OT:Mom becomes fastest American woman to run a marathon

[AngryScientist]

Pretty Cool!

Runner Keira D'Amato broke the American record in the women's marathon this weekend. The 37-year-old mother of two ran the Houston Marathon in two hours, 19 minutes and 12 seconds, beating the previous record set in 2006.


D'Amato said on Instagram that she was feeling "confused, pumped, exhausted, proud, in disbelief, sore, more confusion, excited" after her record-breaking race.

"I could list the roller coaster of emotions for days... but the thought I keep coming back to is how proud I am that I found the courage to give running a shot again and attempt to tackle all this 'unfinished business,'" she wrote. "Goals, similar to marathons, can be scary as crap… but again, with a little help from my friends, we had the courage to try."

[duff_duffy]

This was amazing. She was flying.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by duff_duffy

This was amazing. She was flying.

Seriously, she's only a little over 2 minutes shy of the world record too. Wow! What an accomplishment. I would love to see her training regimen for the comeback.

[Clean39T]

If we think UCI pedantry around bikes is a mess, check out what’s going on with bouncy shoes in the running world..

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

If we think UCI pedantry around bikes is a mess, check out what’s going on with bouncy shoes in the running world..

yea, i dont get that. as long as anyone can buy them and they dont add any external energy sources what's the problem?

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

yea, i dont get that. as long as anyone can buy them and they dont add any external energy sources what's the problem?

It’s still a really cool feat (ba dum tiss) - but it’s the records comparison that falls a little flat.. Like beating LeMond’s times on Geiger outside Reno. It’s a little more doable with modern tech. But yes, not as much of a thing for head to head racing, and there are rules coming together that are quite UCI’ish.

A better comparison is swim suits in Olympic events a few years ago, pool technology, etc. But we’re cyclists, so..

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Seriously, she's only a little over 2 minutes shy of the world record too. Wow! What an accomplishment. I would love to see her training regimen for the comeback.

She was more than 5 minutes over the world record. https://www.worldathletics.org/recor.../world-records

[p nut]

Yeah, that’s 5:19 min/mile pace. I don’t care if she has pogo sticks strapped to her shoes. That is impressive. I can barely get under 7min.

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

yea, i dont get that. as long as anyone can buy them and they dont add any external energy sources what's the problem?

A race is a race, and now the shoe technology has spread enough that the playing field is level, but comparing times to those run on older shoes isn't really fair.

So if you want to celebrate D'Amato winning the race, that's great. But if you're comparing her record to the record she broke, the difference in time can be more than attributable to the shoes themselves.

It's fine, but breaking a pre-super shoes record with super shoes doesn't really mean much.

[72gmc]

If you're even a bit of a running geek, the instagram account emmajanelbates featured a 13-part, first-person recap of Emma's second place in Chicago back in October.

I never aspired to marathon, preferring trail running, but I do appreciate the stories people tell about working their way through a race.

[p nut]

Originally Posted by prototoast

A race is a race, and now the shoe technology has spread enough that the playing field is level, but comparing times to those run on older shoes isn't really fair.

So if you want to celebrate D'Amato winning the race, that's great. But if you're comparing her record to the record she broke, the difference in time can be more than attributable to the shoes themselves.

It's fine, but breaking a pre-super shoes record with super shoes doesn't really mean much.

What about similar advancements in cycling technology? Does it negate current records and FKT’s?

[prototoast]

Originally Posted by p nut

What about similar advancements in cycling technology? Does it negate current records and FKT’s?

Yes, although cycling overall is much less focused on time-based records. The biggest races in cycling aren't even the same every year.

So no, I don't have to discount Tadej Pogacar's TdF win because he was on newer equipment, but Ashton Lambie's 4k pursuit record? Meh. To me that means less than his pursuit world championship.

[NHAero]

Totally awesome!
In the late 60s early 70s I sometimes ran with Sara Mae Berman, co-founder of the Cambridge Sports Union, and unofficial winner of the Boston Marathon in 69-71, before women were allowed to enter (sheesh - does anyone else recall Jock Semple trying to rip Kathy Switzer's number off in the '67 race?) Sara Mae ran 3:05:08 in 1970, just a few weeks after Caroline Walker lowered the world record from 3:07:27 to 3:02:53. She's very much alive and kicking at 85!

[duff_duffy]

I am amazed at stories like this. Athletes that can come back from taking time off of sport (injury, family, burnout, whatever) and return at to compete at insanely high level later in life…
Shoes have influenced times for sure, but should not distract from how amazing her time is, and I wonder if she has come close to hitting her ceiling. Go back a few years and look at her progress and she is getting faster and faster. Seriously, 5:20 miles for 26 miles is like riding a bike 100 miles at an all out sprint for most of us on this board. I can consider myself a decent middle age runner and her marathon pace was faster than my 5k pace.

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

Seriously, she's only a little over 2 minutes shy of the world record too. Wow! What an accomplishment. I would love to see her training regimen for the comeback.

[Hellgate]

I don't care what shoes she wore, 2:19 is smokin' fast!