Olympic Marathon

Pammie*

You forgot selling up playgrounds and sportsfields, to go to waste or building houses and flats

We used to have swimming pools here, tennis courts playgrounds, nothing like that now.

[Deleted User]

Kenya has named the marathon team for Athens:

- Paul Tergat (World's Best)
- Sammy Korir (Sub 2:05)
- Eric Wainaina (Atlanta and Syndey medals)

Reserve: Martin Lel (world halfmarathon champ, NYC winner), Rodgers Rob (former NYC & Boston winner)

- Catherine Ndereba
- Magarete Okayo (NYC Winner)
- Alice Chelagat (Nairobi marathon)

No reserve so far.

Strong team, hasn't manage to secure a gold in the marathon so far. Suprised about Wainaina and Chelagat. Wainaina was only around 8th in recent Tokyo marathon.

[Deleted User]

I'd have put Martin Lel in myself instead of Wainaina.
The Kenyans are known for changing there minds though!
It's the marathon I'm looking forward to most of all :-)

Blisters

Tim...That's why we do them isn't it?

[Deleted User]

blisters,
I much prefere watching the Kenyans race marathons than me struggle round them :-)

Still one day even I might get one right!

Aardvark

Interesting thread guys.

I wonder how much of the problem in Britain is that distance running is very much an 'adult' sport. I certainly didn't do any at school, beyond a short cross-country once a year. I know from past discussions that a lot of the most serious runners on this forum only took up running as adults.

Compare that with the African nations where running is still a way of getting around for a lot of people - we've all heard the stories about kids running 10k to school then home again in the evening. It stands to reason that the more kids you have running, the more likely it is that you'll find the good ones.

[Deleted User]

I agree Aardvark,
At school I had a teacher who was a good runner & we even had a school club, lunch time run once a week for a while.
I also worked in a butchers shop Saturday morning's for a guy who had a running shop next door.
He ran in the RAF & got close to a sub 4 min mile, also co-founded the BMC with Frank Horwill. I never found this out until years afterwards though!
He supported Liverpool & me Everton I never told him that either! but he was a great, if strange character.
I used to get free carrier bags to take my books to school so to advertise the shop :-)
It's these little thing's that started me on a lifetime of running.
That's what we need now, is input from the top athletes from the past to create some sort of magic for the youngsters.
It work on me & I'm nobody special!

[Deleted User]

We can't use the lifestyle excuse that easily, it's the same for all European countries, and our men don't even rate very highly on a European level. I'm on a year in France as part of my university course this year, in the Championnats de France XC, I finished the 11.7k 4'57" behind winner El-Hassan Lahssini - I was 227th and 46th in the Espoirs age group (born 82/83/84). If I'd been 4'57" behind Tromans at the English Nationals I'd have been 119th, and you can bet there weren't 45 runners of the aforementioned age group in the top 45. When you consider the quality was diluted by the fact that the veterans race was separate, and that there's a short course as well as a long course, and I might have struggled to make the top 400.
We're poor in depth not just no-one being able to take the step up to world class.

[Deleted User]

Sorry, 45 in the top 118!

Aardvark

HC - do other European countries have systems that get more kids involved in athletics? Granted that the lifestyle difference with African countries applies in all western European countries, do other nations have more athletics in schools, or for younger age groups? Why do you think that the French have more quality coming through than we do: is it a 'natural cycle' thing, where biology just happens to have produced a lot of good runners all at once, or are they doing something that we aren't?

[Deleted User]

I agree with what has been said, lack of attitude is the main problem. After Khannouchi arrived in New York he had to start from zero, working hard, washing up the dishes and still trained hard during the night. All depends on how badly you want it.

In Germany for example, athletics does not play a major part during education. Football, tennis, swimming, cycling and basketball are quite popular among kids. There is no tradition in XC. Kids with talent can attend a regional boarding school (parents have to pay) where the kids can make use of training facilities, enabling them to train before and after school. This system has been very succesful, producing medals at World Junior champs and later Olympics.

[Deleted User]

Just to add a few more names. US marathon team: Alan Culpepper, Meb Keflezighi and Dan Browne.

The Japanese are soon about to announce their team. Their qualification rules are a bit misleading. Even the strongest runner could miss out. Would like to see Toshinara Takaoka in the team. It's not even sure if Naoko Takahashi makes the team.

[Deleted User]

As long as Paul Tergat wins I'll be happy!

What I'd really enjoy is 5-6 athletes racing it out with 1 mile to go. I love the drama & excitement as the race unfold's :-)


One bit of sad news this week Liz McColgan has had to stop all running after an operation on her toe again :-(

Broadsword Calling Danny Boy

I spent my twenties getting drunk, and have only been running two years. I've done 1'37 for a half.

Is it too late for me to win an Olympic gold?

:-))

[Deleted User]

More on Japanese team selection. Looks like Takahashi will miss out on the Olympics. Reiko Tosa won today in Nagoya, the last qualifying race in a time faster than Takahashi. Noguchi, very likely Sakamoto and Tosa. Final selection will be on Monday.

Gert Thys won Seoul marathon in 2:07:06 and posted the best time for 2004.

[Deleted User]

Aardvark, difficult for me to say as I'm only in one club in one region for one season, but I'm definitely aware of astronger junior presence in the club and at XC meets than when I'm in the UK, and I'd say the attitude is more geared towards producing very good young athletes than winning the parochial battle against the local rivals in a given relay/road race league every year as seems to be the priority in the UK sometimes, but it's only an impression, I don't have a wide enough view to explain why the standard is better here - it's just obvious that it is!

[Deleted User]

JAAF announced the team today:

Women: Noguchi, Sakamoto, Tosa
Men: Kunichika, Aburaya, Suwa

Sydney gold medal winner Takahashi(2:19:46) and Asian record holder Takaoka (2:06:16) were not considered.

[Deleted User]

Takahashi to miss Athens

Proves how tough marathon running really is & we carn't all expect great results all the time.

[Deleted User]

Tokyo Marathon runner up Satoshi Osaki (2:08:46) didn't made the team either. In the same race Eric Wainania (Kenyan Olympic Team) delivered a 2:11!

Note, this guy works full time! His training starts after 5:30pm. What would happen if he would turn pro?

[Deleted User]

I train sometimes with a young Japanese student, it makes me wonder sometimes where he can go, his style is so silky smooth.
He's just started to train with my Saturday group, which includes Mike Coleman 5th in th Hasting's 1/2, so it will be intersting to watch his improvement!