Forums >Racing>Jim2 and the Boston Marathon
Good Bad & The Monkey
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
E-mail: eric.fuller.mail@gmail.com -----------------------------
Runners run
Great find, Team K-Cubed. Great article even before the Jim2 stuff - and cool for Jim! I'm pretty sure I've read the analysis their talking about? And now a question that may completely high-jack the thread, but after seeing your elevation maps last night I've been pondering this very question: isn't BQing at Steamtown (or another of those courses) sort of cheating? I'm looking at Jim's analysis now and I see CIM is at the top of the BQ list - gotta course profile for that one? Is it another big downhill?
BTW, CIM has less elevation loss than Boston, and more than 4 times less than courses like Steamtown, Tucson, and St. George. It is part of the USATF Gran Prix which might have something to do with the high percentage of BQ's. Competition tends to be quite good among the non-elites, plus Californians have the advantage of great training conditions almost year around. I'm not saying that it's not an easy course--just not as easy as some might think, and certainly nothing like some of those that drop more than a 1000 feet.
Out of curiosity, anybody know how the BAA decides which runs CANNOT be qualifiers? Obviously at some point the downhill assist is going to rule out a course - is it just a judgment call? Is there a specific number there, like a max percent average descent?
Jim2's articles and his entire website are very, very interesting. The first time I saw them I read for about 2 hours there! The CIM is my goal race for a shot at sub 3, if I can manage a sub 3:10 at Silicon Valley in October. CIM is supposed to be fast but I've never run well at what they call 'flat, fast' courses. I've always done better at courses that have some minimally varying terrain, maybe a net downhill course will help me some. Silicon Valley has a couple of hills that are much more than 'minimally varying terrain' - make the hills in Newton look like itty bitty bumps so that'll be a good indicator of my fitness. Jim24315, you running CIM again next year?
I'm looking at Jim's analysis now and I see CIM is at the top of the BQ list - gotta course profile for that one? Is it another big downhill?
And now a question that may completely high-jack the thread, but after seeing your elevation maps last night I've been pondering this very question: isn't BQing at Steamtown (or another of those courses) sort of cheating?