OT: munich marathon final!

[wallymann]

it's worth a look!

https://youtu.be/yLDzekMLNb0?t=7697

[Blue Jays]

Congratulations to the winner. Looks like he even "drafted" for a moment!
Never understood athletes looking over shoulder, while in the lead, with finish in sight.

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Never understood athletes looking over shoulder, while in the lead, with finish in sight.

My belief is, the athlete is suffering and hoping they can back off to a more comfortable effort.

[dustyrider]

That’s a home field kick!

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

Congratulations to the winner. Looks like he even "drafted" for a moment!
Never understood athletes looking over shoulder, while in the lead, with finish in sight.

One thing you learn as a runner for years and years, there's always someone faster. So completely understandable.

As a ex sprinter who turned to distance running in most of his adult life my finishing kick on many races took down many a runner in front of me coming into the final stage of the race. I couldn't maintain the same pace of many runners mile over mile but always had and extra gear at the end that many distance runners just didn't have. Both those guys he passed were maxed out which is quite common.

Not that I could even dream of running 2:10 in a marathon.

[Blue Jays]

My sense is the only thing in front of you is the finish line so it really does not much matter what the fellow competitors behind you are doing.

At that point…simply hammer as hard as you can through the finish line.
Turning your head around takes precious energy and certainly reduces momentum.

These guys are 1000x faster and 1000x more fit than me, yet the second place runner did unnecessarily swivel his head around multiple times in final meters.

[wc1934]

Satchel Paige - "dont look back something might be gaining on you".

In this case the "something" was a guy who wouldn't quit, as coming in second means you are the first to loose.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

One thing you learn as a runner for years and years, there's always someone faster. So completely understandable.

As a ex sprinter who turned to distance running in most of his adult life my finishing kick on many races took down many a runner in front of me coming into the final stage of the race. I couldn't maintain the same pace of many runners mile over mile but always had and extra gear at the end that many distance runners just didn't have. Both those guys he passed were maxed out which is quite common.

Not that I could even dream of running 2:10 in a marathon.

No kidding. In the years where I ran, and ran a lot(7 marathons)...'best was a 3:09(way younger)..I felt for those guys who were really pretty good but who could consistently put down 2:25 or so marathon times but....just could never get any faster...That seems like it would be disappointing.

BUT, I was built for comfort, not for speed. My running times were about the same for 10k, 10miler, 1/2 marathon, full marathon...which is to say, my 10k times weren't very fast, nor were my marathon times. I once saw Bill Rogers commenting on the Boston Marathon and he was amazed anybody could run for 3-4 hours...which is where most of the herd' finishes.

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

No kidding. In the years where I ran, and ran a lot(7 marathons)...'best was a 3:09(way younger)..I felt for those guys who were really pretty good but who could consistently put down 2:25 or so marathon times but....just could never get any faster...That seems like it would be disappointing.

BUT, I was built for comfort, not for speed. My running times were about the same for 10k, 10miler, 1/2 marathon, full marathon...which is to say, my 10k times weren't very fast, nor were my marathon times. I once saw Bill Rogers commenting on the Boston Marathon and he was amazed anybody could run for 3-4 hours...which is where most of the herd' finishes.

3:09 is awesome! My final one was also the first one I ever took serious and followed a training plan for. Knees were already shot so I trained avoiding hills and picked the final one since it was a lot on dirt and pretty level Final long training run of 22 miles I did in a mind blowing 2.36 and I was really moving the final couple of miles. So excited for this marathon. On the final race all was going well until right at mile 8/9 where there was a steep downhill of about 50 yards. During training I'd have walked this but I wanted a PR so I ran. Blew the right knee out going down that sucker but being a "tough" (stupid) soldier I didn't quit. Ran the rest of the race hobbled with a knee the size of a basketball. Came in over 5 hours and that was the last day I ever ran. A couple of years earlier I did the 25th anniversary Marine Corp Marathon 5 weeks after coming off a broken leg. That was another long, slow, and freaking hot marathon. So not ready for that one, LOL! The follies of youth.

[BobbyJones]

At that level, competing in the marathon is as much about strategy as fitness, even right up to the end as you saw.

Just sayin'.

