12345

That Didn't Take Long: The 2014 Boston Marathon Conspiracy Thread (Read 682 times)

    Don't take LR too seriously. It's mostly entertainment and snark, mostly trolls trying too hard, with some actual good stuff found sometimes.

     

    The response there's predictable.

      Conspiracy theory - this just makes me laugh.   First, I believe 2:10:22 won last year under ideal conditions (I ran in 2011 & 2013, and 2013 was perfect weather) and nobody said anything then.  Next, if you look at the winning time every year going back to about 2007 you will see it is almost always in the 2:08-2:09 range.  Suddenly Meb runs the race of his life and that time is no longer good enough

       

      As for the pack letting them go ahead so early, I believe Jason Hartmann pulled away early on in 2011 and the pack just let him go knowing he would fade.  I'm pretty sure they didn't expect an almost 39 year old to PR.   To me that is the best part of this "conspiracy theory"  They must have told Meb to hold back for the last 10 years or so, and then suddenly just go out and PR as he nears 40 years old.

       

      Meb is just a very good Championship style runner.  A tough course, no pacers, and he can compete with nearly anybody.   Oh yeah, the Olympics had to have been rigged in Athens when he won Silver as well......

      xhristopher


         

        The weather wasn't similar a few years ago. It was cooler, and there was a massive tailwind. It got pretty toasty out there today, and no tailwind.

         

        I agree. In the coral I was warm with just shorts and a shirt, which is a bad sign.Yesterday the sky was mostly cloudless, it was about 10 degrees warmer than 2011, and the wind blew only at running pace. This had the effect of putting us in an oven on low. It wasn't too hot initially but over the course of a few hours we slowly baked.

         

        It could have been a lot worse but the conditions did not represent what many of us have been training in. I think it was a spectacular day for everyone at the race who wasn't running.

         

        I admit it, I along with many others let Meb win but I told him he had to run the second fastest time by an American man at Boston, a PR, and faster than the last two editions to do it.

           

          Yesterday the sky was mostly cloudless

           

          My singlet shaped sunburn is AWESOME.

          Come all you no-hopers, you jokers and rogues
          We're on the road to nowhere, let's find out where it goes


          Feeling the growl again

             

             

            Meb is just a very good Championship style runner.  A tough course, no pacers, and he can compete with nearly anybody.   Oh yeah, the Olympics had to have been rigged in Athens when he won Silver as well......

             

            Take a look at his big achievements....Silver at the Olympics....typically tactical and the racehorses don't do so well there....New York...hilly and again the racehorses typically don't go/don't do so well...Boston...unique course again not a place we see 2:04-2:05 even by guys who do it on the racehorse courses.

             

            There's kind of the racehorse courses....Chicago, London, Berlin, Dubai, etc....and those that are not.  I'm sure Meb would admit he's not the fastest marathoner out there in a rabbited, WR attempt race on a pancake course but the dud is just awesome at getting it done in a more "real" race.  I enjoy WRs and the racehorses duking it out as much as anybody but a blow-for-blow at Boston is on another level of interest for me.

            "If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does.  There's your pep talk for today.  Go Run." -- Slo_Hand

             

            I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills

             

              Sounds like there was a "conspiracy" involving Hall and the other Americans--though the African runners didn't know they were involved in it.

              There was a point in my life when I ran. Now, I just run.

               

              We are always running for the thrill of it

              Always pushing up the hill, searching for the thrill of it

              montag


              Super Pro Lurker

                 

                My singlet shaped sunburn is AWESOME.

                 

                I don't know what hurts worse, my shoulders or my legs! 

                xhristopher


                  My sunscreen was fantastic.

                   

                  Panama Jack Kids SPF 50 held up to the Boston Marathon.

                  BeeRunB


                     

                    Take a look at his big achievements....Silver at the Olympics....typically tactical and the racehorses don't do so well there....New York...hilly and again the racehorses typically don't go/don't do so well...Boston...unique course again not a place we see 2:04-2:05 even by guys who do it on the racehorse courses.

                     

                    There's kind of the racehorse courses....Chicago, London, Berlin, Dubai, etc....and those that are not.  I'm sure Meb would admit he's not the fastest marathoner out there in a rabbited, WR attempt race on a pancake course but the dud is just awesome at getting it done in a more "real" race.  I enjoy WRs and the racehorses duking it out as much as anybody but a blow-for-blow at Boston is on another level of interest for me.

                     

                    +1

                      I am weak and have peeked in LR a few times, and have looked at a couple of threads. Consider the rehab a work in progress.

                       

                       

                      Take a look at his big achievements....Silver at the Olympics....typically tactical and the racehorses don't do so well there....New York...hilly and again the racehorses typically don't go/don't do so well...Boston...unique course again not a place we see 2:04-2:05 even by guys who do it on the racehorse courses.

                       

                      There's kind of the racehorse courses....Chicago, London, Berlin, Dubai, etc....and those that are not.  I'm sure Meb would admit he's not the fastest marathoner out there in a rabbited, WR attempt race on a pancake course but the dud is just awesome at getting it done in a more "real" race.  I enjoy WRs and the racehorses duking it out as much as anybody but a blow-for-blow at Boston is on another level of interest for me.

