Kim Smith's calf was ballooned up like a melon.

Another good point. 26 miles is closer to 26.2 miles than it is to 16 miles. Keep 'em coming, you're a fact machine!

Being a Kim Smith fan, I really couldn't watch all of that. Too painful to hear her the pain in her voice. She seems like an incredibly genuine person.

Back off the coffee up the electrolytes. Your awesome, I'm a big fan... please eat a steak or two.

raholian wrote:

Being a Kim Smith fan, I really couldn't watch all of that. Too painful to hear her the pain in her voice. She seems like an incredibly genuine person.

Agreed. She seems like a great, honest and sweet girl. I wish her the best in recovery and the future. This will make her stronger.

raholian wrote:

Being a Kim Smith fan, I really couldn't watch all of that. Too painful to hear her the pain in her voice. She seems like an incredibly genuine person.

+1

That was tough to see, I had to shut it off as well.

I also couldn't finish watching the interview.

Indeed, that was a heartbreaking video to watch. I hope she has a good family/friend support system - if she tends towards depression, she's in for an even tougher road to recovery.

I found it difficult to watch as well.

So many experts on here seem to think that even with that huge tailwind, if you pass though the halfway point just 3m 16s slower than your half marathon best, it's a big mistake. Because if that's the case, then a lot of people made a big mistake today.

Kim had the right strategy today. Much better to give yourself a shot at winning than spend the rest of your career wondering, what if.

Hope she sorts out her calf cramping problems.

Grand Master wrote:

Kim Smyth's was couragous. Mr. Hall, on the other hand was not.

He pushed when he should not have pushed. And fell back when he should not have fell back.

This is ridiculous. Only a Hall-hater could somehow justify saying one person leading is courageous and the other is stupid. According to you, we are supposed to believe that Kim Smith did everything right, even though she barely made it more than halfway without completely breaking down. Then, we are supposed to believe that Hall did everything wrong and yet finished in a phenomenal time, right behind third place. What makes you so wise as to say that one was courageous and the other was dumb? Remember, Hall ran a 63:53 half just a few weeks ago. How can you honestly say he was supposed to do any better? You don't know that, so stop pretending that you are the ultimate arbiter of great racing plans. You're a dumbass arm-chair marathoner. And nothing is more hypocritical than being a dumbass arm-chair marathoner because you're not the one who's out there feeling the pain and mixing it up with the world's best. Hall did what he was supposed to. what makes you think a different strategy would have gotten him any better a place than he got (which was phenomenal). Please, explain your logic. This should be interesting to hear.

Perhaps her body isn't absorbing nutrients and the calories needed to stay healthy in a race that includes a lot of stress. I watched Kim since her collegiate days and needs a nutritionist.

It isn't the skin and bones. Birds need to be light to fly. She isn't getting the correct calories.

does anyone have a picture of her calf that ballooned like a melon?

long sox wrote:

Hope she sorts out her calf cramping problems.

Tony Reavis was commenting just before she dropped out that she appears to run too much on her forefoot (ball). I agree. Might work well for her for 10K - 1/2M, but move to more of a mid-foot strike for a marathon.

Kim's effort was courageous, yet foolish. She did not give herself the best chance to win. She simply went out too fast on a tough course. Her calf was telling her "Kim, you went out too fast".

Gelindo Bordin's comments from the 1990 Boston Marathon... Referring to Juma Ikangaa, (paraphrased), "If you go through the half so fast, you MUST have a cramp".

She should be proud for her effort, learn from her mis-calculation, and return to fight another day.

*stipe wrote:

Kim's effort was courageous, yet foolish. She did not give herself the best chance to win. She simply went out too fast on a tough course. Her calf was telling her "Kim, you went out too fast".

She has run a half marathon in 1:07:36 and went through half way in 1:10:52.

1:10:52 - 1:07:36 = 3:16 slower than her HM pace.

Please repeat the calculation for Desi, for Ryan Hall and for any other runner of your choice and explain why that pace is too fast for Kim.

Apparently her goal pace is "too fast," according to you. But if I ran in the 1:07 range for the half, I would be running at the same exact pace she was. She was on pace to run what she was in shape to run. If anything, it was smart for her to separate from the pack so they weren't blocking her tailwind.

Gotta agree with most of what's said here: the Iinterview was too painful for even an onlooker to finish. she seems so genuinely in love with the sport and racing, it's just too much for her right now. I hope she sort out her injury and show everyone what she's made of next year.

That pace she was running was hard and honest, but definitely not out overdoin it. Personally, I believe she could ahve pulled that wire-to we-thing off if that injury hadn't come.

Regarding the forefott-running-comment above I would disagree: In her prepartaion she most likely ran 12-15 miles at M pace, which was obviously fine. If that forefoot style was the problem it would have occured much later in the race, say mile 20+, when the extraordinary marathon strain really kicks in.

For all you amateur doctors, my opinion is that her hip flexors started going into spasms and pulled on the calf tightening it up. Why does this happen? Because your body knows you are about to do damage and acts appropriately to make you stop doing what you have been doing. In this case, it was running.

I know she was wearing the brand new 5oz Reebok road shoe. Don't know how long she has had them, but it has to be possible that the shoe (which was most likely a prototype if the model has not been officially released) affected the condition of her calves, right? That's a far-fetched explanation, for sure, but I can't help but think that sponsored athletes sometimes fall victim to having to wear/promote unproven footwear/apparel at times.

Also, I noticed that she - more so than any of the other elites - was running very close to the side of the road...could the grade of paved surfaces have affected the outcome at all?