Run-Down Forums

Conway · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 5:53 am Post subject:

Well from waht I've heard the crowd was encouraging them .. Which might explain why no one else thought it was that bad .. And of course NBC made it out as if they were just out there doing their thing and that everyone thought it was horrible ...

Of course NBC played a major role in the hype and trash talking build up of the MJ/Mo race ... And then promptly went the other way when both pulled up in the final !!! Am dying to see someone else do Olympics/Worlds as I think NBC has done a lot to ruin telecasts over the past couple of decades ... ABC really built up the Olympics .. And made them watchable ... Although they did invent the "up close and personal" segment which NBC took to hell in a handbasket ...

Going back to the idea of the natural sprinters v the hard working distance runners ... Why is it that no one seems to think that sprinting well is hard work ??? Anyone out there ever try to run fast ??? Not all that so natural ...

Dan · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 6:55 am Post subject:

As well respected as Bob Costas is, I think he's one of the worst things that happened to the Olympics over the past 10 years or so. His insistence on bringing up the Chinese track/swimming and Michelle Smith situations put an incredibly negative spin on everything. He couldn't just mention it, he had to continually moralize and then apologize, but his apologies were structured in a way that just brought more attention to it... Probably not all his fault, as the network execs are constantly yapping in his ear while he's on the air, but he seemed to be the focal point of the negativity. Ben Johnson must've gotten the networks good ratings, so they were looking to dig up or create another scandal. Sad

Throw NBC's dispicable "sideline" reports Jim Gray and Collingsworth or whatever his name is, and you're just waiting for someone to spike them in the forehead...

Conway · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 8:02 am Post subject:

Bob Costas .. You're abasolutely right .. PRoblem with NBC is that they have taken the position that sport is news .. They look at sport almost totally from the news angle ... Not from the sport angle .. Which is why they took up close and personal to the extreme .. Their focus has been on the figures, the stories, the drama ... When in other parts of the world the focus is on the competition .. IT is the story ... IT creates the stories ... But unfortunately NBC, Costas, et la seem to t hink that they CREATE the stories ..

As for sprinting ... I agree that a lot of hs sprinters are lazy (I beat a lot of them) ... But no one sees that unless they go to the practices ... The only thing that people see is what happens on the track .. Unless you are talking about the distance runners in high school who view their team mates as lazy ... But then if they were out on the road doing the mileage they should be doing to be successful how would they know .. The fact that they know would indicate that they are/were just as lazy as their sprint counter parts ... Smile

... Which would explain why the only three years in a row with sub 4 high school milers occured over 30 years ago ...

Frankly I think it is becasue most people are lazy .. And because most people are lazy it is easier to say that someone can do something better than they can because it comes natural to them .. Distance runners are willing to plod along on the roads or around the track "building their endurance" and being happy with whatever comes ... You see there is no such thing as accepting mediocrity in sprinting .. Either you get there or you get out ... But in distance running we have defined thta ALL is acceptable ... Therefore one can't fail in distance running .. You only have to find your level of acceptable competition .. There's really no such thing as recreational sprinting !!!!

Dan · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 8:39 am Post subject:

Conway · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 10:10 am Post subject:

Wow ... I guess I had it all wrong .. I used ot get started warming up an hour ot 45 minutes before my event(s) ... Spent most of the meet on the infield warming up / warming down / getting ready ... Maybe I waasted too much energy !!!! Smile

... Just kidding ... I understand what you are saying ... Just wonder if the people in the stands really notice ... Seems to me they don't see much until everyone approaches their blocks ... And even then they miss a lot ... And I am talking about a lot of coaches too !!! I think the people that post in this forum (for example) are not the average people going to track meets .. But you konw as I write this (had to take a mintue to talk to a client on the phone) I believe the worst perpetrators of negativism for the sport are the coaches I mentioned above .. And I will come back later and explain why .. . Smile

Dan · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 11:05 am Post subject:

I was referring to teammates more so than the people in the stands (who notice very little, generally, which is the subject of the topics about how to let the spectators in on the action). I think it is a common enough perception coming out of the high school ranks that it pervades the way people think about things years later. I'm not sure how many people that follow the sport were directly involved earlier on, but I would guess it's a decent number.

