Forums >Racing>Sports Performance of the Year?
Self anointed title
Non-Stroller-Still Crazy
Jamie Donaldson, 33, of Littleton, Colorado, set a women’s record today when she crossed the finish line of the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon in 26:51:33, according to the race’s website. Donaldson bested the previous 27:56:47 women’s record. Personally I find her performance to be one of the greatest athletic feats of all time. She broke the women's record by over an hour (!) and came third to two men who were killing themselves trying to beat the men's record. Thoughts? I think I love her.
Kyle Skaggs' 23:23 at the Hardrock was pretty impressive too. He beat the 2nd place runner by 6 HOURS and lowered the course record by nearly 3 hours!
Yea, honestly there have been some really impressive performances this year. How bout Bolt’s 100 meter world record, The marathon world record, The American mile record(Webb)……etc. However, I would be willing to bet that even the best marathon/mile/100 meter runners in the world could not finish the BadWater. I guarantee that Jamie can finish all of those events and she probably would only be about 30% slower than any of those people at their own event!
Old, Slow, Happy
I think that if the prize money in ultra events were to increase (or actually materialise - there is no prize money for Badwater) the Africans could decimate some of the standing records. Just sayin'
I'll take that bet x 100. Are you seriously saying that you don't think the Kenyans and Ethiopians could finish Badwater?
E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com -----------------------------
Non ducor, duco.
Sports performance of the year? Tough call. Depends on your perspective. I think some tennis fans would disagree. One other thought: Beijing '08
Menace to Sobriety
Personally I find her performance to be one of the greatest athletic feats of all time. Thoughts? I think I love her.
Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go f*** himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus.
I don't think the current ultra stars would have a chance against any marathoners who finish in top 10 of majors such as London, New York, Chicgao, Berlin, Boston, etc. Actually I doubt if most of them could run with winners of 2nd tier events that are in won in under 2:20. Ann Trason, mutli world record holder at several ultra distances has a marathon PR of 2:39:15. The US women's qualifying standard is 2:39:15, which means there are lots of women in the US who can run that time. If you throw in the international stars such as the Africans, Japanese, and Paula Radcliffe it is really no contest. The Japanese women run 140-160 miles a week for months at a time and sometimes more. Al Salazar won the prestigious Comrades Ultra near the end of his career after he could no longer compete at the major marathon level. No doubt that ultra running takes a tremendous amount of grit and determination but I believe that "Sports Performance of the Year" would be a stretch even if you included only running.