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Paula Radcliffe puts on a demonstration
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Conway
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dan I thought I was the purest here ... I am the one who says pacing is wrong ... YOu all support it, remember ??? At least with respect to ElG et al ... At least that is how I remember it ... LOL
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Dan
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I thought I was the purest here ...

The purest sprinter maybe, but not necessarily the purist. Wink

I was waiting for someone to bring up the other pacing thread... I'm not against pacing in general, although I'm not strongly for it, either. Sort of luke warm. But having men pace women for the duration of an event makes a mockery out of nearly every aspect of the sport. I'm not trying to take anything away from Paula's accomplishment, but the IAAF will be setting a very bad precedent if they allow this record to be ratified. I know there's been some grey area with previous women's marathon records, but past mistakes don't justify new ones...

Dan
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Dan
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Back to the question of marathoning in Athens next year, here's a Drossin quote from today's Runner's World Online:

Quote:
There is maybe a ten percent chance that she would do the marathon in Athens, she submits. "What turns me off on running a marathon in Athens is I don't see the times there being very quick. I don't feel that I want to waste my time running 26.2 miles if I'm not going to better a time out of it." Due to the early evening start, Drossin expects heat for the marathon in Athens to be "hazardous."

Dan
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Justin
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The elite women started first and the male pacemakers started with them, separate from the main race. At least one finished, just ahead of Radcliffe (to one side, away from the cameras) but I don't know if he was classified.

As no women went with Radcliffe after the first mile she and her three pacers had the road to themselves the whole way. It was a paced time-trial.

I'm not a big fan of this arrangement either, although my instinctive dislike is tempered by three thoughts: first, the pacers were there for all the women and Radcliffe still won by 4 minutes, so let's not take away from that; second, I love seeing absolute limits pushed and this enabled that; third, the idea of 'records' for the marathon is silly anyway given the differences between courses.

So from a pure athletic POV I'm all in favour. From a racing traditionalist's POV it's not so great. We shouldn't let this issue cloud the scale of Radcliffe's achievement though, 2:15.25 is incredible.

Justin
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Dan
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess we're all in agreement that the achievement was great while the circumstances were a bit iffy. Too bad the organizers deemed that pacemaking approach necessary...

Dan
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Micah Ward
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2003 2:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paula's time was nothing short of spectacular, on that I agree. But I am uneasy with the pacemaker issue. Even taking into consideration that anyone could take advantage of the pacers it just doesn't seem right. I would rather see a female "rabbit" take them through 15-16 miles then drop and let the leaders do what they can.

It is going to be interesting now to see what Marla Runyan does at Boston Monday. I have heard that she will have a bicycle to assist her because of her vision.
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Dan
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2003 10:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I would rather see a female "rabbit" take them through 15-16 miles then drop and let the leaders do what they can.

My feelings exactly. What was done in London is just too far outside the normally accepted set of rules to sit well with me. The ends most definitely do not justify the means...

In the case of Runyan, I don't have a problem with the bike assistance, which I recall she had last year at New York. She actually needs it for safety, and I believe they set it up so that the rider would be positioned so as to be a guide more than an aid.

Dan
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Micah Ward
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2003 12:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

According to the report I read, a race official will be on the bike to alert Marla to aid stations, turns and course hazards and to tell her her splits. I have no problems with that concept.

Several years ago a blind runner (Tim Willis I think was the name.) ran the Peachtree 10K in 35 miles with a guide runner. They were connected by a shoe string that was tied to the index finger of each of them. Volunteers from the Atlanta Track Club regularly trained with Tim. The biggest problem was finding enough volunteers who were fast enough. Surprised
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Dan
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 18, 2003 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I ran against that fellow once. One of my worst races ever, and I fell behind him in the latter part of the race and had to listen to the chatter of his two guides constantly telling him where to step...

Dan
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graeme
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2003 12:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey guys, long time no see.

Just thought I'd say that I'm kinda split on the male pacing issue. She still had to run the race, but on the other hand, part of marathon running is pacing and the mental aspect. By putting in male pacers, it made a 2:15 that much easier (don't get me wrong, still an amazing accomplishment).

Either way, I'm glad that Radcliffe is really pushing the women's side of the sport and hope she can do the same in the 10k.
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Dan
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2003 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice to see you again Graeme. How're things going?

Dan
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graeme
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 11:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not bad, training is going well. Got some track meets coming up so I'm hoping to break my 1500 and 3000 personal bests soon.

What about you? Doing any running?
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Dan
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 22, 2003 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Best of luck with that. Looking to continue last year's major improvement?

My running has been better the past week and a half, but it was absolutely miserable for close to two months prior. An optimistic assessment would put it at average... Wink

Dan
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graeme
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2003 6:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Average eh? sounds like you're on the upswing. Hope you stay injury free.

I ran a 3000 a few days ago in 9:40. That's much better than my former PB of 10:22, but I still think I can go faster. I didn't really feel the pain until lap 6 or so. I'm running a 1500 tomorrow so I'll be trying to beat my pb of 4:30.
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Paul
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 25, 2003 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Graeme, that is excellent running. Let us know the 1500 results.
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