Anyone besides me getting less impressed by Kessler's 3:34, two guys who can't even make it to NCAAs just ran 3:37

The Unkle wrote:

xcfan8967 wrote:

Jesus christ you are such a tool Rojo. Nobody can run a good race anymore without you immediately ranting about super spikes and how unimpressive their run actually is. Cranky douchebag.

He is right.

Something is up with all these ridic fast times.

Has to be the shoes.

What else could it be?

One thing else it could be is that young talents outside Africa these days have a sense of self-belief. When they come here and read you guys saying East Africans are unbeatable because they are genetically built like race horses and don't have a concept of time, they recognise it for the nonsense that it is, exposed long ago by repeated doping busts and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

If it's super shoes, why aren't Africans running sub 3:26 and sub 1:41 already? Are super shoes like EPO - they don't work on elite Kenyans?

Lots of pros had the spikes before, now all the college kids.

Coevett wrote:

The Unkle wrote:

He is right.

Something is up with all these ridic fast times.

Has to be the shoes.

What else could it be?

One thing else it could be is that young talents outside Africa these days have a sense of self-belief. When they come here and read you guys saying East Africans are unbeatable because they are genetically built like race horses and don't have a concept of time, they recognise it for the nonsense that it is, exposed long ago by repeated doping busts and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

If it's super shoes, why aren't Africans running sub 3:26 and sub 1:41 already? Are super shoes like EPO - they don't work on elite Kenyans?

Right. Suddenly in 2020 and 2021 dozens of non Africans have a sense of self belief and have knocked several seconds off their mile prs.

Africans are not running crazy times? Did the long-standing 5k and 10k records not fall last year? Did Kiplimo not run one of the fastest 3ks in decades? Did the 2 hour barrier in the marathon not fall?

2021_s wrote:

Rojo is right. The fact that your examples of the best runners in "HISTORY" all come from the past month supports the point. Currently, 1/3rd of the top times ever in the ncaa were run this year.

https://www.ustfccca.org/records-lists/collegiate-all-time-bests?season=0&top=25&event=8

This is BEFORE the ncaa finals where we'll almost certainly see a few more. I find it hard to believe that this is all due to everyone training through 2020. This does not mean 3:34 isn't impressive.

Excellent point.

Data don't lie.

The way I see it is even if you think the shoes give him a 3 second edge, his time is still exceptional.

Rojo, the shoe companies agree with you. Time bonuses are way down or set to ridiculous marks because no one is sure what the technology will muster.

Really? Rojo, are you the anti runner web hoster?

WTF

If its not a big deal, how many U.S. guys, Not Internationals have run 3:34.xx this year, not last, not in 2019...

I dont get the negative Nancy stuff on here at all.

What is it? Your former love of Webb and Chris Lear? He is two seconds faster at mile converted and 4 at 1500 better and 6 at the two mile than Webb. I am not sure what you want from the kid? Engels just ran a PR of 3:33.x and has made teams.....

It is amazing to me the negativity at all of this kids run and mark

rojo wrote:

For the record, I think Kessler is a SUPREME talent but when everyone runs 3:37, 3:34 isn't all that.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2021/06/2021-stumptown-twilight-results-josh-kerr-331-crushes-1500-craig-engels-sinclaire-johnson-win-800s/

"In the second heat, two guys who didn't even make it to NCAAs, picked up Olympic Trials qualifiers by dropping their PBs from 3:41 to 3:37.  New Mexico sophomore Abdirizak Ibrahim, who was only 16th in the 5000 at NCAA regionals last week, won in 3:37.19 as Oregon redshirt senior Jack Yearian, who was 16th in the 1500 at regionals and ran the 10,000 at Pac 12s (where he was 7th in 29:00 in his only Pac 12 track appearance during his Oregon career) ran 3:37.24."

Rojo must be a treat to have as a father.

“Dad I got into Harvard!”

