Brenda Martinez stumbles or trips in almost every race that she runs in. What is her deal?

Yesterday there were a couple of bumping matches. Lauren Johnson accidentally got BM from behind and stumbled off the track looking injured and LJ herself fell down. It interfered with the race. The race was too slow with a couple of racers in it that have gone sub-4 this year, too.

You guys are hilarious.

When Martinez TRIPPED HERSELF and fell in 800 trials next to Montano, everyone here blamed Montano.

Now, Martinez trips in the 1500 and you blame her, saying it’s always her fault.

The only consistent thing here is that the darkest woman in the race gets blamed.

(Truth is Martinez was shoved this weekend, for the record.)

official of officials wrote:

Amerikano wrote:

She was on the middle of lane 1. If you want to pass, you typically have to go around like Jenny did. Lauren was always behind her that lap and trying to sneak through a tight space, that’s why it’s not a good idea to do that. Brenda should have maybe been tucked in, but I can see why she would be on the middle of Lane 1 so she can pass too, or not be stuck behind Grace. It was just incidiental contact at best, no foul.

This is wrong. Had that been a prelim, Lauren Johnson would have been advanced to the next round. Martinez cut in on Johnson entering the turn.

Wrong. Martinez was ahead and Johnson ran up into her left shoulder. Guess what? There is a left turn in the track. That is not “cutting in” by Martinez.

After watching it more closely again, it looks actually like Jenny squeezes Brenda into that lane 1. Jenny does cut in from lane 2 to the middle of lane 1 and Brenda bumps arms with her. It seemed like that’s the first contact, then Lauren clipping Brenda too. In that incident itself, I still just see it as incidental, rather than doing something foul. Brenda is no angel with contact, she is an aggressive racer. She jockies for position a lot, but I think that’s just competitiveness. Ovette always did that stuff.

Brenda doesn't have good form, especially at the end of races. I mean you look at someone like Jenny or Shelby and you see how composed and strong they are, then you look at Brenda and she's flailing and her stride is inconsistent.

From the beginning of this 1500m though she just looked so distraught. She looked angry and mean, and it showed in her racing tactics.

Try a rulebook wrote:

official of officials wrote:

This is wrong. Had that been a prelim, Lauren Johnson would have been advanced to the next round. Martinez cut in on Johnson entering the turn.

Wrong. Martinez was ahead and Johnson ran up into her left shoulder. Guess what? There is a left turn in the track. That is not “cutting in” by Martinez.

Try again. Martinez moved from the middle of the first lane to the rail and into Johnson who was a stride behind on the rail as they approached the turn. BM clearly committed the foul.

Try again. Martinez moved from the middle of the first lane to the rail and into Johnson who was a stride behind on the rail as they approached the turn. BM clearly committed the foul.

Where in the rulebook does it say that when you are in the middle of the first lane you have to give the rail to someone behind you when you aren't passing? That's insane. It's the trailer's lookout. There aren't 3 lanes in the first lane.

baseball-02 wrote:

Try again. Martinez moved from the middle of the first lane to the rail and into Johnson who was a stride behind on the rail as they approached the turn. BM clearly committed the foul.

Where in the rulebook does it say that when you are in the middle of the first lane you have to give the rail to someone behind you when you aren't passing? That's insane. It's the trailer's lookout. There aren't 3 lanes in the first lane.

Martinez cut Johnson off. Johnson wasn't behind her by more than a stride. This is real simple.

Next!

official of officials wrote:

baseball-02 wrote:

Where in the rulebook does it say that when you are in the middle of the first lane you have to give the rail to someone behind you when you aren't passing? That's insane. It's the trailer's lookout. There aren't 3 lanes in the first lane.

Martinez cut Johnson off. Johnson wasn't behind her by more than a stride. This is real simple.

Next!

Official, I am not going to get in the weeds quoting rules; a runner has a practical obligation to attempt to stay on one's feet. Did you see Murphy in 800m F? Harris was getting a bit too close. Murphy could tell Harris was thinking of muscling his way into lane 1. Murphy gently used the back of his hand to tap Harris on the should. Murphy's message: Don't do it! Both John Walker and Lasse Viren gently used their hands in crowds often to let others know they were too close. Johnson could have gently extended her arm to Martinez to make Martinez aware.

