Flotrack's Best of 2011

hope to see him run 2:04.58 or faster on a certified course! congrats Mr. Hall!

Yes, that's the only reasonable response to a world record being broken on a downhill, wind-aided course. If we're talking about sprinters, I'll entertain that conversation. But there's really no evidence of anything untoward, and these guys get tested frequently.Also, what's the incentive in distance running to dope? If you're already elite, it's a matter of pride, and I don't know of many runners who would dope just to move from 4th to 2nd. If you're not quite elite, it's not exactly the most lucrative sport in the world, and you have everything to lose. I seriously doubt it. No need to float baseless accusations.

My hat is off to Ryan Hall and Kim Smith. What courageous front-running. I think a quote from the greatest American front runner of all time, Prefontaine, is appropriate here: "A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more". Way to go Ryan!

sub-2:05 at Boston is way too fast to be bickering about pacing. Hall obviously felt great yesterday (see his crowd-pumping antics about an hour in) and he ran spectacularly. Don't hate on the guy for taking the lead and pushing someone to a new [unofficial] world record. SOMEbody has to be in front.

Wow! Ryan hall proved a lot of people wrong today at the Boston marathon. That was a great performance! .

Can we all just relax and appreciate this simply for what it is, an awesome race? And by the way, maybe my math is wrong, but is Hall not ow withing striking distance of the world record?

Does it make me bad for running without believing in a Christian God? No matter what any one person believes, we can all agree that Ryan Hall ran his ass off today and definitely represented the USA well. I support you LV, let bigots be bigots. It's a shame most of everyone can't represent themselves well on the track or off of it. I feel bad for them.

Hey there little buddy who can't even log in. Here you go:RH, somehow I am supposed to apologize for comments I made about you recently that offended "everyone at Flotrack".For some reason I am supposed to apologize for referring to you as America's greatest marathoner 3 times in the last week. I am also apparently obligated to apologize for referring to your running, faith and charitable works as incredible, good and wonderful.I'm also sorry that I still find it A LITTLE uncomfortable and self important when someone can't relate even simple, seemingly unrelated info without telling me all about their personal faith and how it is so special that it requires a format of communication completely unique amongst their peers.I'm sorry that I am still surprised how apparently no other T+F athletes have a strong relationship with God. Otherwise they also would have required similar interviews.But as my little buddy has so amply demonstrated, it is unnaceptable to question ANYTHING about a person who is moved by faith. It seems faith is the magic word that makes even partial, slight critiques unreasonable.

Hey little buddy who can't even log in. Here you go:RH I apologize for referring to you as America's greatest marathoner 3 times in the last week. I apologize for describing your running, faith and charitable works as incredible, good and wonderful.I'm sorry that I still find it a little uncomfortable and self important when someone cannot relate even simple, seemingly unrelated info without telling me all about their personal religious faith and how it is so special that it requires a format of relation unlike anyone else in their field. I am still astonished that apparently no other T+F athletes have any sort of strong religious beliefs. Otherwise it seems they would have required similar interviews.But as this unidentified poster has so amply demonstrated, it is unacceptable to question anything about a person who relates that they are motivated by faith. It seems that faith is the magic word that renders even partial, slight critiques unreasonable.

Keep doing what you're doing Ryan. What an amazing performance.

Hey little buddy who can't even log in. Here you go:RH I apologize for referring to you as America's greatest marathoner 3 times in the last week. I apologize for describing your running, faith and charitable works as incredible, good and wonderful. I'm sorry that I still find it a little uncomfortable and self important when someone can't relate even basic, seemingly unrelated info without tellIng me all about their personal faith and how it is so special that it requires an entirely different way of relating to that person relative to everyone else in their field. Again, I am amazed that apparently no other T+F athletes have any sort of strong faith in God. Otherwise they would have required similar interviews. How sad for all other athletes in our sport.But as you've so amply demonstrated, it is unacceptable to question anything at all about a person when their actions are attributed to faith. Faith is the magic word that insulates one from any degree of questioning and renders even slight, partial critiques unreasonable.

I must say, that was an incredible performance and he deserves huge congratulations. That's American Hero stuff. It's undeniable that whatever he's doing is working for him.

Hmm, so where are all those guys who bash Hall for running by faith and without a coach? Keep the faith man

Great job Ryan! It must have been a beautiful day to run. PRs from everyone!