“Yeah but TONS of people get into Harvard every year! Don’t get me wrong, it’s GREAT but Harvard has thousands of people and when you look at it like that, your accomplishment is a lot less impressive.”

Perhaps, folks should be asking how Craig Engels who has made U.S. teams with all this technology help? Has only ever run 3:33.x?

See? Doesn't sound so hot, does it? He has run one second faster than a HS 18 year old.

I'd be less impressed when 3-4 other HIGH SCHOOLERS run 3:34-3:35...

king999 wrote:

Perhaps, folks should be asking how Craig Engels who has made U.S. teams with all this technology help? Has only ever run 3:33.x?

See? Doesn't sound so hot, does it? He has run one second faster than a HS 18 year old.

Wow, how is a grown man and professional NIKE runner only running one second faster than some high school kid. Should Engels even have a contract?

Shoes. Far bigger impact than athletes willing to admit.

I like Engels, he is an honest fun guy, maybe he needs better shoes?

So, Kessler has run less than one second slower than Engels EVER has .

Training with Ron for less than 15 months, and now has run less than .8 slower than Engels has , who has been at a U.S. at an Elite level for years, and he is 27 now.

And still this accomplishment of Hobbs gets paled by some on here? It is insane. I really think a different perspective is needed here, than it must be the shoes.

Nico didn't make it either so 13:24 is no longer impressive.

king999 wrote:

Really? Rojo, are you the anti runner web hoster?

WTF

If its not a big deal, how many U.S. guys, Not Internationals have run 3:34.xx this year, not last, not in 2019...

I dont get the negative Nancy stuff on here at all.

What is it? Your former love of Webb and Chris Lear? He is two seconds faster at mile converted and 4 at 1500 better and 6 at the two mile than Webb. I am not sure what you want from the kid? Engels just ran a PR of 3:33.x and has made teams.....

It is amazing to me the negativity at all of this kids run and mark

Way more than by June 4, 2016 heading into the olympic trials. (That year it was 0)

rojo is right.

Kessler is impressive, but his performance was not otherworldly and it's certainly not on the same level as Webb.

Dudes, it's the shoes. We've reached the point of shoe tech where these things can no longer properly be called "running shoes"......... they propel the athlete forward in a bouncing motion. It's arguably a separate discipline.

The average time improvement for athletes running in super spikes vs. regular spikes is greater than the time difference in athletes racing on cinders and dirt tracks to modern track surfaces.

Just because you can’t see the technology doesn’t mean it’s not making a gigantic impact on improvement.

Coevett wrote:

The Unkle wrote:

He is right.

Something is up with all these ridic fast times.

Has to be the shoes.

What else could it be?

One thing else it could be is that young talents outside Africa these days have a sense of self-belief. When they come here and read you guys saying East Africans are unbeatable because they are genetically built like race horses and don't have a concept of time, they recognise it for the nonsense that it is, exposed long ago by repeated doping busts and Jakob Ingebrigtsen.

If it's super shoes, why aren't Africans running sub 3:26 and sub 1:41 already? Are super shoes like EPO - they don't work on elite Kenyans?

There haven’t been a ton of big European meets. My guess is on July 10th (one day after Monaco) the world record will be 3:24 and the night before we will see 10 guys run sub 3:30 in a race. You do recall that Getnet Wale, who is not a household name, missed the indoor 3k record by 0.08. Don’t worry the super shoes destruction of world all time lists are coming just like they did in the marathon.

What a terrible take. Why not celebrate that some kids unfortunately missing out on NCAAs get a chance to compete at the sport's highest domestic stage instead of bashing on a high schooler just for the sake of pushing your "times don't matter anymore because uhhhhh super shoes" narrative, especially at those college kids' expense? Another previous poster said it already but does this mean Nico Young and his 13:24 isn't that good anymore because he didn't make NCAAs?

Only shoes you need to be concerned with are the clown shoes on your feet, Rojo.