The red bib guys started about 20 yards behind and clearly those first miles are fast and slightly downhill. Of the 3 red bib guys here, only one had a fast fast time.



And it isn't the guy in the basketball shorts.

Makes me less likely to buy Altras. Only a matter of time until someone doing this impedes the actual race.

If by "fast marathon legs" you mean his legs looks bulked up, I'm sure anyone looks like a bodybuilding meat-head around elite runners...

As stated, good for him! Everyone should aspire to get their own thread on ST. ;)

Of course, "fast" covers a lot of situations. 2:49? yeah that's quick in my world. It's NOT quick in the marathon world and without being nasty, he should never have been in that lead bunch. Hell, there's a guy in my office who ran a 2:42 marathon last year and he is hoping to go faster, so he can hang with the fast guys. For men, I'd suggest that fast for marathons would have to at least be faster than the fastest woman? That said, I have two women friends, and both have won multiple local/regional marathons and they generally go 2:45-3:00 depending on the course, and neither of them consider themselves "fast".

Me? I thought I ruled the world for going 3:59 a few years ago. I couldn't understand why the city didn't give me a parade!

---

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

well your office friend has a monumental way to go. the leaders opened up with a 15:09 5k and your 242 friend couldnt do that on his best day.

you guys worry about the dumbest stuff. 99+% of the field could hang with the leaders for the 1st 5k and you're worried about that .1% disrupting the race. really?

Not everyone. A guy in my office who did a 2:42 last year looks like a white version of the other guys in that front pack. He has so little meat on him (no fat at all) that it amazes me that he doesn't die between breakfast and morning coffee break! The guy in the blue shirt is too beefy for the front pack.

---

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

The guy in my office is young (I think 26 maybe?) He only seriously started running about 4 years ago. His first marathon was 3:12 I think. Next one was 2:42. He and I both know about the law of diminishing returns. We also understand that as a full time worker, he is limited how fast he can realistically go. That said, he's confident-ish, that he can get under 2:30 in the next few years. While I wouldn't consider that 'fast' in the overall scheme of things, as a full time worker, it's pretty quick. I'll have to check with him what his pure 5km times are, but I suspect he can do 15 minutes. Oh yeah he's getting back into swimming and goes to spin classes too, until he gets a bike again.

---

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

That's ridiculous. It's part of the race!

So's Jason Hartmann, but he's only finished fourth at Boston. Twice.

Your feelings on the matter (and those of all objectors) are entirely trumped by his liberty to do so. What's to stop a guy/gal from surging up from the second or third corral, blowing 40 yards past the leaders, stopping to shake their tail feathers for 5 seconds, then resuming their race?

---

"The right to party is a battle we have fought, but we'll surrender and go Amish... NOT!" -Wayne Campbell

Nothing except the fact that to do that you have to open up with like a 4minute mile - something few people outside of the elite and first corrals can even dream of anyway. Hence - this is a non-issue. The few guys who managed - good for them. If I had the goods I'd be right up there grinning ear to ear (in pain).

a guy running a 2:42 could not for 1- get a corral where this guy did. The guy in the blue shirt ran a 2:42 on a bum knee. His qualifying time was 2:20ish which got him in that front corral 20yrds behind the leaders at the start of the race. So the guy isn't supposed to run as fast as the guys in front? Totally ridiculous. If the race officials thought it could be a problem they would send the elite men off 2 min before the start of the corrals. Obviously they feel otherwise that its not a problem and I concur.

How does his run impede the others? 99% of runner couldn't keep up with the pack for the first 1/2 mile let alone a 10K.

How's is this different from a racer who is paid to pace the 1st 10K- 13.1 of a marathon?

---

Powered By HD Coaching

My comment above was really to mean that he has the 'right' but it's not the smart way to race. He finished in 2:49 I think. If he'd paced himself properly, he could probably have gone 5-10 minutes faster, rather than going for glory and blowing up so to speak.

He's allowed to do what he likes (within the rules, blah blah blah) but it certainly wasn't smart. THAT's what I meant by not being in that lead bunch.

---

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

no shit. did you actually read the article? he knew he wasnt in pr shape due to injury, so he went out and had some fun.

Actually if he didn't hurt his knee 9 days before the race he could have raced a 2:20ish again (like he did to qualify and gain entry into the first corral) and hang with them a lot longer. He finished at 2:49 because he hurt his knee and that is an easy pace for him, not because he went out too hard.

---

Rodney
TrainingPeaks | Altra Running | RAD Roller
http://www.goinglong.ca

My brother in law has a pretty cool poster/ photo that I envy like mad. He was a semi-pro cyclist and rode for a while with the Australian Institute of Sport.
The (now-defunct) Commonwealth Cycle Classic used to attract some good pro-riders for a pre-season hit out. One year my BIL spent a couple of days at that race in the yellow jersey, and the race promoters used a photo of him in promotional posters.

So the poster photo is focused on him in the maillot jaune, looking about 12 years old but totally relaxed and in control. Surrounding and behind him are Jan Ullrich, Jens Voight, Brad McGee, Matt White and a few other then or soon-to-be names. Coolest photo ever.

Really? A 4 hour marathoner is giving pace advice to a 2:20 marathoner? Wow!

Of course, that's the joy of ST! :-) We are all armchair quarterbacks aren't we?

In case you haven't read any of my previous posts. I'm old slow fat and stupid. I run slowly for a multitude of reasons, most of them related to my past life. I was born as a very sick baby, spending 6 months in an incubator with lung problems. I was cursed from day one. After getting out of hospital I've suffered lots of injuries. I was stabbed in the leg by my neighbour when I was 8. I lived downwind of an open pit asbestos mine (in Newfoundland) as a young teenager. I have asthma on top of that. I've broken 37 bones so far (not including fingers and toes as I stopped counting them ages ago). 37 includes skull, pelvis, back twice, neck once and so far. 10 ribs. I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hips at age 24. It's worse now. I limp when I walk. I also have several heart issues and am limited to how hard I am allowed to exercise, by my cardiologist.

So yeah, I run pretty slowly, but I have a few reasons for that. :-)

However, I can tell you now that there is no-one here on ST that loves triathlon any more than me. I train to the best of my pathetic limited abilities, just like the rest of the ST brotherhood. Regardless of my 4 hour marathon time, I race to my limits just like you do. In that regard, we are equal.

---

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

i wouldn't say the problem is your speed, it is your reading comprehension. you state could have gone 10-15 min faster if he had paced correctly, when 2:49 was a very easy effort for him - 30 min slower than his normal time. he was Taking It Easy to cruise in Slowly at 2:49 as he was injured.

---

http://harvestmoon6.blogspot.com
https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/katasmit