This thread is one man crusade that is up there with the all-time classics. I rank it up there with the guy who constantly reminded us that eastern Europeans are half Asian due to constant Mongol raids. It's up there with the guy who repeatedly discredits any accomplishment from a Mexican because the Mexican in question is always of European ancestry. Hell I thinks it's on par with the guy who every year starts a few hundred threads about how footlocker is the true championship NXN the jv race.

???

One more thing, about the womens’s 1500 m race about 2:40 in Jenny cut in on Brenda hard, too soon and elbows flew, that was on Jenny. Then Lauren Johnson tried to squeeze by Brenda on the rail and slipped causing a fall taking them both out. Brenda held her line, not her fault. Hope she isn’t injured.

When your cadence is slightly higher, or slightly lower, than your competitors - chances increase that you'll fall out of sync with the pack, and that you'll trip or get tripped. Also, of course, this happens more likely on the last lap/laps when un-sync happens between the too-tired and time-to-pick-it-uppers. The all too common modern tactic of sit and kick doesn't help and has increased the "problem" also.

This is also a big part of why smart runners with somewhat longer than usual legs (like Kiprop) and runners with lower than usual cruising cadence (like Farah) or both (like Rudisha) prefers to run at either the front or the back of an otherwised synced cruising pack until the action picks up towards the end.

Check out old movies of Billy Konchellah (the best 800 meter runner to never hold the world record, but winning World Champs twice) and how he, obviously aware of this, handles his own running with the lowest cadence in the field.

Yomif Kejelcha had something similar going - or has - not sure if NOP has destroyed his natural talent already or if current injuries are just a temporary setback.

ironside wrote:

Official, I am not going to get in the weeds quoting rules; a runner has a practical obligation to attempt to stay on one's feet. Did you see Murphy in 800m F? Harris was getting a bit too close. Murphy could tell Harris was thinking of muscling his way into lane 1. Murphy gently used the back of his hand to tap Harris on the should. Murphy's message: Don't do it! Both John Walker and Lasse Viren gently used their hands in crowds often to let others know they were too close. Johnson could have gently extended her arm to Martinez to make Martinez aware.

So you agree Martinez cut in on Johnson which is....like....what actually happened despite your efforts to deflect blame.

Thanks.

Luxury800 wrote:

One more thing, about the womens’s 1500 m race about 2:40 in Jenny cut in on Brenda hard, too soon and elbows flew, that was on Jenny. Then Lauren Johnson tried to squeeze by Brenda on the rail and slipped causing a fall taking them both out. Brenda held her line, not her fault. Hope she isn’t injured.

Martinez did not hold her line at all. She attempted to move to her left when she did not have clearance beyond the runner to her inside. Johnson did nothing wrong.

No official, USATF Championship Meet Officials ruled properly. DNF for Martinez.

old guy 72 wrote:

If you watch the video of the race you can see that she seems to continually lose focus. She'll look down or to the side, not particularly at another runner, and seems to be spaced out. Being someone who spaces out occasionally, I recognize it. It's not like she's thinking about strategy. It's like she's off somewhere. She'll start to drift around and run into other runners. She's bigger than most of the other women and is like a bull in a china shop, as the old saying goes. Her and her coach need to work on her staying focused. To stay in the moment. I don't mean to sound negative just truthful, I've always liked her.

Just watched the video again. Exactly!! -Brenda is like a bull in a china shop. No focus, strange gait . She elbowed and shoved both the Saucony runner and Jenny as they tried to pass, then interfered with Johnson. No wonder she can't stay on her feet. I love her but more of this and she will get herself DQ'ed and continue missing podium opps. She should watch the video and let be a learning opportunity.

runuke wrote:

... strange gait .

Yes, I've noticed that she runs much, much wider than other runners; her feet don't land in a straight line like most. She takes up a lot more room and really swings side to side, almost like she's pushing off a little sideways. I think the oddness of her gait makes it difficult for the pack to work with her. It would be harder to pass and know when it's safe to move in on someone like that.

I really liked B-Mart as a runner but she has become dangerous out there. I'm sure people don't like racing near her.

Let’s get down to brass tacks here...it’s pretty obvious that a observant and professional coach with of caught on by now, and try to put reigns on her racing tactics to get the most out of her racing and the time she puts in with her training. Seems to me, she has a yes man for a coach that lets her do whatever she wants out there.

That being said, her husbands her coach.