Should I lead the first half of Olympic Trials then drop?

I doubt they are a 2:16 Marathoner.

It is Greg!

Let the intrusive thoughts win this round. DO IT! Not only is it a story you can tell your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, grocery store clerks, etc.. It is a story that news outlets will pick up, that will go viral on tiktok. This stunt will bring the limelight to distance running in a good way. Additionally, you will probably end up on Kara Goucher and Des Linden's podcast when they recap the trials. Do this for yourself, but for the running community as a whole.

Can't lie, I am so jacked up to see this, to see if this thread was legit, and to see if he can pull it off for anywhere near half the race.

Yeah I had no real investment in the race beforehand, but now I want to see this happen.

Bonus points if Gault gets a brief interview with him at some point this weekend

Just to verify, do we know the name of the athlete? I read all the early posts but not the entire thread.

If you plan to do this, don't you go ahead and reveal who you are in this thread?

Is this satire?

I thought qualifying in 2:16:xx would narrow it down.

Not much, that means it is any one of 46 athletes.

OP, you do realize that it's not too uncommon for a relative non-contender to go out with the leaders, right? Recall the people that went way out at the 2020 trials?

Is there some way you could signal to the viewers that you are indeed OP? Maybe a gesture, or some a piece of clothing to look for? I understand not wanting to out yourself before the race, but is there something we should look for?

Brojos, is there any way we could get this man the Letsrun jersey? I would definitely contribute to this man's appearance fee if he was wearing the Letsrun jersey.

People... just wait until Saturday morning. Don't ruin the magic.

He's talking about going out in 64. If he makes it to the half at that pace, it's going to be very easy to tell who it is. The idea of a 100% non-contender blitzing it with the leaders of a big race isn't new, but they don't make it to 13.1. If this guy does, he'll stick out like a sore thumb. Any added attention to this, beyond the LRC forum, will probably increase the chances that it won't happen.

A 2:16 equates to about 65, so if the front runners go out in 64, he’ll be lucky to make it to 10 miles. He’ll be ignored by the commentators, so it won’t be even 15 minutes of fame.

A previous poster said there are 46 2:16 marathoners in the race. All of them could so the same thing, so why is someone using the race as a HM TT, so appealing?

Dude, on literally every thread you post on, you are a certified hater. Loosen up a little.

I’m new to the full. My 10K on a USATF certified course converts to low 64s. I’m in the best shape of my life. Did everything I wanted to in training and have no injury concerns. I might not make it all the way to 13.1, but I am confident that it’s a realistic goal. Reading through this thread is a little overwhelming. I need to get in the right head space for this. It will probably take a mile or two to get into the lead because we are starting based on qualifying rank. Im not going to blitz the first mile. I’ll gradually make my way to the lead somewhere between mile 1-2. There’s a chance someone else goes out way ahead of the field. I’ll let them go. My plan and purpose is to pace the lead pack and be only 1-2 steps ahead of them.

Here is what I would do:

Beforehand, determine what pace you think the leaders will be at through ~the half. 20 seconds below that is pace A, 20 seconds above it is pace B.

Now for the race. Get out hard, and for the first 2 miles, stay with the lead pack. No need to lead/push, just tuck in to the front group. If some (other) clown is going 4:30 pace, let them go.

At exactly 2 miles, start running pace A. This should separate you from the pack. There's a chance someone goes with you, but they probably won't. Maintain pace A for 2 miles, then at exactly 4 miles, start running pace B. The pack will walk you down, and they'll all think you're just some clown who wanted a few minutes of screen time.

Maintain pace B for 2 miles, then at exactly 6 miles, start running pace A again.

Slim chance anyone goes with you at this point, but there's a chance. Doesn't matter either way. Maintain pace A for 2 miles, then at exactly 8 miles, start running pace B again.

At 10 miles--you guessed it--start running pace A again. But! Don't slow down at 12 miles. Keep running as close to pace A as you can for as long as you can. Everyone will be expecting you to slow down again, so no one will have gone with you, and if you can keep the pace up through the half, you'll be pretty far ahead of the pack.

Three options at this point:

A) You drop out while you're still so far ahead that no one can see you. You get off the course quickly and make sure not to be seen by anyone still racing. The top 3 don't know if they're 1st-3rd or 2nd-4th. They'll probably find out after not too long, but for a little while, some people are gonna panic.

B) You go back to 2:08 pace, hold it as long as possible, fall apart, get passed by 3 or more people, and either drop out or painfully jog it in.

C) You go back to 2:08 pace, hold it as long as possible, remember that, as the430miler says, mentallity > physicallity, and win the race.

I recommend trying to do option (C) even though it will almost certainly end up being option (B). Just keep telling yourself you can keep the pace up for one more mile, and see what happens. No need for any clown act, you'll gain a few fans, and you can tell your grandkids you went for it.

I just believe people should have respect for their sport, and for themselves. Pulling a stunt for attention, is counter to both.

The OP has already shown abundant respect for the sport and himself by training hard enough to run faster than you or 99.9% of people ever will. Frankly, it is disrepectful to the sport for a hobby jogger be on your high horse about this.

Wait until you hear what some fans do at football, baseball, and soccer games. Youd probably give them the chair eh?

OP, you should 100% do this. So long you dont impede anyone there is no disrespectgoing on. Would be hilarious to see you whip out a letsrun shirt half way thru.

He’s not doing it for attention. He’s doing it to see how long he can hang and he’s doing it to help the men secure a third Olympic spot by serving as a pacer for them. That is noble!

I commend the OP, and I’ll be cheering for him on Saturday.

In his first post, he discussed later dropping back to run with the lead women. Is that showing respect for the sport? They sure the H wouldn’t want him there.