to them, but they're not heroes; they're just people who run and make money and achieve a bit of status for doing it.
2:39 wrote:
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.
It will be funny watching Keitany and Dibaba run 25 minutes faster than Linden on Sunday.
2:14 is 25 minutes faster than Linden ran.
unlikely two will run that fast. and it wouldn't be funny if they did.
I don't get bashing others, it's just that different runners do well in different conditions and courses. Why are some guys good at XC but not so good on the track? Why do some guys relish the consistency and precision of the track vs the odd conditions you can encounter on a XC course?
Ummmm... no wrote:
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.
Hobbyjoggers? BS dude, those American ladies who kept at it deserve their moment. Most of them would have been in the low 2:30 range, that's not hobby joggers. Everyone else stood on the starting line and had the same chance in the same conditions.
But... it bothers you that they placed so high, doesn't it?
It's eating away at you like a grasshopper after an ant.
You couldn't sleep last night, could you?
You're jealous because it was them and not you?
Your diarrhea is letting loose without warning, isn't it?
Face it, they toughed it out and deserve the prize money and recognition that you long for.