                       

                      One of the more interesting--and less negative--discussions popping up on message boards is who now are the best American marathoners of all time? These occur from time to time, and with Meb's big win yesterday he's now at or near the top of the list, with major wins at NYC and Boston, an Oly medal plus the surprise 4th in London. He's the man! Some argue Ryan Hall because he has run faster. Some say Shorter or Rodgers, although many downplay their accomplishments because they competed in a "weaker era" without the many sub 2:05-2:06 Africans . My criterea for greatest would include a combination of fast times, major marathons, and championships (and probably the subjective category of world rankings--i.e., Track and Field News).

                       

                      So my ranking order is now:

                       

                      1. Shorter - 2 Olympic medals (effectively Gold because it's pretty well certain Cierpinksi was a drug cheat) and an Olympic record that held for decades, 4 wins at Fukkuoka (at the time the de facto world championships), very fast times for his era, and 3 time tops in the world rankings (4 if you include 1976 when they ranked Cierpinksi as first; see above). Caveats - non African era, no win at Boston or NYC (which to Americans are the premier races).

                       

                      2. Meb! - 1 Olympic medal a stellar 4th in 2012, NYC and Boston wins, in today's deep professional era. Can't argue with those numbers. Meb's a champion. His caveats are no super fast times and he never ranked higher than 4th in the world.

                       

                      3. Rodgers - Ran in 1 Olympics and was a disappointing 40th due to and injury. But he more than made up for it with 4 wins at both Boston and NYC, a win at Fukuoka (1977), and 3 times ranked number 1 by TFN.

                       

                      The next three are a little harder but I'd put Salazar ahead of Hall and Khannouchi. Al Sal had a brilliant two year run, and he was the best in the world in that time. Hall put in some fast times and was competitive in his era but never won a major. Khannouchi was also great and broke world records, but he did a lot of that before becoming an American citizen.

                       

                      So that's my armchair ranking. Have at it for your own!


                      Kalsarikännit

                         

                        My singlet shaped sunburn is AWESOME.

                         

                        Everyone was comparing their sunburns this morning.

                        I want to do it because I want to do it.  -Amelia Earhart

                         

                        C-R


                           

                          My singlet shaped sunburn is AWESOME.

                           

                          I used a sharpie in '12 to write my name on my arm for "cheering" purposes. Yeah that tattoo lasted over a year.


                          "He conquers who endures" - Persius
                          "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

                          http://ncstake.blogspot.com/

                          mab411


                          Proboscis Colossus

                             

                            I used a sharpie in '12 to write my name on my arm for "cheering" purposes. Yeah that tattoo lasted over a year.

                             

                            Lol, awesome.

                            "God guides us on our journey, but careful with those feet." - David Lee Roth, of all people

                            kcam


                              I am weak and have peeked in LR a few times, and have looked at a couple of threads. Consider the rehab a work in progress.

                               

                               

                              One of the more interesting--and less negative--discussions popping up on message boards is who now are the best American marathoners of all time? These occur from time to time, and with Meb's big win yesterday he's now at or near the top of the list, with major wins at NYC and Boston, an Oly medal plus the surprise 4th in London. He's the man! Some argue Ryan Hall because he has run faster. Some say Shorter or Rodgers, although many downplay their accomplishments because they competed in a "weaker era" without the many sub 2:05-2:06 Africans . My criterea for greatest would include a combination of fast times, major marathons, and championships (and probably the subjective category of world rankings--i.e., Track and Field News).

                               

                              So my ranking order is now:

                               

                              1. Shorter - 2 Olympic medals (effectively Gold because it's pretty well certain Cierpinksi was a drug cheat) and an Olympic record that held for decades, 4 wins at Fukkuoka (at the time the de facto world championships), very fast times for his era, and 3 time tops in the world rankings (4 if you include 1976 when they ranked Cierpinksi as first; see above). Caveats - non African era, no win at Boston or NYC (which to Americans are the premier races).

                               

                              2. Meb! - 1 Olympic medal a stellar 4th in 2012, NYC and Boston wins, in today's deep professional era. Can't argue with those numbers. Meb's a champion. His caveats are no super fast times and he never ranked higher than 4th in the world.

                               

                              3. Rodgers - Ran in 1 Olympics and was a disappointing 40th due to and injury. But he more than made up for it with 4 wins at both Boston and NYC, a win at Fukuoka (1977), and 3 times ranked number 1 by TFN.

                               

                              The next three are a little harder but I'd put Salazar ahead of Hall and Khannouchi. Al Sal had a brilliant two year run, and he was the best in the world in that time. Hall put in some fast times and was competitive in his era but never won a major. Khannouchi was also great and broke world records, but he did a lot of that before becoming an American citizen.

                               

                              So that's my armchair ranking. Have at it for your own!

                               

                              I think it's clear who the top 3 are but, no disprespect for the amazing things Meb has done, I'd swap 2 and 3.  Rodgers beat pretty much everybody pretty much everywhere when he was at the top of his game.  1980 boycott looms large in this.

                              spinach



                                The next three are a little harder but I'd put Salazar ahead of Hall and Khannouchi. Al Sal had a brilliant two year run, and he was the best in the world in that time. Hall put in some fast times and was competitive in his era but never won a major. Khannouchi was also great and broke world records, but he did a lot of that before becoming an American citizen.

                                 

                                So that's my armchair ranking. Have at it for your own!

                                 

                                How about Joan Benoit Samuelson?  She has an Olympic gold and a win at Chicago and two wins in Boston.  And she was the world record holder for a couple years back in the 80s.  Still pretty impressive now with a 2:52:10 yesterday at age 56.  She should be in the top 5 or 6.

                                12345