Running's Hot-Stove League
Last weekend's ING New York City Marathon gave runners a lot of material for debate. Hendrick Ramaala's gutsy performance raised some interesting questions, and the tactics involved will doubtless lead to interesting speculation. The photos of Ramaala stumbling and falling as he and Paul Tergat kicked to the line were spectacular and graphic, but the race may well have been decided on First Avenue.
Both Tergat and Ramaala are experienced marathoners, so if mistakes were made, they were likely well reasoned tactical choices that may have failed to yield the desired result. Ramaala surged on First Ave, putting in a 4:21 mile and forcing anyone who wanted to win to cover that move. Only three racers went with Ramaala, Robert Cheriyot, Meb Keflezighi and Tergat. Consistently, as the pace was pushed, Tergat sat on the shoulders of the leaders, essentially doing what the cyclists call "wheel-sucking." Staying with the leaders, but not contributing the hard work of leading the pace, nor expending any unnecessary energy. In cycling, this is considered a no-no, but in running, the tactics that cyclists use to drop these leaches can't be used (the lower speeds make it impossible), so such behavior is considered both acceptable and wise. Later in the race, a surge dropped Cheriyot, then on Central Park South, the pace rose to a level that Meb's limited training since a summer injury could not sustain, so he was relegated to third.
That final dash into Central Park had both Tergat and Ramaala alternately leading, and as the line approached, Ramaala's legs simply couldn't find that little bit of additional speed that Tergat had, and Ramaala began to stumble. Tergat won that spectacular finish. It now comes down to the question, What if Ramaala hadn't pushed so hard on First Ave? Would the field have still shrunken to 4? Would someone else have pushed to open up the race? If so, would it have changed the first man across the line? These questions can be discussed forever, and nobody will ever know, but one thing that can never be taken away was the spectacular finish that Ramaala and Tergat gave us racing fans last Sunday.
Both Tergat and Ramaala are experienced marathoners, so if mistakes were made, they were likely well reasoned tactical choices that may have failed to yield the desired result. Ramaala surged on First Ave, putting in a 4:21 mile and forcing anyone who wanted to win to cover that move. Only three racers went with Ramaala, Robert Cheriyot, Meb Keflezighi and Tergat. Consistently, as the pace was pushed, Tergat sat on the shoulders of the leaders, essentially doing what the cyclists call "wheel-sucking." Staying with the leaders, but not contributing the hard work of leading the pace, nor expending any unnecessary energy. In cycling, this is considered a no-no, but in running, the tactics that cyclists use to drop these leaches can't be used (the lower speeds make it impossible), so such behavior is considered both acceptable and wise. Later in the race, a surge dropped Cheriyot, then on Central Park South, the pace rose to a level that Meb's limited training since a summer injury could not sustain, so he was relegated to third.
That final dash into Central Park had both Tergat and Ramaala alternately leading, and as the line approached, Ramaala's legs simply couldn't find that little bit of additional speed that Tergat had, and Ramaala began to stumble. Tergat won that spectacular finish. It now comes down to the question, What if Ramaala hadn't pushed so hard on First Ave? Would the field have still shrunken to 4? Would someone else have pushed to open up the race? If so, would it have changed the first man across the line? These questions can be discussed forever, and nobody will ever know, but one thing that can never be taken away was the spectacular finish that Ramaala and Tergat gave us racing fans last Sunday.
posted by Scooter at 11:12 AM
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