Originally Posted by Blue Jays

My sense is the only thing in front of you is the finish line so it really does not much matter what the fellow competitors behind you are doing.

At that point…simply hammer as hard as you can through the finish line.
Turning your head around takes precious energy and certainly reduces momentum.

These guys are 1000x faster and 1000x more fit than me, yet the second place runner did unnecessarily swivel his head around multiple times in final meters.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

3:09 is awesome! My final one was also the first one I ever took serious and followed a training plan for. Knees were already shot so I trained avoiding hills and picked the final one since it was a lot on dirt and pretty level Final long training run of 22 miles I did in a mind blowing 2.36 and I was really moving the final couple of miles. So excited for this marathon. On the final race all was going well until right at mile 8/9 where there was a steep downhill of about 50 yards. During training I'd have walked this but I wanted a PR so I ran. Blew the right knee out going down that sucker but being a "tough" (stupid) soldier I didn't quit. Ran the rest of the race hobbled with a knee the size of a basketball. Came in over 5 hours and that was the last day I ever ran. A couple of years earlier I did the 25th anniversary Marine Corp Marathon 5 weeks after coming off a broken leg. That was another long, slow, and freaking hot marathon. So not ready for that one, LOL! The follies of youth.

I've done the USMC marathon 4 times..put on really, really well. The trip out around Hain's point was brutal..seeing people finish it, how they looked and feeling sorry for the ones just getting onto that loop.
My last marathon was NYC..tried 3-4 times to get a number finally did, 1985. BUT, the friday before walked into a hall tree at night and broke the little toe on my right foot. second bone broke in 2..Doc said stay off it, of course, I taped it up and ran NYC...ran with a limp and couldn't even stand up or walk the next morning..driving back...stopped by Ocean Front Bikes on the way back to Virgina Beach, bought a Ciocc(still have it)...never ran again..I think I gained 15 pounds the next day.

I really liked the simplicity of running. Shorts, shoes, go run. Cycling seems really 'busy' in comparison. I ran all over the far east when onboard USS Midway(port visits)..HongKong, Singapore, Philippines, Korea, Japan..even ran on the ship-5 laps=1 mile..couldn't do any of that on a bike.

"I got my tan off the coast of Iran"....

Sorry for the thread drift...

[RobbieTunes]

I always considered it “about halfway.” One year, in a cold November rain, I thought about packing it in, about Hains Point. Came upon a young man break dancing in the rain, on a big metal plate, with a boom box in a clear trash bag, just for us. New life, 2:36 that year. 2:21 is my PR, and always will be, but I’d sure like to do USMC one more time.

I’ve been out sprinted in many a 5K, 10K and even a half-marathon (1:09:01 to 1:09:02). Never close to another runner in the full 26.2, and never won one, but podiumed a few times. A few times, the guy outsprinting me looked back, but still won, so I know little about that technique, other than hearing “don’t look back” while watching high school track meets.

I’ve also been in a 4-man sprint at a 5K finish, took up the entire lane, no one looked back, all four under 15:00 flat. The best sprinter definitely won, but we ran 4 abreast for at least the last mile, surging, chasing, etc. I learned to run my own race in that defeat.

“Drafting” is all about applying pressure, and it often works. Running on a guy’s shoulder is much easier than having to listen to an unseen stalker. Kip Keino once drafted me for 3 miles, just to ask if there was beer at the finish, and then leave me in his wake. Humility.

To run a 2:10 and still be competitive at the end, well, 2 words: three lungs?

[martl]

on a related matter, i was in munich (my home town) during the Championships, and it was absolutely brilliant. The events took place all over the city and were super accessible; one could just hop on a bike, go to one of the sites - most were in the old Olympiapark of the '72 games, but some were on public places in the city center like the marathon finish line- and have fun, watch the sports, join a party
No oversized security, no gated events for people with expensive tickets only, no marketing overload. The park was full of spectators and athletes just walking around, having a good time. I saw cycling national teams rolling to training in the city streets twice, grabbed a glimpse of the rock climbers at Königsplatz, watched the ladies Triathlon, had a beer while the halfpipe BMX folks held their training.... all on one day.

It was what olympic games should be but never are.