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Steve Morrin
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« on: June 26, 2008, 10:51:28 am » |
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I was reading an old post about the racing team, and it seemed like the only way you selected people for the team was based on marathon times. I was just curious why there is now focus on any event besides the marathon.
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Paul Petersen
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« Reply #1 on: June 26, 2008, 11:18:06 am » |
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Because other events are lame. Plus, when you become old and slow, marathon is about the only event you can still trash the young kids in. You'll understand in about 15 years. Until then, enjoy your footspeed. :-)
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Steve Morrin
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« Reply #2 on: June 26, 2008, 11:19:44 am » |
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Alright. I see how it is. This is just age discrimination.  |
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Paul Petersen
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« Reply #3 on: June 26, 2008, 11:23:59 am » |
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Also, the general focus of the blog is marathoning. Training for a marathon is very linear and predictable. Shorter races, like the mile or 5K, can be run well on sheer talent and guts, whereas talent and guts will not carry you very far in a marathon without training. Conversely, good training can make up for lack of talent in the marathon. People who get on the blog and begin good training and life habits will see the biggest yield in the marathon.
Hope that explains things a little. There are a few people on the team who focus on shorter races, but they are generally the younger bucks, and I don't think we've posted them on the team site yet. (for that matter, I am not even sure who all is on the current roster at this point...any help?)
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Paul Petersen
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« Reply #4 on: June 26, 2008, 11:24:43 am » |
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Alright. I see how it is. This is just age discrimination. Life is age discrimination. :0 |
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Sasha Pachev
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« Reply #5 on: June 26, 2008, 12:20:05 pm » |
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Steve:
If you crack 1:10 on a reasonably honest half (Provo River in, Hobblecreek would have to be sub-1:08), this makes a serious claim for the team. Sub-15:30 in Draper Days 5 K would be something you could bring to the negotiation table as well. You do have to realize, though, that the funds are limited and we have distributed most of them at the beginning of the year and some later on. However, next year we start afresh. So keep racing, and if you race well and are active on the blog, you'll likely make it.
As Paul said, we do value the marathon more than shorter races, though. The main reason, I suppose, is the shocking effect when you say we have N sub-2:30 marathoners on our team, and M sub-2:40, which both number being rather large, and when we go to a marathon like Ogden and are able to capture the majority of the top 10. There is something about a parade of runners wearing St. George Running Center/FRB uniform in front of a large crowd at the finish chute.
Another reason is that the sponsorship has a greater ROI when you invest into a hard worker vs pure raw talent. Raw talent guy will run a couple of good races, then after a while will disappear from the racing scene or become a non-player when his lifestyle destroys his Quality X. A hard worker without much talent might be stuck at a 2:28-2:32 range in St. George, but he makes consistent showings, always a part of the parade, and good material for staffing WBR teams. Performance in the marathon is a great indicator of how hard of a worker a certain runner is.
Some may say this is unfair to speedy 5 K guys. I see no reason why those guys could not train and crack at least 2:35 in St. George. Iain Hunter ran for BYU and was a bit under 1:50 in the 800. That was his specialty. He decided to train for the marathon at the age of 36 and ran 2:23:04 last year.
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Steve Morrin
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« Reply #6 on: June 26, 2008, 04:38:44 pm » |
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That makes sense. I was just curious. I don't think I'll be doing any sub 2:40's anytime soon anyways.
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Michelle Lowry
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« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2008, 06:43:49 pm » |
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Another point for Steve:
I am 31 years old, and I finished my last competitive running on a "team" at BYU in 1998. Nine and a half years later I get my first invitation to join another team, the St. George Running Center's/FRB team. Having a team to run with and identify with is so rewarding. As a high schooler, you have that, you have a team to rally around. You have some financial support (entrance fees, transportation, gym, and coach access). Once you run in college, you will be identified with a team and financially supported, at least at a bare minimum. You can't have a sponsorship even as modest as St. George Running Center's/FRB's in college or you risk your amateur status, if I understand NCAA regulations correctly. I would assume sponsorships are also not good for high schoolers.
Enjoy what you have now. I miss my HS/College team experiences. Don't begrudge us old folks our team. Your time for this phase in your running career will come.
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Steve Morrin
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« Reply #8 on: June 26, 2008, 08:10:25 pm » |
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Yeah. High School running is definitely fun. I was just curious. I don't plan on joining a racing team for a while anyways.
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Kory Wheatley
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« Reply #9 on: June 26, 2008, 11:16:06 pm » |
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The marathon is just a different breed of race than the others. More of a strategy needs to be planned, along with hydration and fueling during a run makes it different than the shorter runs. I fine being on a racing team gives mei great motivation to train hard and race well. In fact I'm striving hard right now to get an other marathon under 2:39 for this year. If I can make the team next year that's great.
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