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b-rad

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  1. b-rad
    Everyone seems to have a few good goals coming up or just enjoying the running 🙂👌 Amsterdam marathon for me in a few weeks, then nothing set in plan yet. Was successful getting a Tokyo marathon spot for March so that’ll be fun. And hopefully finishing all the world majors there.
  2. b-rad
    Gerda admits she wasn’t feeling great from the beginning. What that level of feeling was only she will know. But I very much doubt she would make any excuse just for the sake of it (unlike Lyles in the 200m who was miraculously jumping around before the race then suddenly had covid after he lost 🤦‍♂️). She just had an off day. It happens. There were some other big names who had shockers (relative) too. Doing Oceans, Comrades, and Olympics within the space of 4 months is definitely not ideal. She knew this and mentioned it some time ago. I suspect very few athletes could have done this to such a high level. Sifan is next level in terms of abilities that’s for sure so we should probably exclude her from this 😁 Oceans and Comrades and marathons where there is appearance money is where the money can be made. Unfortunately there is no real financial incentive to taking part in the Olympics so I can understand Gerdas approach. For all of the athletes there is no doubt they must have found the course a challenge. And explains the relatively slower times of course. Tougher than any of the marathon majors. Almost double the elevation gains of NY and Boston. 3 big climbs, all of them much steeper and longer than those in Boston which is considered the hilliest major. One of the climbs was 600m at 10.5%. Besides the fact that the temperatures were nowhere near the much cooler temps of big marathons. Just for some perspective.
  3. b-rad
    Very decent results for the three SA ladies at the Olympic marathon yesterday! Superb Olympics for Sifan Hassan too. Finishing 1h30 behind Sifan was a runner from Bhutan. Finished 80th in 3h52 (79th place finished almost 1hr ahead in 2h55 for perspective). This runner “qualified” by way of a IOC ‘universality’ place. Quickest marathon prior to Olympics being a 3h26. Qualification standard for all the other genuine athletes was 2:26:50. I admire the perseverance to push on and finish because at the end of the day a marathon is a marathon and for anyone taking part it’s a challenge and a major achievement to finish. But let’s also be realistic here. The Olympics are the pinnacle and showcase (or should showcase) the best athletes from different countries. Qualification standards are there for a reason. But here we have someone being awarded a starting place with a time almost 1hr slower than the actual qualification standard? In fact almost too slow for a Boston marathon qualification. There are many other big events to send such runners if international scale marathons are the goal. Any of the majors or platinum level marathons would suffice surely? Leave the Olympics for the Olympians
  4. b-rad
    Anyone with some inside info on the expected date for Two Oceans 2025?
  5. b-rad
  6. b-rad
    They both ran under the 33 year old record of Frith van der Merwe in 2022 too. Irvette might be like the other great runners running in the Fordyce era.
  7. b-rad
    Breaking records. Actually smashing records without much competition says a lot about her abilities. Let’s see if there’s any real contenders who fancy their chances. Might raise the bar somewhat. There might be some big talkers like Jim Walmsley on the ladies side of things for Comrades. Although they would actually need to line up at the start line unlike Jim😂
  8. b-rad
    I disagree with you on being a bit of a big fish in a small pond. True the ladies field in Oceans and Comrades might not be attracting the ultimate highest calibre in big numbers, but I’d argue Gerda could still compete and beat most in the road ultra world, even if they did participate. Her range over the distances is very solid. 2h24 at Valencia last year with an 11th place. 7th at London Marathon. 13th, 11th, 12th places at New York marathons. These are not nothing events by any means. And some of the best take part. Of course the Kenyans and Ethiopians kind of dominate in marathons and that’s their focus, but could they actually perform in the ultra distance events? We’re yet to see it.
  9. b-rad
    A big congrats to everyone who took part🍻 whether you lined up, finished, or achieved a PB. It’s been 5 years since the last up run and certainly I think many of us were reminded it’s a tough day out. People seemed to be setting off at a wild pace to be honest. And it was a big matter of holding back, and holding back some more. Something that so many ignored completely and paid for it later on. My only real hill training I did was at Oceans as most running has been in the flats of Netherlands and other parts of Europe so the hills were something to overcome. Felt decent mostly until top of Inchanga. From there just couldn’t or didn’t want to take gel or drink mix. Started struggling somewhat and had to dig deep to maintain the pace. Didn’t quite get the main goal of bettering the 2023 time but happy to have got in under 7hrs. Back to down in 2025 we go 🙂
  10. b-rad
    I think the doping situation in Kenya, Ethiopia etc is somewhat different to other situations. The cases are often down to athletes trusting everything their coaches , combined with perhaps a lack of education, and a desperate attempt amongst hundreds of other faster more gifted athletes, to improve, and hopefully be able to earn some money to provide for family. I’m pretty sure Gerda is tested pretty often, perhaps someone with closer knowledge can confirm? She is training a lot in the alps in Europe so I’m wondering how the doping tests are conducted and who conducts them?
  11. b-rad
    Cotton T-shirt or do you mean a slightly thicker moisture wicking type shirt? Personally I’d stay away from cotton in colder weather. A sweat soaked shirt in cold winds is not ideal😅
  12. b-rad
    How did the light jacket go?
  13. b-rad
    Lightweight long sleeve kind of running T-shirt style or very lightweight wind breaker. Or are warmers you can just slide off. Buff, light gloves, and cap. Should be plenty. Or the other comment too 😉 let’s be honest it’s not exactly European winter conditions 😅
  14. b-rad
    Forgot to add regarding London. Quite a few restaurant chains and other chains offer free goodies to runners. Runnersworld had a list of them. Some offer for the day of the race but a few for a few days. After the run got a free burger and fries. Free pizza at a different restaurant the same night. Nice little bonus. And you just show your medal.
  15. b-rad
    I highly doubt they could make a multi day event. Too many complex logistics and the city won’t be too happy closing the roads for more than one day.
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