BC

Bill,

I know of myself, Sasha, Steve, Neal, and Joe (as far as I know). And now potentially Fritz. Who else do you know of will be up front at Ogden? Any Kenyans?

Bill - Fritz ran a 2:34 in the Napa Valley marathon on March 4th, which he did not win (5th place). Not a bad time, but this level of fitness is not going to be enough to qualify for the Trials in Ogden (if anybody does, my question is what were they doing running a 2:17 ideal flat course effort for only only $1100), and likely not even being able to crack top 3. My guess that it would take a sub-2:28 to make top 3 this year.

Sorry to anyone who thought I was trying to stir things up. I like to know who is coming to a race if I can. It helps me visualize my race and plan how to approach it. When you show up to a race and see someone you didn't expect it can throw you off mentally. Or at least sometimes it does me and makes me change plans last minute. Sasha like I wrote in the Blog it was all second hand. I don't know his fitness level or his goals. What I was told was he wanted to qualify for trials and that's why he wanted to run here. Paul you've listed the top runners I know of that are coming. I don't think there are any Kenyans coming. When I said it was stacked I was talking about you guys. Everyone has been working so hard I think it is awesome and like I said would love to watch the battle as it develops. that's the bummer of distance running. You love the sport but rarely get to watch the jocking for position throughout the road race or marathon. Anyway when I say it is stacked I was not just talking about those top competitors in the race. There are a lot of bloggers and others that have been doing the Striders Winter series that are running well and will hit some new PR's Saturday. Good luck to everyone. Since some think I'm just trying to stir things up. I will say this...this race in Ogden Saturday has a much better local elite field than SLC. How else could an old slow guy like me finish in the top 8 with a 2:52. If I run that slow Saturday I might not make the top 25.

Bill - I have removed the "stirring" comment. I do not think it was appropriate. Personal attacks, especially anonymous, will not be tolerated in the blog comments or posts. If it ever becomes a big problem, I'll create an interface for the blog owners to remove comments from their blogs.

We will have a very good race, I am looking forward to it. Just think about it - Joe's course record of 2:29:01, which is a very high quality time, equivalent to a mid-2:22 in St. George, might not be enough to make top three!

Fritz ran 2:34:55 this yesr at Napa Valley for the record.

Good, and it looks like that course is fast. A few up hills early but mostly flat to down hill in the profile. At 400 ft and dropping to under 100'. Dick Beardsly has the record of a 2:16 when he was 30. He is now in the 50-54 age group and still runs 2:45. He is always steady. Looked like a nice event, have many from around here done it? I think I heard Toby once talk about it. It must not offer much $ because it doesn't seem to pull the big names. Fritz is a good runner and maybe things didn't go the way he wanted them to go. I always say it's a marathon you can train as hard as you can, do everything that you are suppose to and still crash for no good reason other than itis a MARATHON. Sasha, how much faster is a sea level course if it has the same grade changes as a course around here. I have read that in a shorter race say a 5000 or 10000 it makes a bigger difference, but things start to equal out in a marathon.

Good, and it looks like that course is fast. A few up hills early but mostly flat to down hill in the profile. At 400 ft and dropping to under 100'. Dick Beardsly has the record of a 2:16 when he was 30. He is now in the 50-54 age group and still runs 2:45. He is always steady. Looked like a nice event, have many from around here done it? I think I heard Toby once talk about it. It must not offer much $ because it doesn't seem to pull the big names. Fritz is a good runner and maybe things didn't go the way he wanted them to go. I always say it's a marathon you can train as hard as you can, do everything that you are suppose to and still crash for no good reason other than itis a MARATHON. Sasha, how much faster is a sea level course if it has the same grade changes as a course around here. I have read that in a shorter race say a 5000 or 10000 it makes a bigger difference, but things start to equal out in a marathon.

Probably 5 minutes. It is hard to say because we do not have anything well-established here that would compare to any well established sea-level course.