Aspiring Elite lives in Van in Flagstaff

Aridzona wrote:

cfarley wrote:

Down by the river?

Negative. There are no rivers in Flagstaff.

I don't know...the rio de flag can rage during monsoon season. It can have the disastrous effect of causing one to have to walk an extra block to get to the bar.

I know two people who don't have to work for anything, and there's nothing wrong with wanting to follow their examples. One guy worked for a local telecom, and when it was snapped up he took his severance package and invested wisely. He's in his early 50s and enjoys his small town life and running. Another guy is in his early 60s and started playing the market in high school. He went on to work as an attorney, made more money to invest, backed off to working as a sports writer, made more money to invest, backed off to working as a copy editor, and now has 4 investment properties within walking/running distance of his house to manage. He hiked a large chunk of the AT last summer, and has bicycled cross-country with his son. What's funny about this dude for me is that before I moved to Madison, he was a rather enigmatic figure at races in central and southern WI (in the days before chip timing, it seemed he always had a beef with results), and suddenly when we bought our house it turned out he lives across the street. I'm hard-pressed to believe many people would say either of these two examples leave much to be desired in the way of how to go about one's life.

at work wrote:

Its not a "millennial" type of thing to do, I'm a millennial as well as most of my friends and we have a term for these type of people, "trust fund babies".

Or perhaps: "dealers."

stop it now wrote:

dudes too chunky and has no speed. go get a job bruh

The dude is not "too chunky". Go find some photos of Ed Mendoza.

How do you know he doesn't have enough speed? Are you psychic?

dirtbag olympian? wrote:

He could become the first official US dirtbag olympic runner.

This guy would be far from the first. In the olden days all of the distance runners and even some throwers were. Read the Pre biography, the Bowerman bio ( Kenny Moore), Shorter's book, any Bjorklund you can find, etc.

What this guy's doing is remarkable only to an under-40 observer. Same thing existed in rock climbing, skiing, and surfing. It IS, however quite remarkable for a member of his generation. The first dirtbag US Olympian since '92 for sure!

"He looks like a complete bum. Perhaps if he'd shave and clean up, look sharp and keep doing what he's doing, he might attract some local sponsors that want to support his dream, but he looks horrible."

He doesn't want to do that, he's not conforming to today's society he's trying to do something different and try to raise questions. I'm sure if you were running upwards of 140 miles a week you would understand at that point you have made so many sacrafices you could careless what other people think, you are not trying to impress anyone you are within yourself. If he was offered a sponsorship I bet he would turn it down

"I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

Would someone give a assessment of the reality involved in his chances to improve enough to get qualifying standards for IAAF International meets and the likelihood of him ever ranking in the top 10 USA athletes for his events?

Thanks

Slim Tununn wrote:

Would someone give a assessment of the reality involved in his chances to improve enough to get qualifying standards for IAAF International meets and the likelihood of him ever ranking in the top 10 USA athletes for his events?

Thanks

He's run 1:06:29 for a half. US Olympic qualifying B standard is 2:18 for a full marathon. I'd say he has a realistic shot at that.

Boring Old Man wrote:

"I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

What was Frost's 10K personal best? Huh?

I'm an aspiring Olympian. Where's my dopey story

Stick with eharmony wrote:

I'm an aspiring Olympian. Where's my dopey story

It's on your blog.

When is his next race?

ScaryStuff wrote:

Boring Old Man wrote:

"I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference."

What was Frost's 10K personal best? Huh?

Frost wasn't much of a runner by any accounts, but at Harvard his English teacher told him his poetry was crap. Ultimately, he dropped out, bought an old farm, and kept to his craft...

TOMMOTlife wrote:

"He looks like a complete bum. Perhaps if he'd shave and clean up, look sharp and keep doing what he's doing, he might attract some local sponsors that want to support his dream, but he looks horrible."

He doesn't want to do that, he's not conforming to today's society he's trying to do something different and try to raise questions. I'm sure if you were running upwards of 140 miles a week you would understand at that point you have made so many sacrafices you could careless what other people think, you are not trying to impress anyone you are within yourself. If he was offered a sponsorship I bet he would turn it down

I ran upwards of 120-140 miles a week and still worked a 9-5 job. Its not rocket science. The biggest sacrifices were a few Friday nights when I had to hit the sack early for a morning race.

Bill Rodgers was a teacher running upwards of 200 miles a week prior to his first Boston win.

Wanting to make running a priority is no excuse for living in van. People who live in vans would do so regardless of other endeavors.

To each his own.

Alan

TOMMOTlife wrote:

He doesn't want to do that, he's not conforming to today's society he's trying to do something different and try to raise questions.

Questions like,

"when was your last shower?"

"how long have you been sponging off your friends?"

"Where's the money in this strategy?"

Spare me the "not conforming" BS. Someone in every generation discovers they too need to "not conform" and "challenge the status quo" when they are doing neither.

Hopefully he discovers what a sh#tty plan he's got real soon and can turn it into something productive, like a car washer or something.

pop_pop! wrote:

TOMMOTlife wrote:

He doesn't want to do that, he's not conforming to today's society he's trying to do something different and try to raise questions.

Questions like,

"when was your last shower?"

"how long have you been sponging off your friends?"

"Where's the money in this strategy?"

Spare me the "not conforming" BS. Someone in every generation discovers they too need to "not conform" and "challenge the status quo" when they are doing neither.

Hopefully he discovers what a sh#tty plan he's got real soon and can turn it into something productive, like a car washer or something.

No need in Obamaland (see City of Baltimore, IBID). He's got an EBT" food for free" card; he'll get free Section 8 housing; he's already eligible for free health insurance (he'll need that for massages and assorted overtraining injuries). That way, I'm sure he'll become a productive member of this great society, not.

Once on the dole, they never come off, cuz it's easier not working than working. What a presidential candidate needs only to promise is free TV (wait, we got that? Oh, than not that kind. Sat. dishes abound in the ghetto) .

dirtbag poet? wrote:

ScaryStuff wrote:

What was Frost's 10K personal best? Huh?

Frost wasn't much of a runner by any accounts, but at Harvard his English teacher told him his poetry was crap. Ultimately, he dropped out, bought an old farm, and kept to his craft...

He must have been hell to coach in X-country. Lots of DNFs for the Crimson.

pop_pop! wrote:

TOMMOTlife wrote:

He doesn't want to do that, he's not conforming to today's society he's trying to do something different and try to raise questions.

Questions like,

"when was your last shower?"

"how long have you been sponging off your friends?"

"Where's the money in this strategy?"

Spare me the "not conforming" BS. Someone in every generation discovers they too need to "not conform" and "challenge the status quo" when they are doing neither.

Hopefully he discovers what a sh#tty plan he's got real soon and can turn it into something productive, like a car washer or something.

Where is the money in this stratagey? That's the thing you don't know him so quit assuming that he's bumming off of people. Maybe the money came from the 5 jobs he was working all at once after he graduated? Or most likely the job he has now? He never said he wasn't working anywhere, he just simply lives in a van. And when was his last shower? Really that's the question you want to ask? I think you should go to letshower.com and talk about loufas with your other friends.