Speaking of warmup time, my teammates in high school always got a laugh out of how early I started. I was especially bad when I had back problems and had to get really well warmed up, often starting 2 to 2.5 hours before my race!! 45 minutes is a very good number for most people, but I often prefer an hour for myself. I like to warm up a bit more vigorously early, then have some down time to stretch and relax while staying warm, rather than rush through things at the last minute if behind schedule...

Dan

Conway · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 1:10 pm Post subject:

I agree that a lot of the people tht follow the sport are those that have had past affiliations with it ... I swhy I have a problem with a lot of coaches becasue a lot of misconceptioins and negativisms start there .. Especially among high school coaches ... Can't tell you how many times I hvae been at meets and heard coaches preaching incorrect stuff ... More times than correct unfortunately ... Sad

... One of the places where we need to start to make the sport better in my opinion ..Too many coaches working with kids that are not prepared to do so ... But I won't jump on that soap box right now ...

As for warming up ... That is an area where a lot of high school coaches fail to properly educate their kids ... I see so many kids in stands when I go to high school meets "resting" for their events ... And the coaches sitting there with them ... Then 5 or 10 minutes before their event is scheduled ot go off they are told to go sign in and get ready ... Sheesh ... When I was in high school we would get off the bus ... Put our stuff in a common area ... And everyone would head for the infield for group calistenics !!! Followed by slow laps around the track ... Then stretching etc for your individual events ... We went up in the stands to hang out when we were done with all of our events !!! I spent most of each meet on the infield as I ran both relays so was at the start and end of the meet (with races in between) ... Would only go to the stands periodicaly to check on things like meet scores, spikes (vs flats), batons, check on schedule etc !!!!

But that was back in the golden age of teh sport !!! Smile

Dan · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 3:14 pm Post subject:

Conway · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2001 3:20 pm Post subject:

Nope .. We'd drink some water ... And all the time wasn't spent running .. Sitting and stretching .. Jogging ... Talking with other athletes .. Kick it up a notch when I knew my events were nearing ... Controlled strides, stuff like that .. Get the blocks set and do a few starts ... Stretch, relax ...

Hardest was the 200 and 4x4 cause there was only 30 - 40 minutes in between cause all there was was the 2 mile ... Trying to warm down/stay warm adn compete at your best in both long sprints in that time span was difficult sometimes ... and the hardest part was running the 200 and trying to forget that you had a 400 afterwards .. Made it hard to run the turn properly sometimes Smile

Conway · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2001 1:19 pm Post subject:

Ironically as we have been talking about the 4x1 from Sydney and the perceptions of sprinters, apparently Mr. Jon Drummond was arrested on marijuana charges in the last 24 hours Sad

Dan · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2001 3:53 pm Post subject:

HSI is taking a bit of a beating right now. Sad

Drummond, Smith's lawsuit, and Inger's caffeine positive...

Dan

Conway · Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2001 7:51 pm Post subject:

AND Boldon's positive Sad

Dan · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2001 11:00 am Post subject:

I forgot about that one... Is that still pending, or did it blow over?

Dan

Conway · Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2001 11:09 am Post subject:

I believe it is still pending ...

Dan · Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2001 8:53 am Post subject:

Going back to the question about Rich Kenah, today's Runner's World online has an interview with him that says he isn't 100% retired but doesn't expect to compete at the elite level anymore.

http://www.runnersworld.com/dailynew/archives/2001/October/011030.html

Also, an interesting response to one of the questions:

Q: Where do you think the 800 meters is headed in the U.S.?

A: I hate to say it, but I think we are about to go through a rough time in the 800. The 800 guys, myself included, just haven't gotten the job done in the last two years. However, there is some great, young, developing talent in this country. I can't predict the next great one, but I believe it will be a guy who learns early in his career that he needs to train to race well in major championships. To me, that means learning to race well off both slow and fast paces, as well as learning how to handle three races over a five-day period. A long sprinter just won't get the job done at the Olympics or World Championships anymore.

Dan

Discussion Forum

Share the Love!

What's New